Bangladesh unblocks Facebook

Bangladesh has lifted a weeklong ban on the social networking website Facebook imposed for a page urging people to draw images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, an official said Sunday.Bangladesh became the second South Asian nation after Pakistan to ban the popular site over religious concerns. Pakistan lifted a court-imposed ban last Monday after an information technology official said Facebook officials had apologized for the page deemed offensive to Muslims and removed its contents.The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission ordered access to Facebook restored around midnight Saturday, and the site was available Sunday, said the commissions chairman, Zia Ahmed. Facebook had removed the objectionable page, he said. The page could not be accessed in Bangladesh on Sunday.The ban was imposed because Facebook was carrying caricatures that might hurt the religious sentiments of people in Bangladesh.The commission said the U.S.-based company also agreed to remove obnoxious images of some of the country's political leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia. The commission did not elaborate.