UN's Gambari to return to Asia, Burma

UNITED NATIONS - U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari will set off at the weekend for an Asian tour expected to culminate in his second visit to Myanmar since pro-democracy demonstrations erupted there, the United Nations said on Thursday.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to dispatch Gambari to Thailand, where he will hold talks on Monday, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan "with a view to returning to Burma shortly thereafter," a U.N. statement said.

Gambari, who returned from a four-day visit to Burma last week, had originally planned to make a second visit in mid-November, but that has now been brought forward. Western diplomats said they hoped Gambari would be in Burma by the end of October.