Sea Shepherd activists say they disrupted Japan's whale hunt in Antarctic waters

Environmental activists have declared an early success at the start of their annual high seas showdown with Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters.
The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Australia said its ships had split up the Japanese fleet in the Southern Ocean and chased it out of the main Antarctic zone.
"The whale poaching fleet is scattered and currently not hunting whales," Sea Shepherd said in a statement Monday.
But Japanese authorities say the hunt is still on.

Japan's fleet carries out an annual whale hunt despite a worldwide moratorium, taking advantage of a loophole in the law that permits the killing of the mammals for scientific research. Whale meat is commonly available for consumption in Japan.
Each year, environmental groups like Sea Shepherd pursue the Japanese hunters in an attempt to disrupt the whaling. The resulting confrontations have led to collisions of ships and the detention of activists.
Sea Shepherd said Monday that the Japanese fleet's harpoon ships are "separated by hundreds of miles." The factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, is "on the run," the environmental group claimed.
It said its three ships had ushered the Japanese fleet out of the Antarctic Treaty Zone, the internationally designated area below 60 degrees south latitude.
"Within a day and a half, we have the entire whaling fleet in disarray," said Siddarth Chakravarty, the captain of one of the Sea Shepherd ships.
Japan's Fisheries Agency, which oversees the annual hunt, said Tuesday that the whaling operation has not been halted.
It said the fleet remains in the Southern Ocean, which is generally considered to cover a similar area to the Antarctic Treaty Zone.
The agency declined to comment specifically on Sea Shepherd's claims or on the fleet's exact whereabouts.
On Monday, Sea Shepherd published photos and videos that it said showed three harpooned Minke whales lying on the deck of the Nisshin Maru and another being butchered.
The Australian government has challenged the Japanese whaling program in the International Court of Justice.
But the current hunt will continue, and Sea Shepherd activists say they'll continue to fight it.
"We have won this battle," said Adam Meyerson, another of the group's ship captains. "But the war for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary will wage on over the coming months."

Bangladesh ruling party wins elections marred by boycott, violence

The Bangladesh Awami League, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, won Sunday's parliamentary elections, which were marred by low turnout and violence and were boycotted by the largest opposition group and its allies.
At least three people were killed in post-election violence Monday between supporters of two rival candidates in Dohar, on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka, Dhaka district police Superintendent Habibur Rahman told CNN. In the Dohar district, Awami League candidate Abdul Mannan, a former land minister, was routed by Jatiya Party candidate Salma Islam.
At least 18 people were killed over the weekend as opposition activists clashed with police as they tried to foil the elections. More than 150 voting centers were burned.
According to the Election Commission, elections were held in only 147 districts Sunday. The candidates from 153 other districts were elected unopposed, as there were no opponents because of the boycott.

On Sunday, the Awami League won 105 seats, while the Jatiya Party, led by former President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, won 13 seats, according to the Election Commission's unofficial results.

Independent candidates won 13 seats, and other small parties won eight seats.
The Election Commission will hold new voting in eight districts where it suspended elections because of violence Sunday.
Including the results from unopposed elections, the Awami League has won 232 seats so far, and the Jatiya Party has won 33 seats.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and its allies boycotted elections and announced it would try to prevent voting with general strikes and road blockades.
The party on Sunday urged the government to cancel the election results and announce schedules for new elections under a neutral caretaker government.
Zia said she would not participate in elections unless they took place under a neutral caretaker government, but Hasina rejected the demand.