Annan's New Toy
Russia's foreign minister has given Secretary-General Kofi Annan a small, carved wooden bear walking a tightrope between war and peace - symbolizing the U.N. Security Council's current dilemma.

The five veto-wielding council members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - are divided over disarming Iraq. The United States and Britain are moving toward a military solution while France, Russia and China want continued weapons inspectors and intensified efforts to settle the crisis peacefully.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov presented the gift Wednesday. U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard brought it to Thursday's daily briefing.

The bear, symbolizing the secretary-general, carries five balls - each with the name of a permanent veto-wielding member - as it walks the tightrope between two trees called "war'' and "peace.''

"The bear is moving toward the tree called peace, but if you take out one ball, the bear would fall,'' Russia's U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

Eckhard pulled out a ball for reporters, and the bear, about 5 inches tall, toppled from the tightrope.

"I think it speaks for itself,'' Lavrov said. [- Guardian]

Who says russians dont have a sense of humour??