Kofi Annan dies

Kofi Annan, one of the world’s most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations who rose through its ranks to become the first black African secretary-general, has died. He was 80. His foundation announced his death in Switzerland on Saturday in a tweet , saying that he died after a short unspecified illness. “Wherever there was suffering or need, he reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy,” the foundation said in a statement.