https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/60278/feed Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Born in South Korea in 1944, Ban has served both as president’s foreign policy and national security adviser. His major initiatives at the UN include chairing the 2007 Climate Change Summit; advocating for women’s rights and gender equality; setting up a disarmament agenda to maintain nuclear safety security; and seeking new measures to ensure United Nations’ operations are more transparent. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan Former South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha could soon be named South Korea’s ambassador to Washington, reflecting Seoul’s urgent need for seasoned diplomacy in light of an increasingly unpredictable US foreign policy, sources familiar with the matter said. If confirmed, Kang, now the president of Asia Society, a New York-based think tank focused on promoting US-Asian cooperation, would be the first woman to hold the post, which has been vacant since July. An experienced diplomat with... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322896/kang-kyung-wha-seen-likely-choice-south-koreas-next-envoy-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/us/diplomacy/article/3322896/kang-kyung-wha-seen-likely-choice-south-koreas-next-envoy-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 21:20:22 +0000 Li Cheng,Zhang Chi (張馳) Li Cheng,Zhang Chi (張馳) USAID, long one of the foremost tools of US soft power, ended its six decades as an independent agency on July 1, with no details on how it had been reviewed disclosed. Meanwhile, the China-initiated International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed), made a high-profile debut in Hong Kong in May. Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the inauguration and stressed looking for ways to resolve issues “so as to lend our thoughts to countries seeking to resolve problems or disagreements with others”. This... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3317250/hong-kong-uniquely-placed-help-fill-global-public-goods-gap-left-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/china-opinion/article/3317250/hong-kong-uniquely-placed-help-fill-global-public-goods-gap-left-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2025 01:30:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The world is facing complex global challenges in acute need of solutions, from forging peace where there is war, to tackling climate change and combating poverty. Urgent solutions are needed, but they will only be possible if nations overcome their differences and work together for the common good. Former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Hong Kong recently, made a timely call for solidarity in what he aptly described as “an unprecedented era of new, interconnected crises and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3316944/more-ever-we-need-un-can-tackle-global-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/comment/article/3316944/more-ever-we-need-un-can-tackle-global-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 15:15:40 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang A former UN secretary general has called for an overhaul of the United Nations to better confront global challenges as “some powerful nations” seek to undermine the institution. Ban Ki-moon, who was secretary general of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016, said in Hong Kong on Tuesday that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza showed the need for a multilateral response. “The illegal Russian war against Ukraine and the horrific war in Gaza represent one of the most dangerous moments for global... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3315340/un-needs-overhaul-take-todays-global-challenges-former-chief-ban-ki-moon-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/diplomacy/article/3315340/un-needs-overhaul-take-todays-global-challenges-former-chief-ban-ki-moon-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2025 11:50:46 +0000 Alexander Görlach Alexander Görlach Growing up in West Germany in the 1980s, America was omnipresent. Aside from Hollywood and Coca-Cola, there was one US brand that stood out: Harvard. The university’s name stood on a par with the highest echelons of knowledge. In high school, we learned about Ivy League institutions and, like other nerdy kids across the planet, I dreamed about being a student at Harvard and being immersed in deep conversations about the most crucial questions concerning human existence. Fast forward 20-something... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3313050/harvard-trumps-mind-bears-little-resemblance-reality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/world-opinion/article/3313050/harvard-trumps-mind-bears-little-resemblance-reality?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jun 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Paul Lam Ting-kwok Paul Lam Ting-kwok The signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation will be held in Hong Kong this Friday. It will be of extraordinary historical significance for the world, the country and Hong Kong. The peaceful settlement of international disputes is a fundamental principle of international law and relations. Both the UN Charter (Article 33) and the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3312114/hong-kongs-role-global-mediation-hub-will-bring-untold-benefits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3312114/hong-kongs-role-global-mediation-hub-will-bring-untold-benefits?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 May 2025 00:30:08 +0000 China’s recent third plenum highlighted the importance of making the country a champion of innovation through generating disruptive technology and scaling up into high-end manufacturing. Many, however, focused on doubts over China keeping its doors open and questioned if it was too focused on national – or political – security. Even before the meeting of China’s top leaders had concluded, pessimism had surfaced over the possibility of concrete and effective solutions to revitalise China’s... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3272846/hong-kongs-health-diplomacy-could-debunk-idea-china-turning-inward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3272846/hong-kongs-health-diplomacy-could-debunk-idea-china-turning-inward?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2024 07:30:12 +0000 The “Doomsday Clock” symbolising the perils to humanity moved on Tuesday to its closest ever to midnight amid the Ukraine war, nuclear tensions and the climate crisis. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which describes the clock as a “metaphor for how close humanity is to self-annihilation”, edged its hands from 100 seconds to midnight to 90 seconds to midnight. A decision to reset the hands of the symbolic timepiece is taken each year by the Bulletin’s science and security board and its... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3207897/doomsday-clock-moves-closest-ever-midnight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/3207897/doomsday-clock-moves-closest-ever-midnight?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2023 16:31:10 +0000 Haiti on Sunday said at least seven people have died of cholera in a surprise return of the disease that comes as the nation is paralysed by a gang blockade that has triggered shortages of fuel and clean drinking water. The disease killed some 10,000 people through a 2010 outbreak that has been blamed on a United Nations peacekeeping force. The Pan American Health Organization in 2020 said Haiti had gone a year with no confirmed cholera cases. “According to the information we have, the number of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/americas/article/3194611/cholera-kills-least-seven-haiti-disease-returns-nation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/americas/article/3194611/cholera-kills-least-seven-haiti-disease-returns-nation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Oct 2022 21:30:37 +0000 Maybe the United Nations – fumbling, hopelessly bureaucratic, partly corrupt and so on – is in fact beyond redemption. Just forget about it: let it career down the slippery slope of mediocrity and geopolitical irrelevance and splash ignominiously into New York’s East River. Let’s just cut our losses and bail out before its collapse pulls the world into a deep and dark abyss. Maybe the UN was never going to save the world. Without the United States as a member, the League of Nations flopped... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/opinion/article/3142513/who-can-save-waning-united-nations-not-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/opinion/article/3142513/who-can-save-waning-united-nations-not-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jul 2021 19:30:18 +0000 A long way from Oz: I was born in Sydney in 1975. My father was a partner in an accounting firm and my mother was in PR, and they had a very comfortable life. When I was three and my younger brother was one, we moved to the Philippines, where my parents were involved in helping people in need across Asia. My family did extensive travel to the former Soviet bloc and I spent a lot of time as a little kid in Romania, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia, attached to a medical team, so I saw a lot of... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/post-magazine/article/3135102/ngo-head-who-got-richard-branson-ban-ki-moon-live-refugees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/post-magazine/article/3135102/ngo-head-who-got-richard-branson-ban-ki-moon-live-refugees?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 May 2021 09:15:11 +0000 Humanity’s experience of the Covid-19 pandemic during the past year has prompted an elemental reappraisal of our common priorities. The very air we breathe has taken on greater personal significance and symbolism. The face masks we have come to wear to protect against transmission of the virus are a tangible sign of adaptation and sacrifice for the common good. We recognise that, to breathe freely again, we need to work together in a sustained manner with maximum resources, placing our common... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/opinion/article/3129313/climate-change-china-japan-and-south-korea-must-work-together-end?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/opinion/article/3129313/climate-change-china-japan-and-south-korea-must-work-together-end?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Apr 2021 01:15:17 +0000 I am writing in response to “At 75, is the United Nations still relevant or necessary?” (September 20). As we mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, we shouldn’t focus just on the failures, but also remember one of the first great successes of the body: its decision to defend South Korea against North Korean aggression in 1950. That decision shows how states can choose to use the organisation not as a political tool for obstruction, but as a mechanism for... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/letters/article/3102822/70-years-seoul-win-korean-war-un-remains-relevant-ever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/letters/article/3102822/70-years-seoul-win-korean-war-un-remains-relevant-ever?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2020 11:00:16 +0000 With droughts and floods occurring with increasing frequency in Chinese cities, Beijing has been taking active steps to tap foreign expertise in tackling climate change, most recently with the launch of the first regional office of the Dutch Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA). Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Rotterdam-based GCA, said the China office would support scaled-up and transformative adaptation initiatives across Asia, and facilitate knowledge sharing and actions around the world. “The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3017761/china-taps-global-expertise-climate-change-battle-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/politics/article/3017761/china-taps-global-expertise-climate-change-battle-against?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jul 2019 22:30:08 +0000 China must urgently consider cutting its oil exports to North Korea by at least half to force the isolated regime to “change course” on its nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes, the former secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has said. Ban’s comments in an exclusive interview with This Week in Asia echoed US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who on Tuesday said further unilateral Chinese oil sanctions – which would go beyond those mandated by current UN resolutions – were... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2124193/china-should-cut-oil-exports-north-korea-half-ban-ki-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2124193/china-should-cut-oil-exports-north-korea-half-ban-ki-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2017 11:48:24 +0000 South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Sunday nominated a former navy chief as his defence minister, the president’s office said, as the government faces challenges tackling North Korea’s rapidly developing weapons programme. The nominee, Song Young-moo, was well suited to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat, the presidential Blue House office said. Under third-generation leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace in an effort to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2097842/south-korea-names-new-defence-minister-days-after-north-tests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2097842/south-korea-names-new-defence-minister-days-after-north-tests?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jun 2017 09:38:50 +0000 Former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon abruptly ended his attempt to seek South Korea’s presidency Wednesday, dropping a lifetime of diplomacy to denounce his country’s political establishment. Ban returned home last month after a decade in New York and was widely expected to run in elections due this year, but his putative candidacy ran into a series of stumbles and he struggled for backing. “I will give up my pure intention to bring about a change in politics under my leadership... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2067158/ban-ki-moon-says-he-will-not-run-south-korea-presidency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2067158/ban-ki-moon-says-he-will-not-run-south-korea-presidency?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Feb 2017 06:39:55 +0000 It has been an inauspicious return to crisis-plagued South Korea for former UN chief Ban Ki-moon, once the odds-on favourite to be the next president, who has been ensnared in a family corruption scandal and struggled with a sceptical press. Ban, 72, has been unable to capitalise on his much-anticipated homecoming after a decade as secretary-general of the United Nations in New York. I was impatient and had passion for wanting to go and meet the people as soon as I could, so there were little... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2064964/scandal-gaffes-hurt-former-un-chief-bans-presidential-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2064964/scandal-gaffes-hurt-former-un-chief-bans-presidential-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2017 08:03:16 +0000 The US government has asked South Korea to arrest a brother of former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme to carry out the sale of a Vietnamese building complex, a US prosecutor said on Friday. During a court hearing in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant US Attorney Daniel Noble said that a request had been made for the arrest of Ban Ki-sang, who was an executive at South Korean construction firm Keangnam Enterprises. Noble said the United States... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2064228/us-asks-south-korea-arrest-brother-former-un-chief-ban-ki-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2064228/us-asks-south-korea-arrest-brother-former-un-chief-ban-ki-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jan 2017 07:11:25 +0000 Retired UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon returned to South Korea on Thursday as momentum builds around his possible run in elections to succeed impeached President Park Geun-hye. “I have seriously considered and thought about how I can put my experience and knowledge as a UN Security Council General to best use,” Ban said in televised remarks after his arrival. Speaking before a crowd of hundreds at Incheon International Airport, Ban said he was prepared to meet with the public this week before... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2061621/cometh-hour-cometh-ban-former-un-chief-returns-south-korea-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2061621/cometh-hour-cometh-ban-former-un-chief-returns-south-korea-after?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jan 2017 10:11:09 +0000 A US bribery case against two relatives has cast a pall over former United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon’s planned return this week to South Korea, where he is expected to launch a bid to run for president. Ban, 72, has not declared his candidacy but has had a team of people laying groundwork in Seoul ahead of his planned arrival in South Korea on Thursday afternoon. The former foreign minister consistently polls as a top candidate as South Korea braces for the possibility of an early election... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2061233/relatives-us-bribery-case-rains-ex-un-chiefs-homecoming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2061233/relatives-us-bribery-case-rains-ex-un-chiefs-homecoming?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2017 08:30:46 +0000 There is no more demanding job in the world than secretary general of the United Nations. Former Portuguese leader and head of the UN refugee agency Antonio Guterres took over the job from Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, and expectations are high he can mend an organisation that many believe is dysfunctional and ineffective. He has been left a daunting to-do list: aside from wars and threats, the deep divide persists between developing and developed countries on a host of issues and there is an urgent... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/2059078/united-nations-needs-strong-leadership-guterres-can-bring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/2059078/united-nations-needs-strong-leadership-guterres-can-bring?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jan 2017 18:11:46 +0000 Ban Ki-moon ended 10 years at the helm of the UN lamenting the “fires still burning” from Syria to South Sudan but buoyed by a global agreement to combat climate change and new UN goals to fight poverty and inequality. As Ban he left UN headquarters on Friday for the last time as secretary-general, he told staff that he feels “like Cinderella – tomorrow at midnight, everything changes”. Ban will be replaced by former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres. Keep the focus on people – on... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2058401/thank-you-un-chief-ban-ki-moon-bids-colleagues-staff?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2058401/thank-you-un-chief-ban-ki-moon-bids-colleagues-staff?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Dec 2016 03:45:00 +0000 By Lee Jin-a U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has denied any involvement with the Shincheonji cult after video footage showed him with the head of an affiliated group.   On December 10 and 17, International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG), the Shincheonji-affiliated organisation, uploaded promotional videos in English and Arabic on YouTube. In the footage, Ban appears smiling and holding hands with Kim Nam-hee, the IWPG head. In the English video, IWPG says: “On International Women’s Day each year,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2058162/ban-ki-moon-appears-korean-cult-affiliates-pr-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2058162/ban-ki-moon-appears-korean-cult-affiliates-pr-video?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Dec 2016 05:00:00 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed mounting speculation that he will run for president of South Korea on Friday, saying he will decide how to best help his country when he returns home in early January after 10 years as UN chief. Ban told his final UN press conference that after taking some rest he plans to meet “as many people as possible”, including political leaders, members of civil society and his friends. I will really consider seriously how best and what I should and I could do... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2055451/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-addresses-speculation-hell-run-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/east-asia/article/2055451/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-addresses-speculation-hell-run-president?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2016 10:00:30 +0000 The largest gathering of world leaders on climate change opened at the United Nations yesterday, facing calls for action to put the planet on course towards reversing global warming. "Today, we must set the world on a new course," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told leaders from 120 countries. "I am asking you to lead." The one-day meeting is the first high-level gathering since the Copenhagen conference on climate change ended in disarray in 2009. Diplomats and climate activists see the event... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1599076/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-calls-world-leaders-act-now-global-warming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1599076/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-calls-world-leaders-act-now-global-warming?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Sep 2014 20:30:45 +0000 The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, summed up the mood of foreboding hanging over the UN headquarters as it prepares to welcome more than 140 heads of state for the annual UN General Assembly this week. The world, he said, was "living in an era of unprecedented level of crises". Ebola, Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Gaza, South Sudan, Central African Republic: the list of crises is daunting, and the nadir in relations between Russia and the West has seeped into security council discussions on a host... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1598191/world-era-crises-ban-ki-moon-downbeat-ahead-un-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1598191/world-era-crises-ban-ki-moon-downbeat-ahead-un-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2014 13:30:30 +0000 Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened a historic UN meeting of world leaders "to break barriers and open doors" for the more than one billion disabled people around the world. The goal of the first ever high-level General Assembly meeting to discuss the plight of the disabled aimed to spur international action to ensure that the disabled can contribute to the global economy. "Far too many people with disabilities live in poverty (and) too many suffer from social exclusion" and are denied access... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1317068/world-must-welcome-disabled-says-un-chief-ban-ki-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1317068/world-must-welcome-disabled-says-un-chief-ban-ki-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 When President Xi Jinping held talks with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in Beijing on Wednesday he urged the United Nations to be "fair and just", indicating that Beijing would like to play a more prominent role in international affairs. Xi and Ban discussed the conflict in Syria and North Korea's nuclear programme, but Xi also outlined China's expectations of the UN, calling on its members to scrap the "zero-sum mindset". The UN should "uphold the principles of impartiality and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/1265397/president-xi-hints-more-assertive-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/1265397/president-xi-hints-more-assertive-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali remain a threat to all West Africa, UN leader Ban Ki-moon said in a report on Sunday in which he also raised concerns about a planned election next month. But Ban raised no objections to a UN peacekeeping force starting to deploy on July 1, even though he said it was poorly equipped and trained. The UN force is to take over security duties from French forces who entered Mali in January to halt an Islamist advance and help the government re-establish its... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1257127/mali-militants-still-threat-west-africa-says-un-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1257127/mali-militants-still-threat-west-africa-says-un-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jun 2013 08:33:46 +0000 Russia’s foreign minister said on Friday he did not understand the international uproar created by Moscow’s continuing weapons co-operation with regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “I do not understand why the media is trying to create a sensation out of this,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We have not hidden that we supply weapons to Syria under signed contracts, without violating any international agreements, or our own legislation.” Lavrov said during a joint press appearance... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1240228/russia-does-not-understand-uproar-over-syria-arms-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1240228/russia-does-not-understand-uproar-over-syria-arms-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2013 15:48:22 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged North Korea on Wednesday to “seriously” consider an offer of dialogue from the South concerning the future of the closed Kaesong industrial zone. North Korea has blocked access to Kaesong – which lies 10 kilometres inside its border – since April 3 amid soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula. “I firmly believe that the recent offer of dialogue by the Republic of Korea is genuine and hope that the DPRK takes it seriously,” said Ban, a former... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1217254/uns-ban-ki-moon-urges-north-korea-consider-souths-dialogue-offer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1217254/uns-ban-ki-moon-urges-north-korea-consider-souths-dialogue-offer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Apr 2013 02:07:13 +0000 South Korea raised its military watch alert to “vital threat” on Wednesday ahead of an expected North Korean missile launch, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the Korean Peninsula may be slipping out of control. South Korean intelligence says the North had prepared two mid-range missiles for imminent launch from its east coast, despite warnings from ally China to avoid provocative moves at a time of soaring military tensions. Last week, North Korea told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang they had... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1211334/south-korea-raises-alert-level-north-readies-missile-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1211334/south-korea-raises-alert-level-north-readies-missile-test?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2013 02:46:22 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that tensions had already soared too high on the Korean Peninsula and warned Pyongyang against making nuclear threats. “I am deeply troubled.... The current crisis has already gone too far,” Ban said at a press conference in Andorra. “Nuclear threats are not a game... things must begin to calm down. “There is no need for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to be on a collision course with the international community,” he said after Pyongyang... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1205697/north-korea-crisis-has-already-gone-too-far-says-uns-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1205697/north-korea-crisis-has-already-gone-too-far-says-uns-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:40:15 +0000 Britain, France and the United States called on Wednesday for a United Nations inquiry into accusations by the Syrian government and the opposition of chemical weapons attacks. But Russia, President Bashar al-Assad’s last major ally, insisted at a UN Security Council meeting that only the government’s allegations should be investigated. Syria has asked the United Nations to order an “independent” investigation into its claim that opposition rebels used chemical weapons in an attack at Khan... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1196046/west-calls-un-inquiry-syria-chemical-attack-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1196046/west-calls-un-inquiry-syria-chemical-attack-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:19:58 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made a rare intervention yesterday in the deepening South China Sea sovereignty dispute, urging an "amicable" settlement but offering assistance if need be. Ban's comments came hours after the Philippines launched an unprecedented move to force China to a UN arbitration panel over the legality of its nine-dash line - the basis for Beijing's claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. Ban said he had been following the dispute carefully. "It is important for... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1134622/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-makes-rare-intervention-south-china-sea-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1134622/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-makes-rare-intervention-south-china-sea-row?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for an “amicable” settlement to a mounting South China Sea territorial dispute between China and other Asian nations. Asked about the Philippines decision to refer the case to a UN tribunal, Ban told reporters he has been following the dispute “carefully”. “It is important for those countries in the region to resolve all these issues through dialogue in a peaceful and amicable way,” he said. The United Nations is ready “to provide technical and... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/1134233/un-chief-urges-amicable-end-philippines-china-sea-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/1134233/un-chief-urges-amicable-end-philippines-china-sea-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jan 2013 01:54:16 +0000 UN leader Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that President Bashar al-Assad’s speech setting out his terms for peace would not help end “the terrible suffering” of the Syrian people. “The secretary-general was disappointed that the speech by President Bashar al-Assad on January 6 does not contribute to a solution that could end the terrible suffering of the Syrian people,” said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky. Ban and UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi are seeking a “political transition that includes the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1122760/assad-wont-stop-syrias-terrible-suffering-says-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1122760/assad-wont-stop-syrias-terrible-suffering-says-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:40:11 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "appalled by the escalating terrorist violence in Pakistan", after 19 Shiite pilgrims died in a car bomb and 21 kidnapped soldiers were killed. Ban "condemns in particular the continued violent targeting of religious minorities", according to his spokesman Martin Nesirky. He "also strongly condemns the killing of 21 members of a government-backed tribal police force", after they were kidnapped near Peshawar in the troubled northwest of the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1116927/un-chief-appalled-escalating-terrorist-violence-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1116927/un-chief-appalled-escalating-terrorist-violence-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The fractious debate at the UN climate talks in Doha point to a rocky road ahead to a new, global 2020 deal on saving the earth from calamitous global warming. Negotiators applauded as conference chairman Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah of Qatar rushed through a package of deals he called the Doha Climate Gateway on Saturday evening. The package gave a second life to the Kyoto Protocol, albeit in a watered-down form, placing binding targets to cut emissions on the European Union and 10 other... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1101687/analysis-un-climate-deal-doha-finds-more-questions-answers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1101687/analysis-un-climate-deal-doha-finds-more-questions-answers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 PICC Group lists in Hong Kong Mainland non-life insurer PICC Group lists on the Hong Kong stock market in an offering that was more than 16 times oversubscribed, boosted by record buy orders from state-controlled firms. Despite the support, People's Insurance Company (Group) of China priced its shares at the bottom end of the indicative range, at HK$3.48.   China gets a bite of Apple's latest Apple's wildly successful iPhone 5 and iPad mini are finally - legitimately - reaching the world's... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/1099303/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/1099303/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Paris and London called in Israel's envoys for consultations yesterday as the Jewish state faced mounting diplomatic pressure over plans to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Germany and Russia also raised concerns about the Israeli plans, which the UN chief warned could wipe out peace hopes. Israel has faced a wave of top-level diplomatic protests after the construction proposals emerged on Friday as payback for the Palestinians winning the rank of a UN non-member... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1096679/israel-condemned-over-settlement-expansion-programme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1096679/israel-condemned-over-settlement-expansion-programme?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media centre yesterday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 96, as global efforts to broker a truce to end the worst violence in four years gathered pace. International concern at the six-day-old offensive was mounting, with China calling for "maximum restraint" by all parties - especially Israel. "We strongly urge relevant parties, in particular Israel, to exercise maximum... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1086354/death-toll-gaza-nears-100-latest-air-strikes-israel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1086354/death-toll-gaza-nears-100-latest-air-strikes-israel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The United Nations failed in its mandate to protect civilians in the final months of Sri Lanka's civil war, according to a draft of a damning internal UN report seen by the BBC. "Events in Sri Lanka mark a grave failure of the UN," the draft said, adding that the world body should "be able to meet a much higher standard in fulfilling its protection and humanitarian responsibilities". Sri Lankan forces finally crushed Tamil rebels in May 2009, following decades of brutal fighting. The conflict... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1082562/un-errors-sri-lanka-wars-climax-revealed-damning-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1082562/un-errors-sri-lanka-wars-climax-revealed-damning-report?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Premier Wen Jiabao Just when retirement seemed within reach, Beijing's No2 leader was rocked by revelations in an exposé in The New York Times about the vast wealth built up by his family while he has been in office. Even Wen's 90-year-old mother was, apparently, in on the act, amassing a US$120 million stake in financial service giant Ping An Insurance. The Foreign Ministry condemned the allegations - but did not deny them.   Jerome Kerviel France's most famous rogue trader lost his appeal... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/1071436/bad-week-october-28-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/1071436/bad-week-october-28-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The Syrian regime rejected a UN call for a unilateral ceasefire on Wednesday as rebels confronted columns of tanks and troops sent to retake a town on the road to main battleground city Aleppo. President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, on the back foot with rebels controlling swathes of northern Syria, insisted the insurgents must stop the violence first as it turned down the call issued the previous day by UN chief Ban Ki-moon. “We told Ban Ki-moon to send emissaries to the countries which have... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1058210/syria-rejects-un-call-truce-rebels-intercept-reinforcements?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1058210/syria-rejects-un-call-truce-rebels-intercept-reinforcements?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:13:21 +0000 All the signs are that he will be disappointed, but Ban Ki-moon refuses to abandon hope that he will live to see peace prevail on the Korean peninsula. At 68, the secretary general of the United Nations has lived through enough unexpected twists and turns of history to ensure he remains defiantly optimistic about the potential for positive change. Cheery and charming, he gives the impression of being a glass half-full sort of person, even when it comes to the military-run Communist regime that... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1057725/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-holds-dream-united-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1057725/un-chief-ban-ki-moon-holds-dream-united-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Oct 2012 03:59:47 +0000 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday praised the recent peace accord ending a decades-long Muslim separatist insurgency that killed 150,000 people, offering UN aid “as needed.” The agreement would see the establishment of a new semi-autonomous Muslim area in the resource-rich southern Philippine region of Mindanao, which the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front regards as its ancestral homeland. Ban commended “President Benigno Aquino for his vision and courage, as well as the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1056819/un-praises-philippines-muslim-rebel-peace-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/asia/article/1056819/un-praises-philippines-muslim-rebel-peace-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:43:57 +0000 Syria’s foreign minister on Monday accused the United States, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of supporting “terrorism” by funneling arms, money and foreign fighters to rebels seeking to topple President Bashar al-Assad while the UN chief decried killings and rights abuses by Assad’s government. Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, speaking on the last day of the annual 193-nation UN General Assembly, also accused Libya of backing the rebels and said an arm of the al-Qaeda network had taken... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1052172/syria-accuses-us-france-others-arming-funding-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/article/1052172/syria-accuses-us-france-others-arming-funding-terrorism?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2012 02:48:48 +0000 Each year at this time, leaders gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to assess the state of the world.  This year, I used the occasion to sound the alarm about our direction as a human family. We are living through a period of profound turmoil, transition and transformation.  Insecurity, inequality and intolerance are spreading.  Governments are wasting vast and precious funds on deadly weapons while reducing investments in people.  Too many people in power seem willfully blind to... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/1048405/call-ambition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/comment/insight-opinion/article/1048405/call-ambition?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Sep 2012 03:04:39 +0000