UN General Assembly (UNGA) opens its annual session in New York. UN Secy. Gen. Kofi Annan names Terje Larsen of Norway as UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace effort and as his personal envoy to the PLO/PA. Israel protests the appointment. (MM, WT 9/21; MENA, YA 9/21 in WNC 9/24; MM, WP 9/22)
On the sidelines of the UNGA mtg., Secy. of State Albright meets with a delegation of 16 Iraqi opposition leaders who are in New York to lobby for support of their efforts to overthrow Iraqi pres. Saddam Hussein. Albright urges other UN delegates to "join us in listening to these brave, free voices of Iraq." Of the 16, 13 are mbrs. of Iraqi National Congress (INC), 3 represent Kurdish groups. (MM 9/21, 9/24, 10/4)
Israel announces approval of some 14 military orders to seal off large areas of agricultural land belonging to some 79 Palestinian villages in the West Bank. (LAW 9/30; MEI 10/15; AYM 10/21 in WNC 10/25)