...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy to Syria in place of Kofi Annan
...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..., diplomats said Thursday.
Next in line will be Boutros Boutros Ghali. After that it'll be U Thant...
Negotiations are still going on over the envoy's role and how the United Nations
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
will operate in Syria amid the intensifying civil war. The mandate of the U.N. mission in the country ends on August 20.
An official announcement of the appointment of the 78-year-old Brahimi is expected to be made early next week, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
as talks continue.
"We are certain it will be Brahimi," said one U.N. diplomat.
"He is the choice of the U.N. secretary general and his name will be announced next week as long as he does not pull out," added another.