The United Nations General Assembly, meanwhile, has opened its sixty-fifth session at UN headquarters in New York. President Obama and other world leaders are expected to attend a summit on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs, beginning next week. In an interview with Reuters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rejected criticism that the MDG is short on specifics for reducing poverty.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “You need to be realistic, and I believe that this outcome document is the maximum and best which we could expect at this time. Of course, you can expect much more, but we need to always base our policies and priorities in considering the realities on the ground. Now, I’m very much encouraged by this strong element of this implementation plan of actions.”

In other UN news, Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet to head the new UN agency intended to promote women’s equality. The agency will be known simply as “UN Women.”