World leaders invited to E. Timor

UNITED NATIONS: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has invited the leaders of all 189 UN Member States -- the Holy See and Switzerland -- to attend the May 20 ceremony marking the independence of East Timor.

United Nations Information Center in Jakarta said in its release on Friday that East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos- Horta had left Dili for New York to attend a Security Council meeting on the future of UN involvement in the new nation.

The Council is scheduled to discuss the current situation in East Timor on Jan. 30. It will hear from Ramos-Horta and Sergio Vieira de Mello, the head of the UN Transitional Administration in the territory (UNTAET). Both will request an extension of UNTAET's mandate to May 20 and May present plans for the transition to independence and the launch of UN' s successor mission in East Timor.

Ramos-Horta is also expected to attend the World Economic Forum's annual meeting and deliver a speech at a gala event hosted by the Ford Foundation. -- JP