A US ambassador has politely requested his United Nations colleagues stop turning up to budget meetings so drunk.
Joseph Torsella, deputy US ambassador for management and reform, quietly suggested the move at the General Assembly on Monday, saying "We make the modest proposal that the negotiating rooms should in future be an inebriation-free zone,"
He added: "While my government is truly grateful for the strategic opportunities presented by some recent past practices, let's save the champagne for toasting the successful end of the session, and do some credit to the Fifth Committee's reputation in the process."
The fifth committee often meets in the run up to Christmas, with late night sessions doing complicated financial negotiations driving some diplomats to drink it seems.