UNITED NATIONS, July 22: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday debunked US President George Bush's claim that he had made the world a safer place, asserting that "the world is no safer than it was three years ago".

"No, I cannot say the world is safer today than it was two, three years ago," Mr Annan said in response to a question.

At a news conference, Mr Annan also criticized a Bush administration decision to withhold 34 million dollars from the UN Population Fund, saying the agency was saving women's lives.

The US administration has withheld funding from the UN Population Fund, known as UNFPA, for the last three years, accusing it of supporting China's policy on "coercive abortion".