Khaleda ready to work with Hasina

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia said on Friday that she was ready to work with her bitter rival Sheikh Hasina who will lead the new government following elections this week. Hasina, who led her Awami League and its allies to a huge win in the election, is expected to be sworn in on Monday, her party said, ending two years of rule by an army-backed interim administration. Khaleda had challenged the result but later her Bangladesh Nationalist Party said it would give Hasina a chance to govern. On Friday, in a further sign of reconciliation between the two leaders, known as the battling Begums for their decade-old animosity, the BNP said it was ready to do business with the new administration. Khaleda Zia will be ready to cooperate with the incoming prime minister and her government, BNP secretary-general Khandakaer Delwar Hossain said.