UN begins talks on Annan’s successor

THE US ambassador opened Security Council discussions on the next UN secretary-general calling the choice of a replacement for Kofi Annan probably the most important decision the world body will make this year.

US Ambassador John Bolton, council president this month, called a meeting of the five veto-wielding permanent members in New York “to get a sense of where the council is”.

Mr Annan’s second five-year term ends on December 31 and his successor must be recommended by the council whose permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - are divided on the issue.