New York, Muharram 12, 1438, Oct 13, 2016, SPA -- Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres is set to start a five-year term as UN secretary general in January after the UN General Assembly formally approved him for the job on Thursday. According to dpa, the 193-member assembly passed a resolution by consensus to officially approve a recommendation from the 15-member UN Security Council, which had previously moved to appoint Guterres. Peter Thomson, president of the UN General Assembly, praised the transparent selection process that led to the election of Guterres, who had formerly served as the head of the UN refugee agency. --SPA 19:37 LOCAL TIME 16:37 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w