Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

In Dublin this week, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon was frank about the frustrations of his job and defended his soft-spoken style which has been criticised as blunting the power of the UN

THESE ARE difficult days for the man who inhabits the secretary-general’s office on the 38th floor of UN headquarters in New York. Midway through his five-year term, Ban Ki-moon surveys a world pummelled by what he calls the “Four F” crises: food, fuel, finance and flu. Add to that global warming and continuing conflict in the likes of Afghanistan, the Middle East, Darfur and Democratic Republic of Congo, to name but a few. Then there is Iran’s nuclear ambitions, North Korea’s muscle-flexing, or perennials such as poverty and hunger. As Ban puts it: “Have you ever seen in our lifetime a time when this world is being hit by so many crises at once?”