Iraqi President Jalal Talabani appealed to South American nations to support his country's efforts to defeat its bloody insurgency, saying the terrorists are indiscriminately killing innocents and hampering reconstruction efforts.
"Terrorism is not limited to Iraq, it is a global curse," Talabani said, addressing Arab and South American heads of state and ministers gathered for the Summit of the South American-Arab Countries in the Brazilian capital.
Talabani, in his first foreign trip since being elected president of the new interim government, said Iraq is on course with its strategy to defeat the militants whose daily attacks around the country have limited reconstruction efforts after the US-led war that toppled former President Saddam Hussein.
"We hope for your help in this initiative to combat the terrorism that has been carried out against the Iraqi people, against the cause of freedom and democracy," he said, calling on the 12 South American nations gathered at the summit alongside 22 Arab and North African nations to step forward with investments and bolster business contacts.
"I appeal to you to understand the Iraqi situation and also to send delegations and that companies see for themselves the reality on the ground in Iraq," he said. "It is true that we face numerous problems, but we are determined and sure" of the future.
A declaration widely expected to be approved at the Brasilia summit expresses support for Iraq's efforts to thwart the militants.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in an interview on the sidelines of the summit, suggested that some of Iraq's neighbors have become unnerved by the US-backed attempt to establish a robust democratic government in Baghdad and still are not doing enough to stop militants.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS