World News from the BBC
Ash particles drifting across the Pacific Ocean from a volcanic eruption in Chile are causing further
disruption
to airlines in New Zealand and eastern Australia. It's the first time Australian flights have been affected by volcanic activity for 20 years, and it's feared they could be grounded for days. Matt Wardell is a spokesman for Airservices Australia, which manages the country's air traffic.
"It's going to be a pretty
hairy
24 hours down here in the southeastern Australia and particularly (in) across to New Zealand. We've had a couple of hundred flights cancelled or diverted, or certainly looking at having that number affected over the next 24 hours and somewhere, somewhere north and 20,000 passengers affected."
The government of Bangladesh is defending its first ever use of mobile courts to give on-the-spot prison sentences during the current general strike. The main opposition party says about 50 activists were sent to prison by the courts. Anbarasan Ethirajan reports from the capital Dhaka.
Mobile courts are used to punish those found guilty of damaging public property or preventing police from carrying out their duties. The home minister has said that they wanted to give immediate punishment to those indulging in violence. Opposition leaders who called the strike say the instant courts are not giving the accused their proper chance to defend themselves. Sultana Kamal, a leading human rights activist, says the system could be misused by political parties, especially by the ruling party.