WORLD In a curious echo of his promise to change the way Washington does business, Barack Obama pleaded with United Nations on Wednesday to change its “old habits and arguments”. The UN, he said, should become a venue for “forging common ground” rather than “sowing discord”.
Time will tell whether Mr Obama’s words – and actions – have a more positive impact on the UN than they have had on Washington. But the real test of Mr Obama’s ambitions lies 316 miles east of New York in Pittsburgh, where the president will on Thursday host the third summit of Group of 20 leaders – and the first in which the world no longer fears it is staring down the barrel at a new Great Depression.
