...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...said on Wednesday that an action group on Syria would meet this weekend in a new bid to shore up his faltering peace plan, as both the U.S. and La Belle France said talks must focus on the need for political transition in the conflict-torn country.
The former U.N. secretary-general said a ministerial level meeting of the action group would take place in Geneva on Saturday, featuring all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and other key regional players.
"I look forward to a productive meeting this weekend, where we can all agree on concrete actions to end the cycle of violence and bring peace and stability to the Syrian people," Annan said in a statement.
But while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as
The Woman to Call at 3 a.m.and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Abel P. Upshur...
-- who is among those due to attend -- gave Annan her full backing, the news that Iran was not among those invited was likely to infuriate Syria's chief ally, Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...said on Tuesday that Iran should be invited to any international meeting in Geneva, saying it "would complicate the process" if Tehran were to be shut out.
A six-point peace plan drawn up by Annan came into force in mid-April. But its key provisions, which include a total cessation of violence, have been repeatedly breached since then.
In his statement, Annan said that the action group aimed to "identify steps and measures to secure full implementation of the six-point plan".
But he also said Saturday's meeting would seek agreement "on guidelines and principles for a Syrian-led political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people" as well as "agree on actions that will make these objectives a reality on the ground".