UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he looks forward to "a new era of strong and effective partnership" with the United States under President Barack Obama who shares many of the same goals as the United Nations. Ban, who just returned to New York from a 10-day Mideast trip aimed at getting a cease-fire in Gaza, congratulated Obama on his inauguration "with great optimism." "More than ever before, the challenges we face as a community of nations are global in scope," Ban said in a statement. "Economic uncertainty. Climate change. Pressing issues of peace and security, including disarmament and...