The UN secretary-general said the world body plans to open a new office in Baghdad to encourage cooperation between Iraq and its neighbors, but voiced strong concerns about the continuing security problems in the country.
Ban Ki-moon said he hoped "more would be done" to improve Baghdad's security as the UN builds its presence, which has been greatly reduced since an Aug. 19, 2003, bombing at its Baghdad headquarters that killed 22 people.
Ban's comments on Saturday about security -- as he sat alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- reflected the challenges that confront the Iraqi prime minister's struggle to stabilize the country while dealing with pressure from US congressional Democrats who are calling for the quick withdrawal of US forces.
Earlier on Saturday, al-Maliki, in pledging that Iraqi forces would take responsibility for the security of an expanded UN mission, had said that the "Baghdad of today is different from the Baghdad of yesterday."
Despite security concerns, Ban emphasized that the international community cannot turn away from Iraq.
"Its stability is our common concern," he said after a meeting that grouped top diplomats representing many of Iraq's neighbors, the US, donor nations and other groups.
Al-Maliki, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly and is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush on the sidelines, acknowledged that the country continued to face challenges, but he said that "those following the situation in Iraq have spoken of a marked improvement [in security]."
"National reconciliation does not come about by force," al-Maliki said, referring to the effort to bring together the country's rival ethnic and religious factions.
Fighting between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, compounded by terror attacks, has largely undermined Iraq's reconstruction.
The meeting between al-Maliki, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ban and other diplomats sought to build upon a Security Council resolution passed last month which authorized the expansion of the UN presence in Iraq.
Bringing together neighbors such as Iran and Syria also underscored the importance of a collaborative approach to stabilizing the country.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique