The World : 50 Are Slain in Sri Lanka

About 50 people were killed in Sri Lanka in the worst single day of violence in the campaign for Feb. 15 parliamentary elections, police in the Asian island nation reported. Military sources said troops will help protect candidates. The dead included a candidate and five members of his family. Eight candidates and several of their supporters have been killed so far since the campaign began Jan. 10. In most of the killings, victims were dragged from their homes and shot. Police blamed the attacks on a left-wing, mainly Sinhalese, group based in the south. Rival political groups could also be responsible, analysts said.