'Tank fire' in Syria protest city

1 May 2011 Last updated at 13:50 GMT Security forces have been acting to quell six weeks of anti-government protests Syrian soldiers and tanks have been firing in the city of Deraa, a centre of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, residents say.

They say soldiers have made arrests and fired to keep people indoors.

Opposition websites are showing footage purportedly of a soldier who says he deserted after being ordered to fire on unarmed protesters in Damascus.

Activists say nearly 600 people have died in the crackdown on protests, which began in mid-March.

At least 66 protesters were reported to have been killed, most of them in Deraa, on Friday.

Activists said another six were killed on Saturday when the army seized control of a mosque which had become a centre for anti-government protests in the city.

Deraa has been the focus of government action against the protesters for the last week. Water, electricity and phone lines to the city have been cut.

State television said security forces came under attack on Saturday by "armed terrorists" in Deraa and Homs, Syria's third city.

President Assad's government blames militants and "external forces" for the unrest, which it says have left nearly 80 security personnel dead.

Foreign journalists are not being allowed into the country, and the exact picture of what is happening remains unclear.

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Besigye held over Uganda protest

11 April 2011 Last updated at 12:24 GMT Kizza Besigye has lost three elections to Yoweri Museveni Kizza Besigye and two other Ugandan opposition leaders have been arrested after calling for people to walk to work in protest at fuel price hikes.

A police spokeswoman said teargas was used to disperse a stone-throwing crowd which was blocking a road leading to the capital, Kampala.

A BBC reporter says dozens of people, including opposition MPs, were held.

Dr Besigye was defeated by President Yoweri Museveni in February's election but says the poll was rigged.

He has been defeated by Mr Museveni in three presidential elections, gaining 26% to the president's 68% in February.

The pair used to be allies - Dr Besigye was once Mr Museveni's personal physician.

The BBC's Joshua Mmali says Dr Besigye was arrested after he sat down in the road, when police told him the mass walk was illegal.

As he was arrested, he told KFM radio: "We condemn this blatant abuse of human rights and use of violence on innocent people," reports the Reuters news agency.

A police spokeswoman told the BBC that Mr Besigye would be charged with obstruction of traffic and defying lawful authority.

Democratic Party leader Norbert Mao was also arrested as he walked to work.

John Ken Lukyamuzi of the Conservative Party was picked up off the streets and placed under house arrest.

Before February's election, Dr Besigye had called for Egypt-style uprisings in case of fraud.

The police responded by banning public demonstrations.

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Teachers in protest over violence

7 April 2011 Last updated at 07:25 GMT Pupil behaviour was rated as good by Ofsted in an inspection last June Teachers have gone on strike protesting over violence, threats and "poor management" at a Lancashire school.

Staff at Darwen Vale High School in Darwen said they have a lack of backing from management when they confront bad behaviour from pupils.

The teachers formed a picket line outside the 1,100-pupil school during the one-day walkout on Thursday.

Head teacher Hilary Torpey said management was in talks with the unions over how to better support staff.

The unions say pupils' behaviour includes challenging teachers to fights, pushing and shoving staff, pupils making malicious allegations, constant swearing, and filming lessons on mobiles and threatening to post them online.

'Last resort'

There have also been problems with cyber bullying and pornography, it is claimed. And it is alleged that when teachers confiscated pupils' phones they have then been returned by management, leaving staff "totally undermined".

Continue reading the main story

The vast majority of pupils at Darwen Vale behave well and take their education seriously”

End Quote Hilary Torpey Head teacher Members of the National Association of Schoolteachers/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) are on strike.

The dispute is also supported by members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the support staff's union, Unison.

Parents of children at the school have been told no classes will be held during the walkout.

Avis Gilmore, secretary of Lancashire NUT, said: "There is obviously a problem, it is the last resort for teachers to go on strike.

"It is necessary to make the management understand the problem."

Head teacher Ms Torpey, who began her first full academic year at the school in September, said she was disappointed with the strike.

"My main priority is around the wellbeing and education of our pupils and the best interests of the school. I want to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum," she said.

"I am disappointed that the trade unions have chosen to take this action. The vast majority of pupils at Darwen Vale behave well and take their education seriously.

"We are in discussions with the unions and with the staff around how we can best resolve this situation so that staff feel well supported when they do need to deal with behaviour issues."

In its latest Ofsted inspection in June 2010, Darwen Vale was rated as a good school where pupils' behaviour was also given a good rating.

Currently, pupils are being taught temporarily at former Holden Fold school buildings, which have a capacity of only 800.

The original Darwen Vale High School is being rebuilt under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

The new £18m school is scheduled to open in September 2012.

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Actors protest over art funding

8 April 2011 Last updated at 10:24 GMT Sir Patrick Stewart (centre) and Samuel West (r) are among actors against arts cuts

Some of the UK's leading actors have gathered in London to protest against the recent round of Arts cuts.

Sir Patrick Stewart, Penelope Wilton and Samuel West are among the stars who have signed and delivered a petition to Downing Street calling for a "coherent" arts policy.

Last week, more than 200 organisations lost out on annual funding from Arts Council England.

Sir Patrick told the BBC he felt the cuts were "unnecessary".

The petition asks the government for an "arts summit" involving funding bodies and artists to give the industry a clear direction.

"We don't know what policy exists," said Sir Patrick. "We know that we represent part of British culture, which is a massive success. It seems as though we're just adrift."

Some 695 groups will get funding for 2012 to 2015 - down from 849 - while 110 new groups have been successful.

West said the arts industry was the "second most profitable sector in Britain" and it was important funding continued to keep the sector going.

"It ain't broke, so don't fix it, a £100 million cut to a £450 million budget is not minor," he added.

"We want a government funded Arts Council that allows us to be as successful as we are at the moment and continue to play our part in paying for hospital beds. We're profitable. We want to continue to be.

"I would accept the need for cuts if they were equal across sectors but I don't think banks are paying their due."

Meanwhile, Sky has launched a £1.2 million fund, which is aimed at supporting arts organisations across the UK.

The Sky Arts Ignition Series, will pledge up to £200,000 to six arts organisations over the next three years.

Each of the projects created from the money will be promoted on Sky Arts.

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Yemen confirms 'right to protest'

24 February 2011 Last updated at 08:20 GMT Anti-government protesters believe the concessions offered do not go far enough Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has ordered his security forces to offer "full protection" to anti- and pro-government demonstrators alike.

He has also instructed forces to prevent direct confrontation between the two sides, according to an official statement.

Since the unrest began two weeks ago, 15 people have reportedly been killed.

Nine members of the ruling party have quit over the government's handling of the protests.

"Late this evening.. Saleh instructed all security services to thwart all clashes and prevent direct confrontation between pro- and anti-government demonstrators," read the statement, relayed by the Yemeni embassy in Washington.

"The government... will continue to protect the rights of its citizens to assemble peacefully and their right to freedom of expression."

On Wednesday security forces used tear gas and fired bullets in the air to disperse protesters in Aden, and two demonstrators were reported to have been killed during an attack on a sit-in in the capital, Sanaa.

Continue reading the main story President Ali Abdullah Saleh in power since 1978Population 24.3m; land area 536,869 sq kmThe population has a median age of 17.9, and a literacy rate of 61%Youth unemployment is 15%Gross national income per head is $1,060 (World Bank 2009)Thousands have demonstrated daily in these and other Yemeni cities over the past few weeks, demanding that the president step down and that unemployment and corruption be tackled.

They have been confronted not only by security forces but also by armed government loyalists staging counter-protests.

President Saleh has made some concessions to the opposition and promised to step down when his term ends in 2013 but that has not been enough for the protesters.

The president has been in power since 1978, and has faced a separatist movement in the south, a branch of al-Qaeda, and a periodic conflict with Shia tribes in the north.

Yemen is one of a number of countries in the region that have seen an increase in unrest since uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia unseated the presidents there.

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Bolivia leader flees food protest

11 February 2011 Last updated at 01:45 GMT Mr Morales is facing rising discontent over food shortages Bolivian President Evo Morales has abandoned a public event in the face of an angry protests over food shortages and price rises.

Mr Morales was due to address a parade to commemorate a colonial-era uprising in the mining city of Oruro.

But he and his team left the city to avoid a violent demonstration by miners throwing dynamite.

There have also been protests in other Bolivian cities over the shortage of sugar and other basic foodstuffs.

Mr Morales cut short his visit and returned to La Paz after protesters set off explosions close to where he was preparing to give a speech in Oruro, the capital of his home province in western Bolivia.

"The government took the decision not to respond to shameful provocations of this kind," presidential spokesman Ivan Canelas said.

Wave of protest

Setting off dynamite is a common feature of trade union protests in Bolivia, where the explosive is widely available to miners, but injuries are rare.

In the eastern city of Santa Cruz - an opposition stronghold - protesters blocked the road to the airport to demand the government scrap an agency set up to promote food production.

The protesters say the agency - known as Emapa - is inefficient and discourages private commerce.

Smaller protests were also staged in La Paz and the central city of Cochabamba, although marches were called off because of bad weather.

President Morales is facing a wave of protest over rising food and transport costs and a shortage of sugar.

The left-wing leader's popularity has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year, when he abandoned plans to cut fuel subsidies in the face of popular protests.

Some of the protests have been led by social movements that supported Mr Morales as he rose from being a radical peasant leader to win election as Bolivia's first indigenous president in 2005.

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