Kofi Annan dies in a Swiss hospital

The former United Nations Secretary General died in a hospital in Switzerland in the early hours of Saturday morning.   According to the Kofi Annan Foundation he passed away peacefully after a short illness. His wife and children were by his side. According to the Reuters news agency, the 80-year-old was admitted to a hospital in the Swiss capital of Bern where he died.  The international diplomat had strong ties to Switzerland, in particular Geneva. He called Geneva his second home. Annan studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies from 1961-62 and where he began his UN career at the World Health Organization. It was also where he met his wife, Nane, a Swedish lawyer. The Ghanian national lived in Geneva from 2006 after the end of his second term as the UN chief. A year later he established the Kofi Annan Foundation in the Swiss city.  Pierre Maudet, president of the Geneva cantonal government, said he was "sad" to learn about Annan's death whom he considered "a ...