World IN BRIEF : INDIA : Sikhs Kill 43 in Weekend Violence

Sikh extremists demanding independence for Punjab state killed at least 43 people in a series of weekend attacks, police and news agencies reported. At least 2,830 people have been killed by Sikh militants in Punjab so far this year. It is the highest yearly toll since the violent separatist campaign started in 1982. Among the weekend’s victims was the leader of a small, breakaway Sikh sect, shot to death as he delivered a sermon in a tent in the Hoshiarpur district. Five of his followers also were killed and several others wounded in the attack.