United Nations

The United Nations ended its 4 1/2-year arms embargo against the former Yugoslav republics after an agreement was reached in Florence, Italy, on Friday that limits the number of tanks, heavy artillery, armored vehicles, combat aircraft and attack helicopters in the region. The Security Council had agreed to end its weapons embargo in stages after the November peace agreement was reached in Dayton, Ohio, that ended fighting in the former Yugoslav federation.

Secretary General JAVIER PEREZ DE CUELLAR said he regretted Iraq's attack and urged the Israelis to be "as patient as possible." He said there is not much that the United Nations can do about the gulf crisis now. Perez de Cuellar, who held talks with Hussein last weekend in a fruitless attempt to avert war, added that he has not been in touch with the Iraqis for days.

Rwanda recruited, trained and sheltered renegade soldiers who staged a mutiny in neighboring Congo last month, offering them mobile phones and cash, according to a draft U.N.-commissioned report. Officials rounded up men in the border town of Cyangugu and promised them phones or $100 to fight with forces loyal to Col. Jules Mutebusi and Gen. Laurent Nkunda, the draft says.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will soon become a United Nations peace envoy, but actor Brad Pitt is not yet on the list to get the same honor as his Oscar-winning friend Angelina Jolie. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday met Ma, considered to be among the world's greatest cellists, and confirmed to reporters that, "Yes, he will be a peace envoy." Asked if Pitt would become a U.N. goodwill ambassador, Annan laughed and said, "I will consider it, and I will let him know you recommended him."

As several hundred staff members clapped, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 74, left the United Nations complex Tuesday, ending a turbulent five years as the world's top diplomat. "Thank you for everything you have done. I wish you a happy New Year. I wish success for the United Nations. I wish success for my successor, Kofi Annan," he said. Annan, 58, of Ghana, a longtime U.N. bureaucrat, takes over today as secretary-general. Boutros-Ghali expressed regret over the U.N.'

With crises such as the Persian Gulf conflict dominating the news, some leaders will turn their attention on Saturday and Sunday to the children of the globe. More than 75 of the men and women who govern the world will gather at the United Nations to discuss what they can do to save society's future. President Bush and Britain's Margaret Thatcher are among those expected to attend the World Summit for Children, organized by the U.N. Children's Fund.

The Persian Gulf crisis may be in the spotlight as the U.N. General Assembly opens its 45th session today, but Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar has another big problem on his mind: money. The United States is $522 million in arrears in its dues and fees, and it's not alone. While Washington is the biggest offender, others are overdue as well, threatening the day-to-day operations of the international body.

Because the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations has caused such vocal opposition, I think it's time for me to take a stand. I'm for it. What's wrong with having a representative in the U.N. who can punch France in the mouth? Not since Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took off a shoe and pounded it on a table, which was regarded at the time as a traditional Russian greeting, has there been any kind of real confrontation in the General Assembly.