Mexico lifts restrictions on foreigners

The government in Mexico has lifted restrictions on foreigners doing research in the country.

The decision, by the newly-inaugurated president, Vicente Fox, eliminates the need for special visas for foreigners participating in fact-finding missions.

In recent years, Mexican organisations have invited hundreds of foreigners to observe the human rights situation in the southern state of Chiapas, where Zapatista rebels have led an uprising since 1994.

But some four-hundred foreigners have been expelled for their alleged participation in politics.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service