Tight security in Dhaka over strike call

Security was tight on the streets of Dhaka, early this morning, the day of a nation-wide strike called by an opposition alliance demanding an independent administration to oversee elections due next year. Police officers were seen deployed across the city to prevent gatherings, following clashes on December 9 between police and protesters. Police sealed off the headquarters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has called the nation-wide strike. Late on December 10, further trouble erupted when activists set fire to a bus in Dhaka. On Sunday, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters staging blockades across Bangladesh as part of the opposition campaign.