Bangladesh bans economic magazine

Bangladesh has banned the latest issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review, after it described the country as a land of rising fundamentalism and religious intolerance.

An official announcement said the Hong Kong based news magazine had been banned because of fears that the offending article - entitled Beware of Bangladesh - could trigger hatred and division.

In the report on militant Islamic groups, the magazine said there was a threat to secularism and moderate Islam in Bangladesh which had grave implications for the region.

The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, said Bangladesh had received international recognition as a moderate Islamic country with no room for religious fundamentalists.

She told parliament that she would take stern action against anyone involved in any anti-Bangladesh campaign.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service