Sri Lanka declares political emergency

Sri Lanka declared a national state of emergency, saying the opposition Freedom Party had told its members to kill the president and prime minister. A government spokesman said party supporters were also asked to prevent Parliament members from attending a session to debate a motion to strip former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and her nephew, also a former minister, of their civic rights. The motion followed a recommendation by a presidential commission investigating alleged misdeeds by Mrs. Bandaranaike's government.