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?

As Iran gets set to host the Non-Aligned Movement triennial summit, Israel, the United States and a number of Jewish groups are worried that what happens in Tehran won’t stay there. The decision Wednesday by Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, to attend the 16th triennial event from August 29-31, has set off alarm bells in Washington and Jerusalem.

The deteriorating political and security situation in Syria, viewed in the light of the failure by the Security Council to facilitate an inclusive political dialogue between President Bashar Al Assad and the rather fragmented opposition rebel forces, reinforces the impression that this most pre-eminent organ of the UN may have lost its most important ‘soft power’ resource: its moral authority.

The Russian and Chinese veto of the U.N. Security Council draft resolution that would have declared the situation in Syria a threat to international peace and security, extended the U.N. diplomatic mission headed by Kofi Annan, and set the stage for new sanctions and possibly U.N.-authorized military action was hardly surprising. More important, it isn’t all that significant.

Two global institutions – the United Nations and the Olympic Games – face charges that they are using “unaccountable and out of control” private security contractors. One of the companies at the heart of both controversies is G4S, a private security company in the UK.

IT SOUNDS like the beginning of a bizarre guessing game. As of this month, the following unlikely mixture of people and agencies found themselves tarred with the same brush: Liverpool City Council, the developers and municipal authorities of Panama, the Islamist rebels of West Africa and the quarrelsome bishops of some ancient Christian churches in the Middle East. They all bear a share of responsibility for the fate of places that have recently been deemed by UNESCO to be “World Heritage Sites in danger”.

Will Internet companies help or hinder government authorities that try to restrict their citizens from using the Web freely? And will their customers, investors or shareholders care enough to do something about it? That debate was freshly stirred on Thursday as the UNHRC passed a landmark resolution supporting freedom of expression on the Internet.

The head of the United Nations observer team in Syria says he will adjust the way the monitors work when their mission resumes, with a focus on staying in certain areas for longer periods of time. Major General Robert Mood told reporters...that the U.N. Security Council will decide on the future of the mission in the coming days and weeks.