While the Secretariat building of the United Nations has been undergoing renovations, the UN Security Council has been meeting in the basement. And unfortunately, basement means sewage pipes and a broken sewage pipe meant that the world leaders were temporarily forced to smell something totally gross. The diplomats and 150 school kids at the UN for a Security Council meeting were evacuated because of a "disruption in the basement sewage system caused by a high tide on the adjacent East River."
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said, "This is not a hazard, there were gases released by the sewage but it is not harmful. Public tours and General Assembly meetings should be able to resume by tomorrow." The diplomats and the students were quickly moved to a temporary building on the UNs north lawn, where students participated in the discussion "Your World, Your Future: Voices of a New Generation." One 17-year-old from Venezuela reportedly asked leaders to "exchange a weapon for a smile." Duh, why did no one think of that before?!
