Colombian presidential election campaign questioned

The congress in Colombia has announced an investigation into the financing of president Andres Pastrana's election campaign two yeas ago.

Opposition politicians have called on Mr Pastrana to explain donations made to his campaign by a powerful Colombian businessman, who later received millions of dollars from Mr Pastrana's government.

The money was compensation for government contracts which were later scrapped.

Shortly before Mr Pastrana was defeated in elections in 1994, he accused his rival, Ernesto Samper, of financing his campaign with money from the Cali drug cartel, a charge that dogged Mr Samper throughout his term in office.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service