Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations

Recognizing the need to sustain the achievements of the past two and a half years in East Timor, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended a continued United Nations presence for two years after the territory's independence in May.

More than 320,000 Afghans have returned home from neighbouring countries in less than two months, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which assists with the repatriation effort.

The head of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor has received the certified results of the territory's recent presidential election, which former guerrilla fighter and independence leader Xanana Gusmão won in a landslide.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's proposal for a multinational force in the Middle East would help restore trust between the Israelis and Palestinians that is essential for ensuring the security goals of both sides and restarting the political process, Mr. Annan's top envoy to the region said today.

The process of demarcating common land borders between Indonesia and East Timor is slated to begin next week, the United Nations mission in the soon-to-be independent nation said today.

The security situation in the key Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif is "fragile but improving," paving the way for the return of international relief personnel, a United Nations spokesman said today.

Logistical constraints will push a planned meeting of Afghan factions in Bonn back from Monday to Tuesday, a United Nations spokesman announced today.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched its first air operation from Tajikistan into Afghanistan in an effort to bring urgently needed aid to more than 274,000 desperately hungry people in remote locations across the northeastern part of the country.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy to Myanmar is scheduled to visit the country at the end of this month to help facilitate the talks between the Government and opposition leaders, a UN spokesman announced today.

Stressing the need to capitalize on the current attention to Afghanistan in order to fund its recovery, the top United Nations development official today reported widespread agreement among donors on the urgency of this task.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan today completed a mission to Kabul, where he held talks with leading officials in advance of next week's meeting in Bonn of various Afghan factions.

Leaders of the United Front have indicated that women will be able to fully participate in Afghan society, a senior United Nations official reported today.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today said it would resume badly needed food aid shipments to Afghanistan suspended in the wake of the 11 September attacks against the United States.