From Reuters, news that Margaret Chan has been named head of the World Health Organization, making her the first Chinese person to head a U.N. agency:
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday nominated China’s Margaret Chan, its top official on bird flu, as its new chief as it gears up for a feared flu pandemic and battles global scourges such as AIDS.
Chan, 59, will become the first person from China to head a major U.N. agency. A former director of Hong Kong’s department of health, her career has been focused on public health.
With Beijing campaigning hard, she had been the front-runner to replace South Korea’s Lee Jong-wook who died suddenly in May from a blood clot in the brain, three years into his five-year term as director-general. [Full text]