Police in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, say three people have been killed and at least forty-two wounded when bombs exploded on two crowded buses.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blasts, but the deputy defence minister Anuruddha Ratwatte has blamed Tamil Tiger separatists.

He said the Tigers were stepping up their attacks and he asked legislators to extend the nationwide state of emergency for a further month.

A further blast killed three policemen in the northern province of Jaffna when their vehicle hit a land mine. On Monday, bombs went off on two buses to the east of Colombo, killing one person and injuring about fifty others.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service