51 charged in Myanmar after protest

Myanmar residents shout slgans as they travel ahead of the funeral convoy for Tun Tun, a civilian who was killed in a rioting in Mandalay on July 4, 2014. Thousands of people, some wielding sticks, flooded Myanmar's second-largest city as tensions spiked during the funeral of a victim of Buddhist-Muslim clashes that have raised fears of spreading violence. Pix by AFP

YANGON: More than 50 Myanmar factory workers and labour rights protesters have been charged after scuffles broke out when they were blocked from marching into the capital, police said.

The arrests come as parliament, dominated by members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), debates possible changes to the laws on public demonstrations which allow police to clamp down on such protests.