Police in Bangladesh clash with protesters
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Police in Bangladesh broke up angry protesters blocking a main highway in the capital Dhaka, over a new law giving women equal property rights.
Dozens were arrested and injured as police used tear gas and batons.
Schools, businesses and offices across the country remained closed in a nationwide strike enforced by a group of Islamic parties.
Bangladesh has a secular legal system, but in matters relating to inheritance it follows Sharia law.
Under Bangladeshi law a woman normally inherits half as much as her brother. But under the new rules, every child would inherit an equal amount.
Protesters blocked a key road linking the capital, Dhaka, with the main port of Chittagong. Officials say around 100 protesters have been taken into custody.
“The protesters blocked the highway for sometime. The road has been cleared now,” Mahbubur Rahman, a senior police officer told the BBC.
But Fazlul Huq Amini, who heads the Islamic Law Implementation Committee, said the strike was successful and “people spontaneously supported the protest”.
Protesters, organised by the Islami Oiko Jote (Unity group), argue that the new proposals go against the Koran.
The government says its new policy does not violate Islam and aims to give women greater rights in employment, inheritance and education.
Our correspondent says the proposed law has been welcomed by women’s rights groups. They say the policy has the support of the majority of people in the country.
Although the hardline religious parties do not have major political influence, their campaign to portray some of the government’s policies as anti-Islamic could have an impact on rural areas of the country in the long term, according to our correspondent.
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The RAF will need “genuine increases” in its budget over the coming years if it is to run the range of operations ministers demand, its chief says.
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A key aide of Ivory Coast’s internationally recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, says the time is right for a “rapid offensive” against the country’s main city, Abidjan.
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Fiona Phillips says don’t write off the over 50s
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President Nazarbayev has been in power for more than 20 years
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The man who has ruled Kazakhstan for more than 20 years, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is standing for re-election – with a strong likelihood that he will win again.
Under constitutional changes made in 2007, Mr Nazarbayev is allowed to stand as many times as he wishes.
The main opposition parties say they were not given enough time to prepare for the presidential election.
They say the contest is unfair and have called for a boycott.
This snap presidential election was called less than two months ago by Mr Nazarbayev.
Opposition parties say they were left no time to prepare for the race.
But critics say the opposition has proved its weakness in having no single strong candidate capable of challenging Mr Nazarbayev.
After more than 20 years in power, Mr Nazarbayev, 70, is running again because constitutional amendments introduced in 2007 allow him to stand for the presidency as many times as he wishes.
Three other candidates are standing in the election: environmentalist Mels Yeleusizov; Gani Kasymov of the Party of Patriots of Kazakhstan; and Zhambyl Akhmetbekov of the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan.
The main question about this vote is not who will win, but how many people will turn up, says the BBC’s Rayhan Demytrie in the main city of Almaty.
Campaigning for this election has been low-key; the most organised and visible being by the main pro-presidential party Nur Otan, our correspondent says.
With no real competition, Mr Nazarbayev is almost certain to win, she adds.
So far the government’s efforts have been focused on ensuring voter turnout. In an election where the outcome is easily predictable, many see no point in casting their votes.
No elections in Kazakhstan have ever been judged as free and fair by independent monitors.
“We have not had fair elections in 20 years,” said former Senate member and current human rights leader Zauresh Battalova.
The first official results are expected early on Monday.
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Kate Adie celebrates the botanical paintings of Marianne North
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A survey suggests UK school children are bad sports and find it difficult to lose graciously at games.
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Many manufacturers continue to face power cuts and supply chain shortages
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Japan’s big manufacturers expect conditions to significantly worsen in the coming three months, after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami.
The business sentiment index for this June is at minus 2, according to data from the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey.
A positive reading indicates the sector is improving.
The Bank of Japan separated the survey for March into responses collected before and after the disaster.
The post-quake index for sentiment among big manufacturers was plus 6, the same reading that the full survey showed.
“The positive figure for March strikes me as a bit odd and it’s a bit difficult to believe,” said Koichi Ogawa from Daiwa SB Investments.
“I wonder if the impact of the disaster is really reflected in the result”.
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Ed Miliband is set to offer cross-party support if the government considers alternative proposals
David Cameron will be “betraying the trust” of voters if he pushes ahead with government proposals to reform the NHS in England, Ed Miliband is to say.
Labour’s leader will say contradictory briefings have led to a sense of “utter confusion” about the plans, which would give GPs new commissioning powers.
He is expected to offer cross-party co-operation to develop replacement plans.
Ministers say change is vital to secure the NHS’s future and are planning a campaign to reassure the public.
In a speech in London Mr Miliband is expected to criticise the way the government is planning to change the NHS – by scrapping primary care trusts and giving GP consortia that money to commission services.
“I believe David Cameron is betraying the trust he asked the public to put in him at the election,” he is expected to say.
The Labour leader will attack what he calls “horse trading” between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over the Health and Social Care Bill.
“Contradictory briefings to the newspapers from Tory sources, from Treasury sources, from health department sources and – in case we forgot – from the Lib Dems,” he will say.
“The government is utterly committed to the NHS and its principles”
Downing Street spokesman
“Each one adding to the sense of utter confusion and chaos about a bill that has completed its committee stage of the House of Commons.
“It is bad government. It is not how the future of the health service should be determined.”
He will urge the coalition to rip up the bill and say: “My commitment is this: if there is a genuine attempt to address the weaknesses of this top-down reorganisation, then my party will enter into a debate about a new plan with an open mind and accepting that any NHS plan must be delivered within a tight spending settlement.”
Ministers are understood to be preparing some changes to prevent unfair competition and to potentially make the new consortia more accountable.
But the prime minister and his deputy, Nick Clegg, are also preparing ready to defend the principles of the reforms.
They will use what Number 10 is calling a natural break in the bill’s progress through the Commons to reassure voters the changes are needed so the NHS can cope with an aging population and increased costs.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The government is utterly committed to the NHS and its principles. We are also committed to modernising the NHS. Progress on the ground continues to be impressive.
“The bill has now successfully finished committee stage in the Commons and there is a natural break before it moves to the Lords.
“We have always been prepared to listen, having already clarified that there is no question of privatisation and that competition will be based on quality, and will continue to do so.”
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