World

Protest: A Taiwanese tosses an egg at Japan's unofficial embassy in Taipei. The demonstration protested Japan's refusal to allow two Taiwanese ships to approach a disputed chain of islands claimed by Taiwan, Japan and China.

Rights group critical

of U.S. aid to Colombia

A report by a human-rights group criticizes the Bush administration for pumping military aid into Colombia to fight drug traffickers while ignoring human-rights violations. Americas Watch also accuses the Colombian government of failing to prosecute security-force members linked to drug traffickers and right-wing death squads.

TAXI DRIVER KILLED BY IRA: Two IRA gunmen shot and fatally wounded a taxi driver outside a hospital in Belfast today, then disappeared into traffic on a busy road, police said. The slaying was claimed by the mainly Catholic Irish Republican Army, which is fighting to end British rule in the mainly Protestant province and unite it with the overwhelmingly Catholic Irish Republic.

SUPPORT WITHDRAWN: The Hindu revivalist Bharatiya Janata Party today withdrew support from India's minority government to protest the arrest of BJP leader Lal Krishan Advani. The BJP deserted the government after the arrest early today of Advani, embroiled in a religious dispute over a plan to build a Hindu temple on the site of a mosque in Uttar Pradesh state. But Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh said he had not resigned despite the apparent loss of his parliamentary majority through the withdrawal of the BJP, which had kept his government in power.

JAPAN GETS TOUGH: Japanese authorities today warned leftist radicals of harsh repression if they tried to disrupt Emperor Akihito's enthronement Nov. 12. The Justice Ministry and National Public Safety Commission, in a cabinet-approved statement, warned ``criminal groups . . . to stop threatening the peace of Japanese nationals and to quit all illegal activities.'' Radical groups have warned they plan to break up the ceremony which more than 150 foreign dignitaries are expected to attend.

BHUTTO RALLY: A tumultuous procession of hundreds of thousands of Benazir Bhutto's supporters swept into the ancient city of Lahore last night in a dramatic conclusion to Pakistan's bitterly fought national election campaign. The mass emotions engendered by the charismatic Bhutto, dismissed as prime minister Aug. 6, humiliated her main opponent in tomorrow's election, Mian Nawaz Sharif. His nearby rally attracted only about 10,000 largely unenthusiastic spectators.

STRIKES IN FRANCE: Judges left their chambers to march in their robes and prison guards refused to escort inmates today as Justice Ministry employees in France staged a nationwide strike for better pay and conditions.

ANC PROPOSES MEETING: In a conciliatory move aimed at ending black factional fighting in South Africa, the African National Congress has proposed a meeting between Nelson Mandela and rival black leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In its statement, the ANC backed down from months of resistance to a Mandela-Buthelezi meeting.

TROOPS ON ALERT: The Philippines placed troops around the country on combat alert today as radical unions backed by communist guerrillas vowed to halt industries and transportation with a strike tomorrow. In stepped-up violence ahead of the strike, leftist rebels today bombed the offices of Caltex and Shell oil companies in Manila, causing minor damage and no casualties, police said.

Times news services