Commonwealth meeting postponed

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane, Australia, next month has been postponed, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said today.

A statement from the Commonwealth Secretariat in London said the international meeting had been postponed due to the ‘‘likely absence of a significant number of leaders, due to unforeseen circumstances’’.

Nations were expected to discuss the US attacks at the meeting.

‘‘It is with a huge feeling of disappointment that I announce this decision, a feeling that I know will be shared right across the Commonwealth and beyond,’’ McKinnon said.

‘‘In these uncertain times it is easy to understand the desire of political leaders to be with their own people, in their own countries,’’ he said, in an apparent reference to the global political situation in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.

McKinnon said the Australian Prime Minister John Howard had said his country was keen to host the meeting early next year.

Speaking with reporters in Australia before the announcement, Howard said a cancellation would be ‘‘incredibly regrettable’’, but added: ‘‘It’s not something we can control.’’