Sri Lanka arrests Communist leaders

The Sri Lankan government arrested the leaders of the outlawed pro-Moscow Communist Party. The leaders of two other banned leftist parties have gone underground. The government had accused an unnamed foreign power of instigating riots last week between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils.

The government also expelled United Press International reporter Stewart Slavin for alleged violations of recently imposed censorship rules.

In the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a general strike protesting ethnic violence in Sri Lanka closed businesses, schools, and government offices and halted transportation. The Indian state has strong ethnic links with northern Sri Lanka, which is dominated by Tamils.