Khaleda Zia gets bail

DHAKA: Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia was granted bail on corruption charges on Tuesday, allowing her to be released after more than a year in custody, her lawyer said. “She has been given a three-month bail in both cases,” said her lawyer Nadir Uddin Amir. “She had already been given bail in two other cases, so now she can be freed tomorrow.” Zia’s release will likely ensure her party will stand in December elections aimed at restoring democratic rule in Bangaldesh. — AFP

UN pull out in Lanka

Colombo: The United Nations said on Tuesday it was withdrawing all its aid agency personnel from Sri Lanka’s embattled north, following a government order to quit ahead of a major military offensive. Only a few aid agencies, including the UN outfits, were still operating inside the rebel-held Wanni district. “A precise timetable for the complete withdrawal of all staff is yet to be determined, but relocations will begin this week,” the UN said. — AFP

US soldiers killed

Kabul: A roadside bomb killed three US coalition soldiers on Tuesday, while a NATO airstrike missed its target and hit a house, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding 10, officials said. The coalition said a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan killed the three soldiers and an Afghan contractor. It did not release any other details of the attack, including the soldiers’ nationalities, but the overwhelming majority of coalition soldiers in the east are American. — AP