Old 'rivals' greet each other with new charm

Three years back, they were rivals for the same job. Today, they were shaking hands in a meeting which, at least on surface, looked quite warm. United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki Moon shook hands with Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

Tharoor is on a week-long trip to New York to attending the 64th UN General Assembly session.

Three years back Tharoor and Ban were competing for the top UN post after Kofi Annan's retirement. While Ban prevailed, Tharoor gradually went on to become a law-maker in India, as a Congress party member.

Image: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon greets Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Photograph: Jay Mandal