Suicide Bomber Kills 12, Self Near Rally

One day after Sri Lanka abandoned a peace initiative with separatist Tamil rebels, a suicide bomber set off an explosion near an election rally, killing himself and 12 others. Police said 45 people were wounded in the attack in Medawachchiya, 120 miles northeast of Colombo, the capital. Tissa Karaliyadda, a deputy minister, narrowly escaped the blast. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but a police officer said it bore the hallmark of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. On Wednesday, the government said it was shelving a Norwegian-brokered peace initiative.