News Headlines - 02 February 2014

▽Thailand goes to polls after Bankok gun battle - FT.com

Thailand went to the polls on Sunday amid heavy security, less than 24 hours after a Bangkok gun battle highlighted the potential for violence around a contentious election that opposition protesters have vowed to derail.

▽A night of protests in Athens | euronews

The Greek ultranationalist Golden Dawn party has said it will find a way to contest local and European elections in May despite a crackdown on the party.
Around 3000 supporters gathered in Athens to mark the anniversary of a 1996 dispute between Greece and Turkey but the gathering soon turned into a protest over the detention of party leader Nikos Mihaloliakos and five other lawmakers on charges of running a criminal gang .

▽BBC News - Ireland's rural protests over wind energy

Turbines up to 180m (590ft) tall - half the height of the Empire State Building - are cropping up as part of a drive to meet EU green energy targets and generate 40% of Ireland's electricity from wind.
Revenue, too, will flow by exporting power to Britain under inter-governmental plans.

▽BBC News - Councils failing to change misleading bus lane signs

Some councils are refusing to change misleading signs on roads warning people not to drive into bus lanes - despite motorists successfully appealing against fines.

▽BBC News - Woody Allen accused of sex abuse by adopted daughter

The adopted daughter of Woody Allen has renewed claims the filmmaker "sexually abused" her as a child in 1992.
In an open letter, Dylan Farrow accuses Allen of molesting her in a "dim, closet-like attic" at the age of seven.
Ms Farrow, now 28, also criticises Hollywood's continued celebration of "a predator [who] brought chaos into our home".