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| Depressed Annan close to quitting over UN scandals |
| 2005-03-26 |
| KOFI ANNAN, the United Nations secretary-general, is said to be struggling with depression and considering his future. Colleagues have reported concerns about Annan ahead of an official report this week that will examine his son Kojo's connection to the controversial Iraqi oil for food scheme. Depending on the findings of the report, by a team led by the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, Annan may have to choose between the secretary-generalship and loyalty to his son. American congressional critics of the UN are already pressing him to resign over the mismanagement of the oil for food programme, and even his supporters have been dismayed by the scandals on his watch, including the sexual abuse of children by UN peacekeepers in Congo. One close observer at the UN said Annan's moods were like a ''sine curve'' and that he appeared near the bottom of the trough. Kojo, 29, was employed by a Swiss company, Cotecna, but left before it won one of the contracts under the oil for food programme. Last week it emerged he received up to $400,000 from the company. The UN confirmed that Kofi Annan three times met executives of the firm, twice before the award of the oil for food contract and once afterwards. Mark Malloch Brown, Annan's British chief-of-staff, said the meetings were brief and had nothing to do with Cotecna's contract. If some of the allegations against Kojo were confirmed, that would create ''a very different situation, but for Kojo - not the secretary-general''. snip |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #5 Unintended consequences of jumping into the River: toxic waste. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-03-26 11:59:17 PM |
| #4 Lol, Barb! I never thought I'd be in the crowd at street level urging the mental midget on the roof to jump, but... ROFL! If there was ever a deserving suicide, this be it. But that would only be the start - the whole goddamned bunch would have to jump to make me happy, heh. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-03-26 11:57:26 PM |
| #3 Hey, Coffee: Jump! Jump! Jump! |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-03-26 11:16:14 PM |
| #2 It would be great to send the whole UN to Botswana. The poverty pimps could see some first-hand for a change. |
| Posted by: SR-71 2005-03-26 10:44:04 PM |
| #1 Don't let the door hit you in the back, on your way to hell. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2005-03-26 10:35:05 PM |