Now to the so-called UN Oil-for-food scandal. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has fired his first U.N. official in the controversy. The official, Joseph Stephanides, was a longtime UN diplomat. He was accused by a U.N.-appointed inquiry of steering a lucrative contract under the oil-for-food program to a British firm. He denied breaking any rules and vowed to appeal. Stephanides said “There were tremendous pressures to cut corners and accelerate the institutional arrangements because civilians were suffering in Iraq and oil-for-food had to be started as soon as possible…To make me the fall guy for that — this is really preposterous.”