'World is safer': Powell contradicts Annan

US Secretary of State Colin Powell countered the UN chief’s claims that the world is not safer than it was a few years ago, saying that the dictatorial regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq were toppled and work is under way to curb nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea .

“We’ve seen the demise of two despotic regimes, the Taliban and regime of Saddam Hussein,” Powell said yesterday.