OJT

That's on the job training - and it's what the new UN Chief is getting:

The new Secretary-General of the United Nations received an early reminder of the pitfalls of international diplomacy when he failed to restate the UN's opposition to the death penalty during remarks about the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Ban Ki Moon, the former South Korean Foreign Minister, received a warm welcome from staff at the UN headquarters on Manhattan's East River when he turned up for his first day at work yesterday.

But his spokeswoman was forced to issue a clarification after Mr Ban said that capital punishment should be a decision for individual member states.