Kofi Annan off to Africa

The United Nations has announced that the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, will visit four African countries and two peacekeeping operations next month.

The eleven-day trip will begin in Sierra Leone, where the largest United Nations peacekeeping force is based.

Mr Annan's visit will also include Benin, and four days in Ethiopia and Eritrea, where he will visit members of the UN military observer force monitoring the ceasefire. The secretary general's tour will end in Sicily, where he will attend the signing ceremony for the new United Nations treaty on combatting transnational crime

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service