In September next year, the United Nations plans to choose a list of development goals for the world to meet by the year 2030. What aspirations should it set for this global campaign to improve the lot of the poor, and how should it choose them? In answering that question, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his advisers are confronted with a task that they often avoid: setting priorities. 

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday welcomed the Saudi king's decision to donate $500 million to Iraqis affected by the recent turmoil. Ban expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia the aid package that will be distributed through U.N. organizations for life-saving humanitarian assistance to people in Iraq.

Canada and other wealthy countries should increase their foreign aid budgets to meet global spending targets, the Secretary-General of the United Nations says. Speaking at the close of a three-day summit on maternal and child health, Ban Ki-moon said many countries have committed to spending about 0.7 per cent of their gross national income on development assistance by 2015. “Unfortunately, at this time, there are only five countries who are meeting this target,” Mr. Ban said.

In Sochi, Russia, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised the power of sport to promote human rights and unite people regardless of their age, race, class, religious, ability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity in a first of its kind address to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Cuban President Raul Castro called on Latin American and Caribbean leaders Tuesday to work together on pressing regional problems at a gathering of all Western Hemisphere nations except the U.S. and Canada.

The United Nations has uninvited the Iranian government from participating in Geneva peace talks aimed at ending the Syrian crisis. Iran had initially been one of ten nations invited to take part in the peace talks, which are scheduled to start on Wednesday, but that invitation was later rescinded after the United States and other Western countries expressed anger at the decision.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the agreement between the two Koreas on the re-opening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, adding that he hopes this will lead to other constructive steps to promote trust and improve relations between the East Asian neighbours...The complex is located in the border town of Kaesong just across the Demilitarized Zone. It employs more than 53,000 citizens of the DPRK at 123 companies of the Republic of Korea (ROK), according to media reports.

There has never been a time in the history of the United Nations when its leader could be more useful in taking an active role in curing the world's ills. African terrorists, warlords, revolutions, authoritarianism and a million other plights threaten to destroy international peace and stability. In all of this, where is the secretary-general?