The World : Bangladesh Rivals Curbed

Bangladesh’s martial-law government placed the two main opposition leaders under house arrest on the last day of campaigning for Wednesday’s presidential election after they urged a boycott of the polls. The two women, Sheik Hasina, leader of the Awami League, and Khaleda Zia, head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, were prevented from addressing rallies in Dhaka, the capital. The campaigning has been marred by scattered incidents of violence. President Hussain Mohammed Ershad, who seized power in a 1983 coup, is one of 11 candidates for president.