Blast in eastern Sri Lanka, 8 dead

Colombo: A blast in a town in eastern Sri Lanka killed at least eight people on Friday, the military said, a day before the first provincial council elections in the region in two decades.

"There has been an explosion in Ampara town a little while ago," said a military spokesman. "There are eight bodies on the spot."

Authorities have tightened security for the polls in the districts of Trincomalee, Ampara and Batticaloa on Saturday.

The elections come amid intensified fighting between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels.