Ban Ki-moon prepares to take over as UN chief

Ban Ki-moon started a six-week transition for his new job as UN secretary-general, saying he plans to meet candidates for top jobs and hold wide-ranging talks in the US with ambassadors and UN officials.

The former South Korean foreign minister arrived in New York and went to UN headquarters for his first meeting with the president of the General Assembly, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, an office he knows well having served as chief of staff to one of her predecessors.