UK police charge Lankan with arson

U.K. police have charged a man with arson and affray after he reportedly tried to set himself on fire outside Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street offices.

Sivsubarmazam Loges-Waran, 41, of Gloucestershire in western England, is due in court Monday "charged with arson with intent to endanger life and affray following an incident at Downing Street" in London Saturday.

Police said that at about 4 p.m. (1600 GMT), a man had entered the private street "having poured liquid on himself."

A spokesman said he didn't actually set himself on fire and was subsequently arrested.

The Guardian newspaper reported that the man was a Tamil opposed to the Sri Lankan government's treatment of the country's Tamil population.

A police spokesman confirmed the suspect was of Asian appearance but gave no details.

A U.K. resident of Sri Lankan origin burned himself to death outside the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva Thursday in protest at the south Asian conflict, local police said.