New Colombian defence minister appointed

The President of Colombia, Andres Pastrana, has named the country's vice-president, Gustavo Bell Lemus, as the new minister of defence.

Mr Bell will be in charge of overseeing the American-backed efforts to combat the illegal drug trade - also known as Plan Colombia.

He will replace Luis Fernando Ramirez, who resigned on Friday without explanation.

But reports from Colombia suggest Mr Ramirez left his post to mount a political campaign for the 2002 presidential elections.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service