COURT: END DRUG SPRAYING

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A Colombian court ordered the government Thursday
to suspend its U.S.-backed drug crop eradication program until more is
known about the effects the sprayed herbicide on human health and the
environment.

Government officials said they would appeal the ruling, and press on with
spraying.

The ruling was announced Thursday in a lawsuit filed by lawyer Claudia
Sampedro, who said she was pleased the tribunal recognized Colombians'
right to a "clean environment."

Colombian and U.S. officials have given repeated assurances that the
chemical used, a variant of the popular backyard fertilizer Roundup, is
ecologically harmless.