Brace yourself. This may be a shock. Kofi Annan told a lie. Well, not just one lie. Mr. Annan is after all the highest official at the UN, and can't be expected to settle for just one.

Mr. Annan, you might remember, couldn't see billions of dollars slipping past his nose in the UN Oil for Food program, even though it was "managed" from his own office. Some years ago Mr. Annan failed to see the Rwanda genocide going on in front of his eyes, and for his exemplary tact and competence was elevated to be the Secretary General of the UN. And a few days ago, the Secretary General was photographed in front of a map of the Middle East in which Israel was literally wiped off the map.

But Mr. Annan can't see everything. Who can?

The Telegraph of London reports that " UN investigator claims Annan lied about son's role."

"Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations, lied about what he knew of his son's business activities at the time of the Iraq oil—for—food programme, according to the senior investigator charged with examining his conduct.

A report published by the US Congress also alleges that senior members of the UN's separate Volcker inquiry into the programme resisted printing any conclusion which might have forced Mr Annan's resignation."

We know it's a shock.

Try to be strong.