Lanka poll violence

COLOMBO: A key opposition activist in Sri Lanka was targeted at home by a bomb attack Friday as violence escalated ahead of next week’s presidential election. The pre-dawn blast destroyed a car and severely damaged the home of Tiran Alles, a wealthy businessman and key ally of the opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. He and his family escaped unhurt. The opposition alleged Alles had been targeted because Fonseka’s campaign had released a photograph of Rajapakse’s eldest son Namal with a Tamil rebel leader at a London nightclub.

Swine flu toll 14,142

GENEVA: The death toll from the swine flu pandemic has risen to at least 14,142, up 588 from a week ago, the World Health Organisation said on Friday. Announcing its latest data on the dread of A(H1N1) virus, the UN health body said North Africa, South Asia and limited areas of Eastern Europe were now seeing the most intense transmission of the virus. Since the virus first appeared in Mexico last year, the Americas have recorded the greatest number of fatalities, with at least 7,094 deaths.