WHO chief dies after emergency brain surgery

Dr Lee Jong-wook, head of the World Health Organisation, has died after emergency surgery for a blood clot in his brain over the weekend, officials in Geneva said today.

Lee, who spearheaded the UN health agency’s fight against the spread of bird flu and the preparations for a potential human influenza pandemic, died this morning, said South Korea’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Park Won-hwa. Lee was 61.