Around the World: Iraq

PM chides neighbors

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday chided neighboring states for not beefing up ties with Baghdad or writing off Iraq's debts now that Saddam Hussein is gone and Iraq is no longer a threat to the region.

Maliki, speaking at a meeting in Kuwait of foreign ministers from the region and Western powers, did not name any countries but his remarks appeared aimed at Sunni Arab states that have only low-level ties with his Shi'ite-led government.