But I have also had some exhilarating experiences of the UN at its best.

And, despite all the happy talk, multilateral policy coordination is essentially non existent.

But history suggests that fixing a central bank s balance sheet is never pleasant.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought hope and opportunity to people everywhere, and provided the 1980 s with a truly jubilant finale.

And I would like to thank for their very pleasant company all of those next to whom I have had the privilege and honour to be seated on the podium of Conference Room 3.

Nauru ( , , or ), officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the Central Pacific.

Here the cheerful façade is composed of Russia s miniature president, Dmitri Medvedev, whose job like that of the American First Lady is to keep up appearances.

And then six months later, or nine months after the problem had taken, I got this delightful letter with a picture of the baby asking if I'd be godfather, which I became.

The simple and humorous stories, with brightly coloured, boldly drawn illustrations, have been part of popular culture since 1971, with sales of over 85 million copies worldwide in 20 languages.