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.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a