The new minimum wage deal is expected to benefit around 2.5 million garment workers in Bangladesh, most of them women. The current legal minimum pay is about 25 dollars a month, described by labour activists as the lowest in the world for this type of work. Following criticism, some western companies earlier this year asked the Bangladeshi government to raise the minimum wage for its workers. The garments industry is the

backbone

of Bangladesh's economy,

amounting to

nearly 80% of the country's total exports.

A court in Britain has rejected a Serbian request for the extradition of the former Bosnian President Ejup Ganic on war crimes charges, arising from the Bosnian conflict in the early 1990s. Serbia has said it will appeal. Mr Ganic was charged in Belgrade over the deaths of more than 40 Yugoslav soldiers and detained as he prepared to leave Britain in March. Adam Mynott has more details.

The district judge hearing the extradition case said the application to have Dr Ganic extradited to Belgrade was politically motivated and without foundation. He said "Dr Ganic, you are free to go." The former Bosnian acting president will return to Bosnia tomorrow. He said outside court that the case by Serbia against him was a

disgrace

, and he was happy to be going home completely

exonerate

d and a free man.

Adam Mynott reporting.

World News from the BBC

An African Union summit in Uganda has agreed to send further troops to Somalia to counter al-Shabab insurgents. The chairman of the AU Commission Jean Ping said at the end of the summit that Guinea, Djibouti and the East African grouping IGAD had promised to send 4,000 more troops, bringing the number of AU soldiers in Somalia to 10,000.