World

More than 400 suspected Islamic militants were detained by Pakistani police, part of a crackdown ordered by President Pervez Musharraf to defuse the crisis with India. Musharraf banned five militant groups, among them two that India blames for an attack on its Parliament last month. He also announced new rules for mosques and religious schools. Indian officials welcomed the moves, but said Pakistan must stop militants from crossing the border to stage attacks before New Delhi would resume dialogue or reduce a massive troop buildup in the disputed Kashmir region. Left, a boy studies the Koran at a mosque in Islamabad.

Against that backdrop, Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji began a controversial trip to India. The most senior Chinese leader to visit in a decade arrived less than a week after Pakistan announced delivery of 40 Chinese-made F-7PG jet fighters. The six-day trip also sparked protests by India's large Tibetan exile community, who oppose Chinese rule of their homeland.

US-educated democracy activist Wang Ce was freed a year early from his four-year jail sentence by Chinese authorities. Wang's sister said he was en route to Spain, where he lived before entering China illegally in 1998. President Bush is due to visit China next month.

Marxist rebels have until 9:30 tonight to abandon their demilitarized zone, Colombian President Andres Pastrana said in a televised address. He rejected as "unsatisfactory," a proposal from the Revolutionary Armed Forces to revitalize stalled peace talks. Colombian troops and tanks were massing near the Switzerland-sized rebel enclave in the south of the country.

Iraqi newspapers denounced hints that the country may be the next target of the US counterterrorism campaign. Bush has warned Iraq, which the US lists as a sponsor of terrorism, to readmit UN weapons inspectors. A front-page editorial in al-Thawra, the ruling Baath Party newspaper, said US accusations that Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction are aimed at "achieving other goals." (Related story, page 1.)

Two men were arrested in connection with the killing of a Catholic postal worker in Northern Ireland, police said. Daniel McColgan was ambushed Saturday outside a mail sorting office in a Protestant neighborhood of north Belfast. A group calling itself the Red Hand Defenders claimed responsibility. Security officials say that is a cover name used by the Protestant Ulster Defense Association and the Loyalist Volunteer Force.