ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has officially nominated a former foreign minister and yearslong ambassador to the United Nations for the next U.N. secretary-general, state-run media reported Saturday.
The next U.N. chief will succeed António Guterres, who has led the world body for almost 10 years. The organization is under pressure to reform as it finds itself sidelined in wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza while also facing a financial crisis that has forced major cuts to humanitarian and development programs.
Feridun Sinirlioglu, a 70-year-old former Turkish foreign minister and U.N. diplomat, had floated his candidacy on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s high-level meeting in New York last month.
Sinirlioglu was Turkey's top diplomat for a few months in 2015, an interim period between elections, and its U.N. ambassador between 2016 and 2023. He currently serves as the secretary-general of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His current three-year mandate is scheduled to end in December 2027, but the top U.N. job would have a Jan. 1 start date.
Ahmet Yildiz, Turkey’s current representative to the U.N., told the Anadolu news agency that Sinirlioglu's name was officially submitted with backing from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan has been vocal in calling for reform of the U.N. Security Council, especially criticizing the dominance of its five permanent members. Sinirlioglu is likely to reflect the president’s agenda.
The next U.N. secretary-general will be decided by the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, especially its five veto-wielding members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. The 193-member General Assembly must give final approval.
Sinirlioglu will likely face obstacles from several corners, including Turkey's neighbor Greece, which is one of the 10 elected members of the Security Council. Pushback also would be expected from Israel, a close ally of the United States.
Seven other candidates are vying to replace Guterres as he finishes his second five-year term. Under an informal regional rotation of the U.N.’s top job, a candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean region could be selected.
FILE - OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu attends a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after their talks in Moscow, Russia, on March 11, 2025. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP, File)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is set to hold a private audience on Saturday with basketball teams from his alma mater, Villanova, and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame, plus thousands of traveling American fans in town for the season opener.
A total of about 7,000 people are expected Saturday in the Paul VI audience hall inside the Vatican. The audience precedes the U.S. college basketball season opener in Rome on Sunday.
The Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams will play a doubleheader at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport — which is located about a half-hour drive from the Vatican.
The event has been dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off and was created to honor the first American pope.
Leo graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Villanova, the Augustinian school near Philadelphia. He was born in Chicago — not all that far from Notre Dame, which is located in South Bend, Indiana.
Like popes before him, Leo has praised the value of sport for both physical and spiritual development, calling sport a “school of fraternity” that nurtures friendship, respect and teamwork.
“May those who play, train or cheer discover in sport a universal language that brings cultures together, unites peoples and sows respect, solidarity, and personal growth,” Leo said for his June prayer intention, which was dedicated to sport.
Leo, who himself is an avid tennis player and sports fan, has also warned about how the win-at-all-cost mentality of sport has contributed to episodes of doping, match-fixing and other forms of corruption.
Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez celebrated a private Mass for traveling fans in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday morning, and asked the thousands of people in the pews to give a round of applause to the players. The English-language Mass was unusual in that it had all the trappings of a papal Mass celebrated at the main altar and televised live by Vatican Media.
Asked about the upcoming games on the papal plane during a recent trip to France, Leo said, “They tell me that the people coming to the match, 90% are Villanova and 10% Notre Dame, so the voice of the people of God will be very strong on the Villanova side.”
Leo is an avid Chicago White Sox fan, and has been known to follow basketball, too.
“He will know who they (the players) are. He’s a true, blue Villanovan,” said the Rev. Rob Hagan, Villanova’s longtime team chaplain. He said Leo used to attend Villanova games at the Palestra, the Philadelphia arena known as “The Cathedral of College Basketball.”
Sunday's games coincide with All Saints' Day, a major Catholic holiday.
St. Thomas of Villanova Church is seen through autumn leaves at Villanova University in Villanova, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Villanova basketball team's Luigi Suigo talks to journalists prior to the start of the men's basketball team training session in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Students walk past an image of Pope Leo XIV at Villanova University in Villanova, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Villanova men's basketball team takes part in a training session in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Villanova University is seen in Villanova, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
