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At least it was sustainable fair trade carbon neutral corruption. John Ashe, the UN General Assembly president, has been busted on corruption charges. A former president of the U.N. General Assembly "sold himself and the global institution he led" by allegedly pocketing more than $1 million in bribes to finance a luxury spending spree, according to a federal prosecutor. Ashe, 61, is accused of tax fraud in an alleged conspiracy involving five others, including a billionaire Chinese businessman and a former deputy U.N. ambassador from the Dominican Republic, according to a criminal complaint. Ashe is accused of underreporting his income...

In welcoming the long-term ceasefire in Gaza, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced hope on Tuesday that it will set the stage for talks on a final Israeli-Palestinian Authority (PA) peace deal. "The secretary-general remains hopeful that the extended ceasefire will act as a prelude to a political process as the only way of achieving durable peace," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, according to AFP. Ban warned that "a brighter future for Gaza and for Israel depends on a sustainable ceasefire" and that "any violations of the ceasefire would be utterly irresponsible." .....

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday night urged Israel to scrap plans for a ground operation in Gaza, saying that "too many" Palestinian Arab civilians have been killed, AFP reported. Repeating his call for a ceasefire, the secretary-general said he "feels a sense of responsibility for the Palestinians who, especially in the Gaza Strip, have long been denied the sense of freedom and dignity that they deserve," according to a statement released by his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. The situation in Gaza "appears to be worsening," Ban said, noting that the UN Security Council's call for a ceasefire had...

NEW YORK (AP) — A Texas oil mogul and two Swiss business executives were charged Friday with paying millions in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime in the latest indictment to come out of the U.N. oil-for-food scandal. Oscar S. Wyatt Jr., founder and former chairman of Coastal Corp., was arrested at his home in Houston. The U.S. government was seeking the extradition of oil traders Catalina del Socorro Miguel Fuentes and Mohammed Saidji from Switzerland. The United Nations set up the oil-for-food program in the 1990s as part of an effort to punish Saddam's regime without making the Iraqi people...

UNITED NATIONS - In a widening scandal over contracts, the United Nations announced Friday that it has suspended a subsidiary of the world's largest catering company as a U.N. supplier until the outcome of an investigation into alleged contract irregularities. The suspension is the latest blow to U.N. contracting which in recent months has seen the arrest of two Russians by the FBI for alleged money laundering. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Eurest Support Services, or ESS, has been barred from seeking new U.N. contracts until completion of a U.N. investigation into allegations that it "improperly obtained" internal U.N. information...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the committee probing claims of wrongdoing in the oil-for-food program will issue up to three more reports and is asking for more money, officials said. Annan told the council he wanted to comply with a request from the Independent Inquiry Committee for documents relating to the work of the council and its subsidiary organs, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Some council members expressed concern about the accuracy of the notes, sloppy translations and the inclusion of personal opinions, a council diplomat said on...

WASHINGTON and TORONTO — Canadian Maurice Strong agreed to step aside Wednesday as a special envoy for the United Nations, but vowed to clear his name after being linked to Tongsun Park, a Korean lobbyist charged in connection with the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. At the same time, new details emerged about a Calgary oil company in which Mr. Strong and his son, Fred, were major investors during the 1990s together with Mr. Park -- whom the younger Mr. Strong described as "a spooky guy." Shareholders in Cordex Petroleums Inc. also included CSL Group Inc., the holding company owned by Prime...

Iran knows they can do what they want with Obama/Biden in charge again. ..... Snip..... With Obama/Biden back in charge, Iran will do what it wants. Now with the help of the European Union, the US and Iran will hold indirect talks to get the Iran deal back on the table. Per ABC: The U.S. and Iran are holding indirect talks on Tuesday in what could be the first step toward reviving the 2015 deal that constrains Tehran’s nuclear facilities in exchange for sanctions relief. The meetings, hosted by the European Union, will work toward two separate agreements — on...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said that after a new Israeli government has been sworn in he will investigate whether there are "realistic options" for a return to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), Reuters reports. "Once a new government has been sworn in, the Secretary-General will explore with Prime Minister Netanyahu realistic options for a return to meaningful negotiations on a two state solution," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, after Netanyahu was able to clinch a deal to form a coalition hours before a deadline. Dujarric also said Ban was "deeply concerned by recent...