The World : Strikes Cripple Bangladesh

Strikes shut Bangladesh’s newspapers, hospitals and universities, stirring fears of violence ahead of the presidential election next month. Autonomy for the nation’s six universities was demanded by striking teachers, who see this as a way to end campus violence. The teachers also want higher pay. All medical services except hospital emergency care were halted by striking doctors, who seek better jobs for new medical graduates. Striking journalists insist on the reopening of the Bangladesh Observer, the leading English-language daily, closed in June after a pay dispute. Observers said that strikes by key professionals could cast a shadow over the Oct. 15 election, when opposition groups plan a general strike.