09-30-2006, 06:30 AM
<!--emo&:angry:--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad.gif' /><!--endemo--> Whatever might be provocation but why to do Vibhishan to brother Indian?
However, here is the saving grace:
Ban scandal keeps Tharoor's bid alive
Chidanand Rajghatta
[ 30 Sep, 2006 0203hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
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WASHINGTON: India's and Shashi Tharoor's bid for the UN Secretary-General post, which was flickering to an end, might come alive following an unexpected report that the South Korean front-runner has used monetary clout to pull in support.
Tharoorâs run for the prestigious office, backed formally by New Delhi, failed to make headway in the third and final straw polls, where he again came runner-up to South Koreaâs foreign minister Ban Ki-moon, who had also won the first two polls.
In fact, Tharoor surprisingly lost ground in the third round, getting eight encouragements on Thursday, with three negatives and two no opinions from among the 15 Security Council members.
A candidate needs at least nine encouragements in the final cut. Ban too slipped a bit, getting 13 encouragements (down from 14 in the second poll), one discourage and one no opinion. But he was well ahead of six other contenders, including late entrant Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the only non-Asian and woman in the race, who came third with 7-6-2.
But Banâs bid could be headed for last-minute trouble, with The Times of London reporting that South Korea had spent large sums of money to win support for its foreign minister.
The Times said a month after announcing his candidature, South Korea said it would treble its aid budget to Africa to $100 million by 2008. Seoul then contributed tens of thousands of pounds to sponsor the African Union summit in the Gambia.
Ban declared 2006 to be the Year of Africa for South Korea. He also pledged $18 million for an educational programme in Tanzania, a country which has a UNSC seat.
It has since backed Ban. Though the race is technically not over, Tharoor had indicated that it might be hard to challenge Ban if he did not improve his showing in the third straw poll. Now that he has dropped to eight encouragements, he is now one short of the magic number.
"Not yet (over). We'll know only on Monday," Tharoor said in a e-mail to ToI, sent before The Times expose hit the wires.
A more decisive poll is set for Monday, when the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council will use different coloured ballots than the other 10 rotating SC members to indicate their preference. A veto from one of the five â Britain, China, France, Russia or the United States â will doom a candidateâs campaign.
Thatâs when candidates will decide if they should just drop out of the race. Those who remain then go for a formal vote in the UNSC next month, where a candidate will again need at least nine votes and no veto among the Permanent Five. The winner is then confirmed by the 192-member UN General Assembly.
However, here is the saving grace:
Ban scandal keeps Tharoor's bid alive
Chidanand Rajghatta
[ 30 Sep, 2006 0203hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
WASHINGTON: India's and Shashi Tharoor's bid for the UN Secretary-General post, which was flickering to an end, might come alive following an unexpected report that the South Korean front-runner has used monetary clout to pull in support.
Tharoorâs run for the prestigious office, backed formally by New Delhi, failed to make headway in the third and final straw polls, where he again came runner-up to South Koreaâs foreign minister Ban Ki-moon, who had also won the first two polls.
In fact, Tharoor surprisingly lost ground in the third round, getting eight encouragements on Thursday, with three negatives and two no opinions from among the 15 Security Council members.
A candidate needs at least nine encouragements in the final cut. Ban too slipped a bit, getting 13 encouragements (down from 14 in the second poll), one discourage and one no opinion. But he was well ahead of six other contenders, including late entrant Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the only non-Asian and woman in the race, who came third with 7-6-2.
But Banâs bid could be headed for last-minute trouble, with The Times of London reporting that South Korea had spent large sums of money to win support for its foreign minister.
The Times said a month after announcing his candidature, South Korea said it would treble its aid budget to Africa to $100 million by 2008. Seoul then contributed tens of thousands of pounds to sponsor the African Union summit in the Gambia.
Ban declared 2006 to be the Year of Africa for South Korea. He also pledged $18 million for an educational programme in Tanzania, a country which has a UNSC seat.
It has since backed Ban. Though the race is technically not over, Tharoor had indicated that it might be hard to challenge Ban if he did not improve his showing in the third straw poll. Now that he has dropped to eight encouragements, he is now one short of the magic number.
"Not yet (over). We'll know only on Monday," Tharoor said in a e-mail to ToI, sent before The Times expose hit the wires.
A more decisive poll is set for Monday, when the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council will use different coloured ballots than the other 10 rotating SC members to indicate their preference. A veto from one of the five â Britain, China, France, Russia or the United States â will doom a candidateâs campaign.
Thatâs when candidates will decide if they should just drop out of the race. Those who remain then go for a formal vote in the UNSC next month, where a candidate will again need at least nine votes and no veto among the Permanent Five. The winner is then confirmed by the 192-member UN General Assembly.