Clashes as UK parliament debates student fees, BAH News

Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in front of the British parliament in central London ahead of a vote on university tuition fees which will test the strength of the coalition government.
Demonstrators threw missiles and placards at police in the square in front of parliament. Mounted police then tried to break up the crowd in increasingly chaotic scenes.
Police said they had attempted to contain protesters in the square after flares, snooker balls and paint balls were thrown at them. The protesters tried to push the police back using metal barriers.
Commentators said the vote was the biggest challenge faced by the coalition during its seven months in office.
"The vote on tuition fees will be the first ... acid test of how the coalition holds together," said Ben Page, chief executive of pollsters Ipsos MORI.
The honeymoon is over for the coalition parties, he said, but securing recovery from recession is voters' biggest worry.
"Tuition fees may be a storm in a teacup ... the state of the economy is absolutely the issue," Page said.
Inside parliament, the government defended the plans ahead of the vote on an issue which has divided the coalition and already sparked violent protests in London last month.
The bill is expected to pass in a vote today evening, but some members of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the Conservative-led coalition, were expected to oppose it.
A handful of Conservatives may also rebel.