Merkel turns down UN job

BERLIN, Jan 20: German ex-chancellor Angela Merkel has said no thanks to an offer of a job with the United Nations, her office said Wednesday, as she settles into retirement after 16 years in power. UN sources confirmed that Secretary General Antonio Guterres had asked Merkel to lead an advisory panel on a "common agenda" for governance after the pandemic that he set out late last year. Merkel "spoke with the UN Secretary General last week, thanked him and told him she would not be accepting the offer", her office said in a statement, confirming media reports. — AFP