UN eyeing developments as Arafat reported ill - spokesman

The United Nations is closely following the situation in Ramallah, where Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat is reportedly ill, a UN spokesman said today.

Fred Eckhard told a press briefing in New York that the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, spent the day in Ramallah meeting with top Palestinian officials.

The envoy is also in close contact with officials inside the Mr. Arafat's headquarters, known as the Muqata, the spokesman added.