US official heads for Afghanistan

The United States Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill, will make his first trip to Afghanistan next week.

A Treasury spokeswoman said Mr O'Neill's visit would focus on the reconstruction of the Afghan economy and the distribution of international aid money.

She said Mr O'Neill believed that Afghanistan should be a model for effective use of development assistance.

Mr O'Neill will go on to Pakistan, before travelling to India to attend a meeting of the Group of Twenty (G-20) countries on 22 November.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service