Senegal's Macky Sall withdraws from race for UN top job

Senegal's former president, Macky Sall, is pulling out of the race to lead the United Nations. The announcement comes one day after an informal straw poll by UN Security Council members saw all seven candidates receive at least one veto. In a statement on social media, Sall said he hoped to contribute now to the emergence of a consensus candidate. Candidates need nine positive votes from the council's 15 members. Discourage votes from any of the body's five permanent members effectively constitute a veto. After Friday's poll, Costa Rica's Rebecca Grinspan remains the frontrunner, but she also got five discourage votes, including two from permanent members. Most of the seven candidates are from Latin America. Sall's withdrawal leaves Uganda's Olara Otunnu as the only African contender.