UN chief to attend Middle East peace meeting in U.S.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon waves as he leaves Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Nov. 12, 2007. Ban warned on Wednesday there was 'a real possibility of a confrontation' if Lebanon fails to elect a president by the end of this week. (File Photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference to be held in Annapolis next week, a U.N. spokesperson said Wednesday.

The U.N. chief made the announcement as he briefed the members of the U.N. General Assembly in an informal session Wednesday, spokesperson Michele Montas said.

The secretary-general expressed his hope that the meeting, at which he will be present as an observer, will provide the impetus for final status negotiations, Montas said.

He also intends to attend a meeting of the Middle East Quartet, which is to take place in Washington on Monday, she said.

The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday night that the Middle East peace conference will be held at Annapolis, Maryland, on Nov. 27.

Daily Joke (11)

Church Couple

A couple was sitting in church, the man was sleeping and his wife was knitting. The priest asked: “Who created the Earth and man?”

The woman poked the man with her knitting needle, and the man screamed, “God!”

The Priest looked at him and said, “That’s right.” Then he asked “who is God’s son?”

Once more the woman poked her husband with the needle; he woke up and screamed, “Jesus Christ!”

Again, the priest said, “Correct.”

Finally, the priest asked, “what did Eve say to Adam, when she didn’t want any more children?”

The knitter poked her husband again, but this time he got up and screamed: “Poke me with that thing one more time and I’m going to rip it off!”