Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin leaves her hotel for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New York yesterday. - AP

NEW YORK (AP):

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who has not held a press conference in nearly four weeks of campaigning, yesterday banned reporters from her first meetings with world leaders, allowing access only to photographers and a television crew.

CNN, which was providing the television coverage for news organisations, decided to pull its TV crew, effectively denying Palin the high visibility she had sought.

Palin planned to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in New York yesterday as the United Nations General Assembly convenes this week. She also was expected to meet with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Not subject to discussion

Those sessions and meetings scheduled for today are part of the Republican campaign's effort to give Palin experience in foreign affairs. She has never met a foreign head of state and first travelled outside North America just last year.

The campaign told the TV producer and print and wire reporters in the press pool that follows the Alaska governor that they would not be admitted with the photographers and camera crew that were allowed to photograph the meetings. At least two news organisations, including The Associated Press, objected and were told that the decision was not subject to discussion.

Palin has been criticised for avoiding taking questions from reporters or submitting to one-on-one interviews. She has had just two major interviews since Republican presidential candidate John McCain chose her as his running mate on August 29.

On Wednesday, McCain and Palin were expected to meet jointly with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. Palin was then to meet separately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.