31 March 2003

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A truck has been driven into a group of soldiers lines up outside a shop at a US base in Kuwait

According to military sources, the attack took place at Udairi Camp north of Kuwait City.
Sources had no further details about the incident though a worker at the camp has also reported that he heard shooting at the time of the incident.

The witness added that alleged attacker and an accomplice had been wounded by gunfire from US troops and taken away in an ambulance.

The attack is the first on a US base in kuwait since hand grenades were thrown into tents at a US camp earlier this month, killing two US soldiers and wounding several.

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Propaganda vs fact in warring sides' claims disputes

Iraq says it has shot down two U.S. helicopters, in spite of a statement from the Pentagon that it had no reports of missing aircraft. Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf called such repetitious nay-saying 'idiotic.'

"Iraqi tribesmen and other fighters downed an Apache helicopter and killed two pilots," in fighting near the southern city of Basra in the past 24 hours.

Sahaf also said that Iraqi forces downed another helicopter in Khazaf, central Iraq. The fate of the crew was unclear but Iraqi forces found identification tags used by U.S. personnel in the debris.

He added that from now on the Ministry of Islamic Affairs would bury all enemy dead on the battlefield. He also repeated his accusation that the invaders had hypocritically destroyed food stores only to later hand out foreign-supplied aid to Iraqis.

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Land Day terror strikes in Israel

Some two dozen people are reported to have been hurt - several seriously - in a suicide bombing in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, north of Tel Aviv. The explosion happened at the bustling Café London shortly after noon, local time.

The presumed bomber had been stopped by a security guard at the entrance and there is speculation that the bloodshed could have been far worse had he been allowed to go inside.

Authorities had already registered more than fifty attack threats, and police are on heightened alert for potential violence, this being the Palestinians' Land Day.

It is a commemoration in which Israeli Arabs mark the loss of their land when Israel was founded as a state.

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Forces scour the desert for missile launchers

British Royal Marines are searching southern Iraq for Iraqi mobile units and missile launchers.

Iraqi resistance in the area is hampering coalition efforts to control the region.

And these units, from the 847 Naval Air Squadron are hoping to find the launch site of the missile that hit Kuwait City on Friday.

British and American ground forces have already advanced through this area en route for Baghdad, but mobile missile launchers are elusive by design.

The Royal Marines are searching the labyrinth of water-ways and desert north of Umm Qasr by air and by hovercraft.

But the search is not an easy one. Coalition forces are finding that the small mobile units are difficult to pick out and target.

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Air destruction routine - while suppllies last

Overnight bombing in Baghdad targeted the main training site for Iraqi Fedayeen paramilitary forces, an intelligence complex and a presidential palace, as well as surface-to-air missile sites, according to the U.S. military.

The explosions around the edges of the Iraqi capital came from bombs aimed at government sites. Defensive positions were pounded repeatedly by American artillery to the south.

Combined Forces Air Command said training facility barracks in eastern Baghdad were used by Fedayeen in charge of security functions.

The "command and control facilities" were struck at the Abu Garayb Presidential Palace near the Saddam International Airfield in western Baghdad.

The Karada Intelligence Complex was singled out for air attacks; an American official statement said this target on the banks of the Tigris River is said to concentrate both on "direct military intelligence" and "keeping down internal opposition."

Meanwhile, New Yorker Magazine is reported to have warned that the American supply of cruise missiles and precision guided bombs is running out.

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Ba'ath Party members...

After yesterdays house-to-house searches rooting out Ba'ath Party members around Basra, British Royal Marines have clashed with Iraqi paramilitaries south of Basra and claim to have killed a Colonel from the Republican Guard.

According to a British Army spokesman, Commandos took five prisoners in the action.

The battle took place after the Iraqi paramilitaries tried to leave from southeast of Basra, Iraq's second city, and were heading west when they came face with Three Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines.

Meanwhile families are reported to be streaming out of Basra carrying bundles of blankets and jerry cans filled with water.

But on the other side of the road, trucks and taxis heading into the city are first being searched by British soldiers. Many are stuffed with much needed supplies to a city that has been under virtual siege for more than a week.

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Northern front build-up

American troops continue to prepare for an assault against Saddam's forces in northern Iraq. The Kurdish self-rule militia say they are advancing towards Baghdad-controlled territory. More than 1,200 U.S. paratroopers and special forces swooped in to link up with the Kurds this past week.

Their goal is to seize the strategic Bakrajo air base, some 130km north of the key oil fields of Kirkuk and Mosul, in the same region as Saddam's home town Tikrit. Waiting for heavy equipment to arrive, the 173rd Airborne Division have been laying out their lines.

Washington's ambition to open a second front against Saddam in the north has been delayed by Turkey's refusal to allow American troops to deploy over land, across its border with Iraq.
U.S. military action has until now, therefore, been mostly confined to air bombardment.

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Hellfire missiles against machine guns in Nassiriya

US marines have been engaged in a fierce fire-fight with Iraqi fighters near the southern city of Nassariyah.

Cobra helicopters blasted hellfire misiles at Iraqi forces holed up in an appartment block.

US marines are firing at the Iraqis from one side of the Euphrates River. On the other side, the enemy returns fire with machine-guns.

Troops from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division were placed near Nassiriya to boost security for supply lines on the route to Baghdad. So far, however they are meeting strong Iraqi resistance.

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Iraq threatens more suicide attacks

Iraq has warned coalition forces to expect more suicide bombings.

It comes after an Iraqi army officer, dressed as a civilian, blew himself up along with four US soldiers at a check point at Najaf.

Iraqi Vice-President, Taha Yassin Ramadan, said such strikes would become "routine military policy," adding that "there'll be more good news in the days to come." "The Iraqi people will give those bastards everything they deserve" he said.

It's a worrying development for Anglo-American troops who're already having to contend with sniping and other covert tactics.

But coalition commanders insist there'll be no change in their battle plans even though they clearly seem to have underestimated the level of Iraqi resistance.

Meanwhile, it's reported the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, repeatedly rejected Pentagon advice that substantially more troops and armour would be needed to fight a war in Iraq.

An article in the New Yorker magazine says Rumsfeld had wanted to "do the war on the cheap" and believed that precision bombing would bring victory.

More than 100,000 extra US soldiers are expected to arrive in Iraq by the end of April.

 

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30 March 2003

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Basra house-to-house seeking combattants

British Royal Marines have been making the rounds of senior Ba'ath party members around Basra - a dangerous job of kicking in doors with rifles at the ready.

The Major in charge of 42 Commando's operations said around a dozen prisoners were taken.

The British say the fighting here was made more difficult because the suspected Ba'ath members fought from within the midst of the citizens of Basra.

Families were afraid to go out.

It is likely that this is only a foretaste of more brutal and far bigger urban warfare missions yet to be carried out.

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130 dead in Peshmerga, Ansar al-Islam clashes

 

In north eastern Iraq, Kurdish militia forces, known as the Peshmerga have clashed with fighters from a radical Muslim group.

Ansar al-Islam, which operates in the Halabja region on the Iraq-Iran border, is believed to have links with Al-Qaeda.

US special forces were in the area when the battles took place in villages apparently controlled by the militants. More than 130 people, most of them thought to be Ansar fighters were killed in the fighting.

American troops are reportedly advising and supporting the Peshmerga in the area. The Peshmerga have detonated anti-personnel mines and recovered large stacks of anti-tank mines. They also claim to have advanced 25 kilometres towards Iraqi government controlled territory.

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Months to restore southern Iraqi oil output

Booby traps, blazing wellheads and neglect mean it'll take months to get Iraq's southern oilfields pumping again, according to American forces in charge of oil rehabilitation.

Brigadier General Robert Crear says say firefighting operations in Rumaila are only a small part of a painstaking operation to comb 800 platforms before taps can be reopened.

Extinguished wells that are not capped could flare up again at any time, leading to conflicting reports on the number of wells ablaze.

Aside from receiving pot shots from armed Iraqis, US-led forces also fear mines remain along the fields.

Until the demining operation is complete, engineers will assess each wellhead, gas oil separation plant and all the pipelines connected to gathering and export points.

Western oil executives had been banking on a two-to-four week disruption in Iraqi exports, which were running at 1.7 million bpd combined from the southern and northern fields before the war erupted.

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Aid distribution poses problems for coalition

The distribution of humanitarian aid is proving to be an increasingly difficult problem for the coalition.

Fist fights and scuffles greeted the first shipments of food and drink to reach civilians in southern Iraq after the start of the war. In Safwan, residents have been disconnected from the water system for ten days. The weakest had no option but to watch as the strongest quickly snapped up the sparse supplies.

For the supervising British troops, gaining the trust of local people is equally as important as overthrowing Saddam Hussein, but little can persuade some Iraqis that the invading forces are liberators and not occupiers.

Aid workers, while anxious of what might follow, say rising temperatures pose a more immediate threat to their efforts to stave off a humanitarian crisis.

They claim the scramble for supplies highlights the potential for instability as the war grinds on. Even if more aid does come in, distribution won't be any easier until systematic deliveries are set up to ensure the weakest get help first.

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War dead remembered at home and in the Gulf

During a lull in the fighting, coalition troops stationed in Iraq have taken a moment to remember their fallen comrades. Religious ceremonies have been held at several bases in the desert.

Since the US-led war began 34 American soldiers have been killed, and 15 are missing. At least, 23 British military personnel have also died.

In Maine, USA, the mother of one soldier, an American pilot who died when his helicopter crashed in a sandstorm, received a folded American flag at a memorial service. There was also a 21 gun salute outside the church.

At the Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire, England, the first bodies have arrived back from the Gulf. Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Prince Andrew joined in the ceremonies as the coffins were unloaded from transport planes.

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Outbreaks of harmony as disparate communities march together

Peaceful anti-war demonstrations were being held across the U.K. at the weekend, showing what campaigners said was "mounting anger" at what Iraqis have been suffering. Members of the anti-war coalition joined forces with the large muslim population in East London.

People marched across Scotland and came together in Edinburgh.

The turnout in Paris was far bigger than in London or Edinburgh; Police said it was 18,000 - organisers said 60,000.

In an unprecedented move for Paris, white-helmeted mediators guarded against clashes between different groups. Militant Palestinian sympathisers even cheered marchers carrying their banner 'French Jews for Peace.'

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Baghdad under renewed attack

Baghdad has been rocked by a fresh wave of explosions, a day after dozens of people were reported killed in a blast at a crowded marketplace in the city.
US-led forces fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iraq's Information Ministry in Baghdad, US Central Command in Qatar said.

The top floors of the building, which is a base for many foreign journalists, were badly damaged. Aerials were broken and reporters' equipment strewn over the floor.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said the strike was aimed at stopping the world seeing television pictures of the effects of coalition bomb attacks.

In other developments:

Up to five US soldiers are reported to have been killed in an apparent suicide attack north of the town of Najaf

US says it will stop firing cruise missiles over parts of Saudi Arabia after the desert kingdom complains that some missiles have landed on its territory

S warplanes have bombed a building in Basra, where about 200 paramilitaries loyal to Saddam Hussein were believed to have gathered

An Iraqi missile landed near a shopping centre in Kuwait City, slightly injuring two people and causing some damage

Pictures of the carnage at the al-Nasser market in Baghdad's Shula district have been broadcast on Arabic satellite channels throughout the Middle East.

Map: Military operations
Children have been shown in agony with blood-soaked bandages on their heads and faces.

In the hospital corridors, wailing women are seen prostrate with grief.

Iraqi hospital sources said 55 people had been killed, while Mr al-Sahaf told Lebanese television that 58 people were dead and he expected the death toll to rise.

If the number of casualties is confirmed, it would be the largest single loss of civilian life since the war began.

Iraqi officials said the market was hit by an American cruise missile.

Coalition spokesmen have said it is possible that a misfiring Iraqi missile could have caused the deaths, and US Central Command said it was "still trying to learn the truth of the matter".

Shift in targets

In the latest of a wave of raids, explosions were heard in Baghdad's southern outskirts.

Earlier, American warplanes pounded suspected positions occupied by the Iraqi Republican Guard.

Iraqi television showed three abandoned 'enemy' tanks
The BBC's Paul Wood, who is in Baghdad, says the attack on the Information Ministry indicates the Americans have shifted emphasis towards buildings which might have both military and civilian uses.

As coalition fighter planes pounded the Iraqi capital, defence officials denied reports that they have called a temporary halt to their advance on Baghdad.

There have been suggestions that the advance had been delayed because of Iraqi resistance and overstretched supply lines from Kuwait, up to 500 kilometres (300 miles) away.

The BBC's David Willis, who is with US marines about 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad, says some troops have had their rations cut to just one meal a day.

The Iraqi Information Minister called the reports a coalition "deception" and he said Iraq would "cut the snake [of coalition convoys] in half".

Iraqi satellite television, meanwhile, has shown pictures of three damaged American tanks and another vehicle abandoned near Najaf.

The presenter said the crews had fled after a confrontation with Iraqis.

Al-Jazeera television quoted an Iraqi military spokesman as saying Iraq had shot down a total of five coalition fighter planes, six drones, four helicopters and 130 cruise missiles, as well as having destroyed over 100 tanks and other armoured vehicles.

Syria, Iran warned

In another development, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has accused Syria of allowing the trafficking of military equipment across its border to Iraq and said it would be held accountable for what the US viewed as a hostile act.

Syria denied sending supplies and said the US was lying to try to divert attention from Iraqi civilian casualties.

Mr Rumsfeld also warned Iran - which organised anti-war rallies on Friday - against allowing Iranian-backed Iraqi rebels to cross into Iraq.

Iranian Government spokesman, Abdullah Ramazanzadeh, rejected the charges, saying: "We have stressed our policy of active neutrality time and again since before the war began."

Iraq also denied it was receiving external support.

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Big blast near Baghdad Information Ministry

Large explosions have rocked the Iraqi capital overnight. A television camera positioned near Iraq's Information Ministry clearly captured the blast which violently shook the building, some three kilometres away from the far bank of the Tigris river.

Despite the debris and clouds of smoke, the uninterrupted footage indicated that if the building was targeted, it was not destroyed. However, hours later Iraqi state television went off the air.

Elsewhere across the city centre, sporadic blasts punctuated the night as anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky as the sound of warplanes droned overhead.

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More than 50 dead in Baghdad air raid

 

Iraq says an air attack by the US-led coalition has left dozens of civilians dead.

Amid scenes that will fuel anger throughout the Arab world, at least 55 people are reported killed in a market place in Baghdad.

It comes just two days after the deaths of at least 14 others in an earlier market explosion in the capital.

On that occasion, the US military blamed an errant Iraqi missile for the tragedy.

In a first reaction to this latest incident on the evening of the Muslim holy day of prayer, American officials said they had no knowledge of any reports.

Arabic language TV stations said searchers were looking for more victims. If this was the result of a strike by the US-led coalition, it will do nothing to win Iraqi hearts and minds as Washington's campaign to topple Saddam Hussein continues.

Earlier, an office of the ruling Baath Party was hit in the capital. Witnesses said several houses were also struck. It is claimed eight people died, including a number of civilians.

As dozens of casualties of the market place blast, including children, were treated, Baghdad was hit by a fresh wave of bombardments on Friday night.

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Marines sink Saddam's navy

Britain's Royal Marines have taken to the water in raids aimed to ensure that Iraq's navy will not pose a threat to the US-led coalition.

Soldiers have been boarding the boats moored along the Tigres River and systematically putting them out of service.

The Marines have been working the river system south of Basra. Iraqi troops have prevented US-led forces from seizing control of the city, although British officials say there have been signs of civilian unrest inside the city.

British troops say they control the city's surroundings, but have not yet moved in.

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The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to use billions of dollars of

Iraqi oil revenues to purchase food and medicine for Iraq's population as the humanitarian consequences of war mounts.

The 15 to zero vote to restart the oil for food programme, on which 60 percent of Iraq's 26 million people depend for basic provision has been described as a good day for UN diplomacy.

However Russia made it clear that this was not a vote to confer legitimacy on the US-British invasion of Iraq.The UN Secretary General Koffi Annan suspended the programme and evacuated UN workers days before the US led strikes.

The United States and Britain requested tground allow.
hat the council ensure that 10 billion dollars in goods that Iraq had already ordered can enter the country when conditions on the

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Summer time

Europe's clocks move forward one hour on Sunday morning as daylight saving comes into effect. In the Central European Time zone, the switch happens at two o'clock. Almost every part of America makes the change in a week's time, while Iraq adopts daylight saving on Tuesday.

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What future for Iraq after Saddam?

The Bush and Hussein family destinies have been linked for the last decade. Topple Saddam to install a democracy in Iraq, to create a friendly regime that would be a regional model, or leave a weak Saddam in place in the interests of stability? Until now dictatorship was preferred over democracy to remove a menace to oil supplies. It has proven unreliable, but is regime change a realistic alternative?

Do all Iraqis believe in their leader with the fervour shown in Baghdad demonstrations? Surely not, with two fifths of the country home to dissident Kurds in the north, and Shia moslems in the south. The ruling Sunnis are in a minority despite controlling 60% of the territory: Shias represent over half the population, Kurds a quarter. Neighbouring Turkey rules out Kurdish rule, and a pro-Iranian regime would horrify Washington, so Shia rule is out, too.

The Shias suffered greatly in past risings, subjected to torture and execution while the Saddam regime has known how to make them dependant on aid. No-one in the region wants to help them to rise again, and form an islamist bloc with Iran.

It is the same for the Kurds. They were put down violently in the mid 1980's, and today enjoy a relative autonomy imposed by a west afraid of full independence. Vital NATO and US regional ally Turkey has a veto over this, lest Turkish Kurds demand the same from Ankara.

That leaves Iraqi opposition groups. They have also been reduced to near nothingness by repression, and the most active dissidents are in exile, seen as not having the capacities to pick up the reins of power, and out of touch after so many years abroad.

The last option would be encouraging a military rebellion; the Americans have written this into their strategies for regime change, but will the top brass swap an uncertain future for their current privileges? This is far from sure, and their support can't be taken for granted.

Saddam and the Sunni minority have sewn up all Iraq's institutions anyway, so many analysts say, in the country's current state, his going would change nothing. Another Sunni would take over, and inherit the machinery and methods of the regime.

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The man who must vanquish Saddam

Tommy Franks is the man pulling the military's strings in the battle against Iraq. As head of the United States' Central Command, the 57-year-old is the most powerful general in the world. Despite his high-profile position, however, he avoids the media spotlight.

Franks freely admits that he is nothing like his flamboyant predecessor, Norman Schwarzkopf, who became famous for his press briefings during the 1991 Gulf war.

But the general does have the backing of US Defence Minister, Donald Rumsfeld, who calls him a "wise and inspiring commander".

However, his critics in the Pentagon claim Franks is too conventional.

He faced off his opponents who wanted to give Iraq the short, sharp, shock treatment during the last conflict. Finally, he had the last word, and his efforts have continued to win over the ear of George Bush senior.

Now he curries favour with his son, George W. Bush, who sees the general in his own image - a no-nonsense, straight-talking Texan, who can make people follow his lead.

It is a feat that may be more easily accomplished because the Vietnam vet and much-decorated former artillery officer, is highly respected by his troops.

It has led many to support calls for him to take over as interim military leader in a post-Saddam Iraq. If, of course, he wins the war.

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"Mother of all battles" first act in Iraqi crisis

On the second of August 1990 , Iraq invaded Kuwait. Saddam Hussein's troops poured over the border and Kuwait was powerless to resist.

The United Nations immediately condemned the invasion and called for Iraqi troops to be withdrawn. Saddam announced the annexation of Kuwait to the Iraqi parliament, and, as the weeks drifted by, he showed no sign of bowing to the international community's demands.

e allure of Kuwait was chiefly its oil. Saddam was suddenly in control of 19% of the world's oil reserves, and he had gained better access to the Persian Gulf. However, Saddam had perhaps underestimated the global response to hisagression. The United States led a massive multinational military buildup inthe Gulf. Even countries previously friendly with Iraq decided the threat his invasion of Kuwait posed was too great to ignore.

Most countries in the region joined the coalition that launched Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. Most of the 605 000 thousand troops were American; though there were 36 000 British and 14 000 French soldiers.

When Saddam defied the final deadline to pull out, one of the heaviest bombardments in human history began. The Iraqi air defences were no match for the allied warplanes.

A month later, with coalition forces enjoying total air superiority, the massive ground attack began. It took just days for Iraqi forces to capitulate, with many surrendering as the allies swept towards Baghdad.

Between 170 000 and 250 000 Iraqi soldiers and civilians had died. On the coalition side, there were 466 deaths, 40% of them victims of "friendly fire".On the third of March 1991 General Norman Schwarzkopf took the Iraqi surrender on behalf of the allies.

Kuwait celebrated its liberation after six months of occupation and war, butthe country's delight did not last long. Saddam remained in Baghdad - and as they left Kuwait, the Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of oil wells - an environmental and public health disaster.

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Civilians likely to be war's biggest losers

It is expected war against Iraq will result in more than 200 000 being killed. What would the humanitarian consequences be of a future conflict? According to a leaked UN report they could be grave.

Iraq's most vulnerable will be particularly badly hit. Iraq has a population of 23 million people. 60 % of whom live below the poverty line. 25% of children suffer malnutrition.

At the moment some 30 to 40 per cent of Iraqis depend for their survival on handouts of rice, flour, oil and soap. These products are imported under the oil for food programme. Distribution, however, is the responsibility of the Iraqi government. Rationing is tight.

Iraqi society, like a developed country, is highly dependent on the country's infrastructure. That means transport and electricity networks, and the purification of the water supply. War damage on these facilities will affect Iraq's children the most.

It is imagined that infrastructural damage will result in 500,000 injured or ill and could cause at least 900,000 to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. In short, another Gulf War will likely result in a major humanitarian crisis in Iraq. It is said that to deal with this the United States will be in greater need of allies than it will be to go to war.

So far, discussions of the consequences of war have only really pondered casualties as a direct consequence of fighting. Add to these the civilian casualties from a humanitarian disaster and this conflict begins to look much more costly.

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Iraqi oil the key to the conflict?

Some believe that Washington's interest in toppling Iraq has nothing to do with hidden weapons or establishing democracy. It is all about oil, something that Iraq has an awful lot of. A glance at the map of Iraq and you can see that its wealth in oil is spread across the length of the country. It has eight refineries.

In fact Iraq is just behind Saudi Arabia with the second largest reserves of oil in the world. Iraq has 262 billion barrels of the stuff. Those reserves have been preserved by Iraq's slow rate of production. It is only 11th. in the world with 2.8 million barrels per day. It could pump out enough to be the world's fourth largest producer.

Iraq's reserves could be a powerful weapon. The theory doing the rounds is that if Iraq's oil were to flow freely onto the market, it could fatally undermine the oil producers' cartel, Opec. The crude version of this theory is that the west wants to control Iraq's oil supply. This is fiercely denied by British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, for one.

Oil is extremely price sensitive and it is believed during a short war its value per barrel will drop from 30 to 10 dollars. However if the war were to a last a long time the price could rocket to 80 dollars. That price would cut into western growth rates. The likelihood then would be for a short war.

Up until now the price of crude has been pitched by Opec to exactly the right level so as not to cut into western growth. Washington may be calculating that freeing up Iraq's supply from the control of Opec would force the rest of the world's oil to obey the laws of the market.

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Kurdish future balanced on western support

It is not quite the roof of the world, but Iraq's mountains to the north are the protective battlements for the country's Kurds. This population, ethnically and politically one step removed from Saddam Hussein's power base, is being primed by Britain and America, just like Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, to make war against the central government.

Iraq's Kurds currently enjoy political autonomy thanks to an enforced no-fly zone. The deal for mounting a campaign against Saddam could include full Kurdish independence. This has raised eyebrows in neighbouring countries frightened of stirring up Kurdish nationalism. Since 1962, the Kurds have been openly hostile to Baghdad. An antipathy that was at its most intense during the 80's, the Iran-Iraq war and then the Gulf War in 1991. That conflict led to the no-fly zone being set up in north to protect the Kurds from repression from Baghdad.

With central control severed, the Kurds established their own regional autonomy, which they defend to the hilt. Armed men are a regular site on Irbils street's, but the region also boasts democratic credentials. Though technically difficult, access to information is officially condoned. There are two main rival groupings among the Kurds. Massoud Barzani leads the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP , Jalai Talabani, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Both groups have their own militias, though are no longer in such fierce competition after Washington brokered talks in 1994. For now the economy of northern Iraq is paradoxically given a regular shot in the arm from Iraqi oil.

Smugglers exporting a little more fuel than is allowed under the oil for food programme make their way through Kurdish areas for Turkey. But the region is still poor and Kurds would welcome the cash to pay for their warriors' blood.

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Soldiers say price of war paid even in survival

Among those who fear a new Gulf War the most are the casualties of the last ; veterans like Otis Brooks, one of 10's of thousands of GI's who, 12 years after are still suffering from what's known as Gulf War syndrome. Once an accomplished athlete, today he's stiff and slow; "We were told to go and blow up ammo dumps, and that's what we did ; we went and blew 'em up, but no-one told us what sorta ammo we were destroying, if it'd had gas in or something like that", he says.

When his unit was sent to clear a passage through the battlefield for ground forces, they humped hundreds of shells, taking no special precautions, and without protection, and then disposed of them.

Jeffrey Skinner was once a marine, probably contaminated by chemicals released when Iraqi ammunition dumps were bombed. What does he think about renewed hostilities? "Well, it's very easy to be an armchair quarterback, sit there and say 'yeah we should go in' ; but when the body bags start coming home it's a whole different ballgame" says Jeffrey with a wry smile.

Allied munitions are also suspect, notably the depleted uranium rounds that were used for the first time against Iraq. 320 tons were fired, contaminating thousands of tanks and vehicles, and it is impossible today to say how many soldiers were exposed. Out of 700 000 troops deployed, over 130 000 have fallen sick.

The anti-germ warfare vaccinations troops were given may also have contributed. Five years ago British veterans returned their medals to the Ministry of Defence in protest, and today they are still fighting, but this time it is to get the government to admit its responsibility for their plight.

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US gears up for long campaign

Key areas in southern Iraq remain volatile

The US military has admitted that stiff Iraqi resistance is slowing the progress of the invasion force as battles rage around strategic towns in the south.
The US Army's senior ground commander in Iraq, General William Wallace, warned that long supply lines and Iraqi guerrilla-style tactics had reduced the chances for the swift war military planners had hoped for.

"The enemy we're fighting is different from the one we'd war-gamed against," he told The Washington Post.

US President George W Bush has said the coalition will fight for "however long it takes" to remove President Saddam Hussein from power.

Iraq has warned that US-led troops will have to fight their way into Baghdad street-by-street.

The capital again endured intense air bombardment overnight, and the US said it had destroyed a key Iraqi communications centre.

Washington has confirmed it is sending up to 120,000 more troops to boost its forces in Iraq - though it insisted the deployments had long been in the pipeline.

Thousands of US reinforcements are now poised to join the battle for the strategic town of Nasiriya in the south, the BBC's Jonathan Charles reports. US forces have spent days trying to dislodge Iraqi troops there.

Hundreds of Iraqi civilians are reported to have fled the fighting in Nasiriya and Basra further south.

US troops and members of Iraq's Fedayeen militia units have also fought a major battle in the central town of Samawah, the site of a crucial bridge on the way to Baghdad.

Other military developments:

US Marines in Nasiriya say they have captured an Iraqi army general, who was picked up at his home.

US-led forces in the south are being reinforced by an elite US airborne division that fought in Afghanistan. The 101st Airborne Division specialises in long-range helicopter assaults.

Troops from the Texas-based US Army's 4th Infantry Division head for the Gulf. Up to 12,000 troops will be going to the region over the next week.

US cargo planes deliver military supplies and 200 more troops to northern Iraq, a day after hundreds of US troops parachute into the area.

Also in northern Iraq, Kurdish militiamen cross the frontline into Iraqi government-controlled territory, seizing a hilltop position guarding the advance to the city of Kirkuk, after Iraqi forces withdrew.

UK tanks destroy 14 Iraqi tanks and a number of armoured vehicles attempting to break out of Basra.

Iraq's Defence Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed said he expected US-led forces to surround Baghdad within five to 10 days. US-led forces are already within 80 kilometres (50 miles) of the capital.

But he warned of street-by-street fighting, saying "Baghdad cannot be taken as long as the citizens in it are still alive".

A US military spokesman said air strikes on Thursday night had "taken out" a major communication centre that had been housed in a large tower on the east bank of the River Tigris.

"The strike with two precision-guided munitions was to degrade the ability of the Saddam Hussein regime to command and control the actions of Iraq's military forces," a US military spokesman in Qatar told the BBC.

Another strike sparked a large fire on the west bank of the river where several ministries and military compounds are located.

In other developments

The UK ship Sir Galahad, carrying 650 tonnes of much-needed food and water for Iraqis, approaches the southern port of Umm Qasr behind a mine-hunting vessel.

The United Nations reaches broad agreement on restoring the oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

Iraq denies that two dead British soldiers shown on Arabic television on Wednesday had been executed.

The US ambassador to the UN walks out of the Security Council debate on Iraq, while Iraq's envoy is accusing the US of trying to exterminate the Iraqi people.

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown announces that he will nearly double the UK war budget to £3bn ($4.5bn)

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Baghdad hit by one of heaviest nights of bombing in Iraq war
A palace of Saddam Hussein and the Republican Guard were among the targets of what has been described as one of the heaviest nights of bombing of Baghdad since the war in Iraq begin. The skyline was once again lit-up by several large fires as the missiles hit home. US military leaders said war planes and Tomahawk missiles blasted a ...


If Baghdad is the focus of the air war then Saddam is its ground zero
Iraqi TV has once again broadcast images of the leader whose death or overthrow is the stated aim this campaign In the latest airing he was filmed alongside his son Ussay and other ministers. While the pictures don't prove whether Saddam is alive or dead the fact that they were in black and white may reflect the damage done to Iraq's ...


US send more troops to the Gulf
In scenes certain to be replayed across the US in the coming weeks thousands of US soldiers have left their base in Texas bound for the Persian Gulf. The farewell ceremony came as it emerged the Pentagon plans to send up to 100,000 more troops to join the invasion of Iraq. That would roughly double numbers currently there.Officials have ...


US forces brace for major battle at Kerbala
US forces are preparing for their biggest battle yet on the road to Baghdad. Coalition commanders say they are expecting to meet major resistance from elements of the Republican Guard near the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala. A full Iraqi brigade of around 6,00 men have reportedly taken up position around the city. The Iraqi forces are ...


The battle for hearts and minds in southern Iraq
US and British forces are trying to consolidate their hold on the Al Faw peninsula without arousing the hostility of the local population. The first land action of the conflict took place on the southern tip of Iraq. Iraqi resistance is now said to have been all but flushed-out but it is still a dangerous environment for an invading army. ...


Kurds capture Iraqi positions in readiness for northern front
Hills overlooking the town of Chamchamal have become the first part of northern Iraq to be seized from Saddam's forces. Fleeing Iraqi soldiers left mines in their wake but reportedly offered little resistance to Kurdish fighters who had crossed over their own region. The advance came as 1,000 American paratroopers were dropped into the ...


UN agrees on new Iraqi oil for food plan
The UN Security Council is expected to vote today on a resolution allowing the resumption of Iraq's oil-for-food programme. The council had been asked by Britain, America and UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to ensure humanitarian aid can enter the country. Russia and Syria had opposed any immediate role for the US and Britain to help ...


WHO urges screening travellers for deadly pneumonia strain
The World Health Organisation has called for the screening of travellers from areas worst hit by a deadly new strain of pneumonia. Severe Acute Respiritory Syndrome, or SARS, has killed more than 50 people and infected in excess of 1,400, mainly in southeast Asia. Cases have also been reported in Europe and North America. The UN body ...

 

 

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Iraq troops engage US forces

UK soldiers have been fighting near Basra in the south
US and UK forces have engaged in fierce fighting in at least three major encounters across southern Iraq as they encounter stiffer resistance than they had been expecting.
US troops and members of Iraq's Fedayeen units have fought a major battle in the town of Samawah, the site of a crucial bridge on the way to Baghdad.

US forces have also bombed the town of Nasiriya after coming under fire overnight from defenders - as many as 30 US soldiers have been injured, some of them possibly by so-called friendly fire.

And UK tanks destroyed 14 Iraqi tanks and a number of armoured vehicles attempting to break out of the city of Basra.

Separately, hundreds of American troops have parachuted into northern Iraq in the first big US deployment north of Baghdad - what one unnamed US defence official called "the beginning of the northern front".

The Pentagon said the paratroops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade had taken control of a key airfield in Kurdish-controlled territory, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) north-east of the city of Irbil.

Key supply routes

Throughout Thursday the Iraqi capital Baghdad has come under renewed bombardment from coalition war planes, with powerful blasts reported in both the centre and outskirts of the city.

In the fighting in the south, the Americans used heavy guns and tank shells as well as Apache helicopters to try to dislodge an estimated 1,500 Fedayeen fighters guarding a bridge across the Euphrates river.

The US needs to capture the town to secure its supply routes as its forces move north, according to the BBC's Gavin Hewitt, who is travelling with the troops.

In the encounter near Basra, UK Challenger tanks destroyed 14 Iraqi T-55 tanks on Thursday morning.

That engagement follows an overnight encounter in which US and UK air strikes and artillery engaged a column of Iraqi vehicles in the area.

Baghdad casualties

There have also been reports that dozens of US Marines were injured by other American troops in the clashes around the town of Nasiriya.

As many as 37 Marines are believed to have been injured, some critically.

Reports from the area suggest that two US units sent to attack a group of Iraqis firing on them ended up shooting at each other instead of the hostile troops.

On Thursday, Iraqi Health Minister Omid Medhat Mubarak said more than 350 Iraqi civilians had died since the war began eight days ago.

He accused the US of having bombed a shopping area on Wednesday, killing at least 14 civilians in the residential area of Shaab

The US - which says it is doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties - does not admit responsibility for the deaths.

A US military spokesman at coalition Central Command said: "Our early intelligence report provides no conclusive evidence that we have caused the damage in the civilian marketplace.

"One possibility and high probability is that it was caused from the fallout from the regime's anti-aircraft fire."

But the BBC's Andrew Gilligan in Baghdad says that explanation is "unlikely because we simply haven't heard any anti-aircraft fire in the city for the past four days".

The US military has admitted using precision-guided weapons to target Iraqi missiles and launchers which it says were hidden in a residential area less than 100 metres (300 feet) from homes.

Other military developments

The US says that it will step up operations in the next few days as weather in the region improves after days of sandstorms

UK raids destroy transmitters in Basra, taking state radio and television off the air in the city and effectively cutting off its communications with Baghdad

A UK military spokesman says two soldiers missing since Sunday are now believed to have been killed

The US is sending another 30,000 troops to join the campaign in Iraq

The US Army troops dropped into northern Iraq jumped from low-flying transport planes onto the Bashur airstrip, a reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer travelling with them said.

More troops and equipment, including tanks and other armoured vehicles, are expected to be flown in soon.

The force is smaller and lighter than the US originally hoped.

The US military had hoped to send troops in overland, but failed to reach an agreement with Turkey about using its bases and airspace.

In other developments

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown announces that he will nearly double the UK war budget to £3bn ($4.5bn)

The UK says the discovery of chemical weapons protection suits at a deserted Iraqi command post in the south could indicate that Iraq intended to use chemical weapons in the war

General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, accuses Iraq of executing prisoners of war, though Pentagon sources say they are unable to confirm his comment

Kuwaiti officials say a Patriot anti-missile battery destroyed a missile fired at Kuwait from southern Iraq

A UK ship carrying 500 tons of food, water and blankets has been prevented from docking in the port of Umm Qasr by the discovery of a mine in the harbour

US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair are meeting at the Camp David retreat in the US to discuss the shape of a post-war Iraq.

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Central and southern Baghdad shaken on day 8 of war

More than ten deaths are reported and some forty injured in the latest U.S. bombing raid.

Attacks day and night over the past week have battered Saddam Hussein's palaces, government and military buildings and army barracks.

Those of Baghdad's five million people who could escape the bombs and cruise missiles have left the city.

Fires lit by Iraqi troops hoping the smoke will foil the enemy air strikes serve only to foul the air; the bombs see through the smoke because they are guided by satellite.

On Wednesday, however, more than a dozen civilians were killed in a residential area market in what witnesses said was a U.S. missile strike.

But according to U.S. Central Command the deaths in the northern Baghdad area may have been from an accidental hit by the Iraqis themselves.

Tho Americans say the defenders are firing old missiles without radar guidance, to prevent detection by attacking aircraft.

Allied targets at the time of the incident were said to be in a different part of the capital; the Pentagon said its investigation was continuing.

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Coalition forces are said to be closing in on the Iraqi capital Baghdad

Members of President Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party are taking up positions across the city.

There weapons consists of a mixture of rifles, machine guns and rocket prepelled grenades.

Saddam is alleged to have increased the number of civilians trained for combat...some Iraqi figures showing more than six million citizens have received two years of paramilitary training.

Many residents of Baghdad have already left to escape the bombing....they fear fighting between Iraqi troops and militia....and coalition forces is imminent.

But people who have remained in the city, through choice or necessity, stay inside their homes at night.....or if they have access, in bomb shelters. They reappear in the daytime, trying to live as normal lives as possible.

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American forces open northern front in Iraq

A thousand US troops have parachuted into the north of Iraq, opening up a new front in their campaign.

Paratroops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade have taken control of a key airfield in Kurdish-controlled territory. They are said to have met no resistance. They are close to Mosul and Kirkuk, a key oil city still under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's control.

Additional troops, equipment including tanks and other armoured vehicles are likely to follow soon.

The force is smaller than the US had hoped. Initial plans to send 60,000 American troops in overland from Turkey were dashed after Ankara denied permission for an invasion from its soil.

There are reports that Kurdish troops have been helping the Americans.

Washington said special forces have been on the ground in preparation for their arrival.

It is being seen as a key strategic move, the aim being to prevent Iraqi troops from focussing their defences solely on coalition forces in the South.

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Iraq accuses coalition forces of targetting its civilians
Three massive explosions hit central Baghdad Thursday, a further 30 blasts struck the Iraqi capital overnight. Iraqi officials say more than 4,000 civilians have been killed and injured since the start of the war eight days ago. Iraq has accused coalition forces of deliberately targetting civilians, saying yesterdays attack on a busy ...


Coalition forces are said to be closing in on the Iraqi capital Baghdad
Members of President Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party are taking up positions across the city. There weapons consists of a mixture of rifles, machine guns and rocket prepelled grenades. Saddam is alleged to have increased the number of civilians trained for combat...some Iraqi figures showing more than six million citizens have received two ...


American forces open northern front in Iraq
A thousand US troops have parachuted into the north of Iraq, opening up a new front in their campaign. Paratroops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade have taken control of a key airfield in Kurdish-controlled territory. They are said to have met no resistance. They are close to Mosul and Kirkuk, a key oil city still under Iraqi ...


Friendly fire injures American soldiers in Iraq
Dozens of American soldiers have been injured, five seriously, after coming under friendly fire in the south of Iraq. The news agency AFP says it received the information from a witness in the city of Nassirya, as yet, there has been no comment from the US military.A number of vehicles are believed to have been destroyed. Western forces have ...


Air clears, forces clash, accident claims U.S. gun
American artillery has been in action in the Najaf region 150km south of Baghdad. Racing across stretches of desert has been interrupted by numerous encounters with Iraqi forces. Full confrontation could come within hours. U.S. military information (1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division) says the Iraqis are sending some one thousand of their elite ...


Basra break-out puzzles allies
Allied military leaders remain uncertain about the destination and intentions of an Iraqi convoy, which broke out of the southern city of Basra. It was reported to be heading down the Al Faw peninsula in the direction of a major force of British troops. US and British warplanes quickly began attacking the column. An unspecified number of tanks ...


Civilians flee as Basra conditions deteriorate
Iraqi families are fleeing the southern city of Basra, as food and water supplies run out. Much of what has been going on in Basra remains shrouded in mystery. Some reports say civilian unrest has broken out against Saddam Hussein's regime. Such claims have been dismissed as "hallucinations" by the Baghdad government.What is sure, however, is ...


Humanitarian aid delay in Umm Qasar
As house to house searches in the port city of Umm Qasr were winding up, the British said a first seaborne delivery of aid to southern Iraq has been delayed by 24 hours. The Royal Marines 42 Commando were intent on flushing out any Iraqis who had defended Umm Qasr; finding weapons stocks was part of their task. The British naval supply ...


War wounded treated on hospital ship in the Gulf
As the casualties mount on the coalition side the wounded are being transferred to a large hospital ship anchored in the Gulf. USNS Comfort has a staggering one thousand beds and another twelve hundred medical staff to treat them. The ship is no stranger to the task - it was used in the first Gulf War. So far 42 coalition soldiers have been killed ...

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Iraq

Introduction: the ambitions of the Common Foreign and Security Policy

I hope that I have never over-sold to this House the achievements of the Common Foreign and Security Policy or even its potential under the existing Treaty. I have always been acutely conscious of its limitations. Let me quote briefly from a speech I made almost three years ago, in June 2000:

"In the important advances achieved in CFSP in the last decade," I said, "the Member States have not given the Commission a sole right of initiative; nor, in general, have they agreed to abide by majority votes; nor do they accept that Europe has 'occupied the space', reducing national freedom of action…Foreign policy remains primarily a matter for democratically elected Member State governments."(1)

That has never been more evident than over the last few miserable weeks, which have also amply illustrated what I went on to say that:

" All Member States should acknowledge what those actually doing the work of CFSP have long understood that mere inter-Governmentalism is a recipe for weakness and mediocrity: for a European foreign policy of the lowest common denominator. That will become more and more obvious as the Union takes in new members."

The sorry figure cut by the European Union in recent weeks should not blind us to the real and remarkable achievements of CFSP over the last decade: in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, and in many other parts of the world. But it should also remind us how far we have to go. Of course, it is possible as some have suggested for a small group of Member States to act as a driving force to give Europe a coherent, high profile foreign policy. But without better machinery to harness common political will, they are just as likely to drive an incoherent high-profile policy. This has not been a good time for those who believe that the way forward for European foreign policy is to leave things to the big Member States.

Enhancing the role of the UN.

One lesson we can already draw from the unfolding events is the importance of developing the role and authority of the United Nations. It is in the interests of the whole world that power should be constrained by global rules, and used only with international agreement. What other source of international legitimacy but the UN exists for military intervention? On what other basis is it possible, indeed, to address the problem of weapons of mass destruction? I am here thinking not just of the particular case of Iraq, but of the wider issue. America's refusal to press forward with ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty hardly strengthens the hand of the IAEA and others seeking to prevent the proliferation of nuclear technology in Iran, North Korea and beyond. I regretted, too, America's decision to resile so lightly from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. For such decisions and there have been many send a dangerous signal about the value that the US places on international commitments. And that, surely, is a critical battle lost in what some call the 'war against terrorism'.

For I find it hard to conceive how the terrorist threat can be confronted effectively except through international co-operation and disciplines. Impressive work has already been done within the EU and through the UN Counter-terrorism Committee. We should continue to help countries which find it hard to meet their counter-terrorism obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1373. And we should continue to work for a less unequal world for example in the WTO Doha Development Agenda; by carrying forward the Monterrey decisions on development financing; and by implementing the Johannesburg decisions on sustainable development. As a general rule, are wars not more likely to recruit terrorists than to deter them? It is hard to build democracy at the barrel of a gun, when history suggests that it more usually the product of long internal development within a society.

Because of the UN's unique role as a source of legitimacy, it is of the greatest importance that if a war is waged in Iraq, the UN should authorise the decision to attack. If, tragically, the position of the UN remains ambiguous (if, for example, authority for an attack rested on Resolution 1441, but without explicit Security Council confirmation that Iraq's failure fully to comply constituted a casus belli), then it is still likely to be desirable that the UN should provide the framework as soon as possible for humanitarian assistance that may be necessary thereafter;

that it should oversee the emergence of the new Iraqi polity, driven by the people of Iraq themselves; and that it should help to co-ordinate the international reconstruction effort that will certainly be required. But it would be better (who can seriously dispute this) if, a huge "if" we were able to disarm Saddam Hussein preferably by inspections.

EU humanitarian assistance and other co-operation

The EU is a massive donor in the Balkans and in Afghanistan, and we are already the largest humanitarian donor in Iraq. If it comes to war, we shall certainly have to step up that help, not just to the victims of the conflict, but to those who may seek refuge from it. The Commission has been engaged in intensive contacts with UN organisations and with countries neighbouring Iraq about how we might best contribute on the humanitarian front. €15m has already been set aside, but we may well need to go further drawing, if necessary, on the budget's emergency reserve.

It will be essential that, with other international assistance agencies, the EU should be free to give independent and impartial help. A strict separation will need to be maintained between military action and assistance in order to preserve the so-called 'humanitarian space'. That objective will be much easier to achieve if the UN is recognised, at an early stage, as the lead assistance co-ordinator.

Immediate humanitarian help is one thing but the demands upon us will certainly extend much beyond that. As you are all too well aware in this House, Europe's external relations budget is already heavily committed. It will be very difficult in any circumstances to launch massive new programmes in Iraq and in the neighbourhood of Iraq. But it will be that much more difficult for the EU to co-operate fully and on a large scale also in the longer-term reconstruction process if events unfold without proper UN cover and if the Member States remain divided.

When I have made this point in the past I have sometimes been accused of issuing a threat of EU nonco-operation if the United States chooses to proceed without UN backing, on the principle suggested by Tom Friedman from the sign in a china shop: "If you broke it, you own it." But that is not my point. I am making, rather, a simple observation of fact: that if it comes to war, it will be very much easier to persuade you the EU budgetary authority to be generous if there is no dispute about the legitimacy of the military action that has taken place; about the new political order that emerges thereafter; or about who is in charge of the reconstruction process. I am not making a quasi-legal point. I am simply offering a political judgement of no great novelty or sagacity. It seems pretty obvious.

Minimising collateral damage

I am gravely concerned and I know that many in this House share my concerns about the potential collateral damage of recent events, and of a war, if it comes to that. Our joint efforts should be directed to trying to minimise those potential effects. I am thinking not just of the death and destruction that might be wrought by war itself, or of the destabilising consequences for Iraq's immediate neighbours but of potential damage, for example to the authority of the United Nations; to NATO; and to transatlantic relations, which are going through a very difficult passage. In all these contexts we must look beyond the immediate arguments and remind ourselves of our long-term interests to co-operate and to strengthen the flawed but necessary apparatus of international governance.

But there are three other areas where we should also work to reduce collateral damage from recent events.

The first is the Common Foreign and Security Policy itself, which has suffered a severe setback because Member States on both sides of the debate have chosen to take firm national policy positions as if they spoke for the European Union as a whole. We must not be disheartened by this setback. There have been similar divisions within the United States, and even within the US Administration, but these do not pull the country apart because in the end the President is empowered to speak for the nation as a whole. As a Union of independent nations we do not enjoy that luxury. But that is reason to redouble our efforts to build an effective CFSP, not to abandon them. As we return to the work we shall find, perhaps, a little more humility even among the large Member States who can surely see how much they have damaged their common enterprise and how much they have reduced their common influence as a result of public squabbling;

A second European project that risks being hurt by recent events if we do not work actively to sustain it, is the cause of enlargement. I think it is particularly damaging that disagreements over Iraq have been allowed to over-shadow the debate about enlargement. We should not call into question the European vocation of countries simply because of their views on the Iraq crisis. Let us assure the acceding countries that we continue to look forward eagerly to their imminent membership.

But on the other side of the argument let us acknowledge that those who join our Union are making an existential choice. They are not declaring themselves for Europe and against the United States. Emphatically not. But, in the words of the Treaty, they are accepting a responsibility to "refrain from action…likely to impair [the effectiveness of the Union] as a cohesive force in international relations."(2) The present members may have set a bad example but that does not reduce the responsibility on all members, including the acceding states, to meet that Treaty obligation.

Finally, I want to say a word about Israel and Palestine. What happens if there is a war in Iraq? Let us suppose, let us pray, that it is brief. Let us further suppose that all the worries expressed about the consequences in terms of stability of the country prove unfounded. Let us, in short, put all or most anxieties to one side.

I want to ask two questions. First, will the peace that breaks out drive Palestinians and Israelis into an historic reconciliation? The state of the Palestinians was described last week by Peter Hansen, Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency. "The stark fact is", he wrote, "that almost a quarter of Palestinian children are suffering from acute or chronic malnutrition for purely man-made reasons. No drought has hit Gaza and the West Bank, no crops have failed and the shops are often full of food. But the failure of the peace process and the destruction of the economy by Israel's closure policy have had the effect of a terrible natural disaster".

Second, in the aftermath of a war, will America (the leader of a UN backed operation or a more limited coalition) take a much more proactive role in forging an Israeli-Palestinian peace? We have been told that will happen. European leaders have been told that will happen: that the road map will see the light of day before we all run out of road. I sincerely hope that is so. I genuinely fear the outcome if war in Iraq is followed by another year or more of violence in Palestine and Israel. That would further inflame opinion in the Islamic world. To defeat terrorism, it is said by some to be necessary to defeat Saddam Hussein. That may or may not be true some of us are at the very least agnostic on that point. But what I am absolutely sure about is that to invade Iraq while failing to bring peace to the Middle East would create exactly the sort of conditions in which terrorism would be likely to thrive. And none of us would be immune from the consequences.

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Dawn raids target Baghdad

Thick smoke can be seen from a burning building in Baghdad
Buildings and television stations in the centre of the Iraqi capital Baghdad have been hit in dawn raids by US-led coalition forces.
And at least 40 explosions were reported south of the city, where Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard is reported to be dug in.

UK troops are engaging Iraqi paramilitaries fleeing the southern city of Basra - where the civilian population was reported to have staged an uprising against the government of Saddam Hussein.

However, latest reports from Basra appear to indicate that the streets are quiet.

Further north, US Marines have continued to meet guerrilla-style resistance and sniper attacks in and around the city of Nasiriya - a key crossing point on the Euphrates for the Marine advance on Baghdad.

Reuters news agency says coalition air strikes have been called in to support Marines facing determined Iraqi resistance near the town of Ash Shatrah, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Nasiriya.

Tuesday saw US troops in forward positions near the town of Najaf engaged in clashes with Iraqi forces, which Pentagon officials said left between 150 and 300 Iraqis dead.

The BBC's Nick Childs at the Pentagon says this appears to have been an intense engagement, but did not appear to be the start of the push on Baghdad.

A defence official said Iraqi ground forces had tried to hit US forces of the US 7th Cavalry with rocket-propelled grenades, but there are no reports of US casualties.

Wednesday's resumed raids on Baghdad came after sandstorms, which had hampered some coalition operations, eased.

US Central Command in Qatar has said that missiles struck Iraq's main TV station as well as a key communication point vault early on Wednesday, damaging Iraq's command and control capability.

The Pentagon said the purpose of the operation was to counter command and control abilities of the Iraqi regime, and also to deal with propaganda and the disinformation campaign of Baghdad.

But British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said no direct attempt had been made to take Iraqi television off the air.

The headquarters of state television, which was off air at the time of the raids, has been left a smouldering wreck but programmes resumed at about 0900 (0600GMT).

Iraq's international satellite channel, which stopped broadcasting at the time of the explosions in the city, still appears to be off the air.

A B-52 bomber took off from RAF Fairford in western England at 0337GMT on Wednesday, indicating that more bombing raids on the Iraqi capital could be imminent.

In fighting elsewhere:

Two British soldiers were killed and two seriously injured when their Challenger tank was hit in a "friendly fire" incident during fighting early on Tuesday on the outskirts of Basra

After securing the route through the town of Nasiriya - about 370 km (230 miles) south-east of Baghdad - US Marines seize a hospital that appears to have been used by Iraqi forces to store weapons

British Royal Marines move into positions along the Iraqi border with Iran, amid worries that Iran might try to exploit the chaos caused by the war

The Al-Jazeera satellite channel has reported bombing raids on the northern city of Mosul early on Wednesday.

The BBC's Jim Muir in northern Iraq said coalition troops also appeared to be being flown into the region at night in preparation for what could be a the start of a northern front.

He said some bombing raids may also have been carried out on the Ansar al-Islam, the radical Islamic faction which the US says has links to the al-Qaeda network, in the hills north of Halabja.

The 800 or so Ansar al-Islam are expected to be the target of a ground offensive by Kurdish peshmerga - or volunteer - guerrillas working in co-ordination with the US special forces, he said.

Basra 'potential'

Major General Peter Wall, British Chief of Staff at Allied Central Command in Qatar, said the Basra uprising was in its infancy and British troops were "keen to exploit its potential".

Why Basra matters
According to military intelligence officials, Iraqi troops in the city turned mortar fire on their own civilians in an attempt to crush the unrest, but Baghdad denies any revolt has occurred.

Coalition planes also dropped two very large bombs on the Baath Party headquarters in the city, which is reported to have been reduced to rubble.

The United Nations has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis in Basra, which is home to about 1.5 million people.

Some 100,000 children are at risk of disease as fighting there has continued for four days, disrupting supplies of drinking water, a UN spokesman said.

A UK naval ship loaded up in Kuwait with stocks of food, water and other supplies is still waiting to dock in the nearby Iraqi port of Umm Qasr as work continues to clear mines from the sea there.

US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the immediate future of Iraq if Saddam Hussein is deposed.

The role of the UN in a post-war Iraq could be a sticking point at the talks.

The BBC's Washington correspondent Justin Webb says that unlike Mr Blair, the Bush administration has not been convinced of the need for the UN to be involved in setting up a post-war Iraqi government.

Baghdad bombings target television headquarters
US warplanes have again pounded Republican Guard positions near Baghdad this morning. As dawn broke in the Iraqi capital, over 30 large explosions struck the city's southern outskirts where the elite troops loyal to President Saddam Hussein are based. No anti-aircraft fire could be seen and air raid sirens remained silent in this city of ...


Sandstorm slows US advance on Baghdad
US armored columns were said to be around 80 kilometres to the south of Baghdad overnight but they were being slowed by sandstorms. Correspondents with US columns advancing on the capital said choking dust storms cut visibility to five meters in some places. At the weekend London predicted that the battle to take Baghdad would ...


Pentagon says "up to 300" Iraqi troops killed near Najaf
US troops have reported killing hundreds of Iraqi soldiers near Najaf, about 160 kilometres south of Baghdad, without suffering any casualties themselves. The Pentagon says between 150 and 300 Iraqi troops were believed killed after they attacked the US Seventh Cavalry near Najaf. In possibly the biggest engagement of ground forces since ...


British forces say locals rising up against regime in Basra
The battle for Basra continued as British commanders said they believed its citizens were rising up against the Iraqi regime. Basra is a mostly Shi'ite city which was encouraged by the US to rise up against Saddam Hussein at the end of the last Gulf war. But the US failed to provide military support and the Shiite rebellion was stamped out by ...


Iraqis wait for aid after coalition secures Umm Qasr
Umm Qasr is safe and open and we are beginning to deliver aid - that is the message from coalition forces after heavy fighting for Iraq's only deep water port. On Saturday the US announced it had secured the port only to face guerilla style gun battles - now they report that all gunmen and local Baath party officials have fled. ...


Dolphins drafted to help US war effort
The most high-tech war in history has thrown up an unlikely secret weapon. The US army is using bottle-nosed dolphins as mine detectors in the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. The team of specially trained dolphins has just been flown in from California and will be helping coalition divers to clear the coast of danger before aid shipments can ...


Islamist activity increases unease in Iraqi Kurdistan
In northern Iraq, families living just inside the Kurdish-ruled zone have fled their homes and taken refuge at a camp a safer distance away from the frontline with government-controlled territory. UN humanitarian officials visited the camp in the Zawita valley, north of Dohuk, yesterday but some of the 500 plus people there say they ...


Ankara says troops may have to enter Iraq
Turkey says it may still send troops into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. The US and the European Union have told Ankara not to send forces into the area, fearing they could clash with local Kurdish militia helping small numbers of US troops. Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul says Ankara wants to avoid a repeat of the refugee crisis ...


US president George Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair

will hold a war council on Wednesday as the assault on Baghdad nears
Tony Blair will fly to Washington to convince his ally that the UN must hold centre stage in the reconstruction of Iraq. Washington says its still working out what kind of role the UN should play whilst the UN itself remains deeply divided over the US led attack on Iraq. Blair said Iraq ...


Pentagon insist war plan on track as forces move closer to capital.
US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld speaking on day six of the war on Iraq has continued to attack the regime of Saddam calling it a "notorious sponsor of terror" as British and American troops are moving at speed towrds the capital Baghdad.He informed the world that the Medina Division of the Republican Guard charged with the defence of the ...


Fifteen more U.S. soldiers injured in the Gulf have been flown to Ramstein air base in Germany
They arrived on a C141 plane from Kuwait after a ten hour flight. The Ramstein base, south-west of Frankfurt, is one of the biggest staging areas for American troops and military supplies outside of the U.S. Around 7,600 U.S. military personnel are based here. Of the fifteen injured, 10 were carried from the plane on stretchers, the other five ...


US national security adviser Condoleeza Rice has met with Kofi Annan to discuss Iraq's suspended food for oil programme
The UN Security Council has been unable to agree on the issue as the politics of war takes centre stage. Also at the UN Spanish foreign minister Anna Palacio met with US secretary of State Colin Powell agreeing with him that food and humanitarian aid should reach Iraq as soon as possible. Many council members Russia, Syria and ...


Afghan prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay
Eighteen Afghans who were released from controversial US prison camp Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have returned home to Afghanistan with mixed feelings. Back in the capital Kabul and dressed in blue handouts from the prison authorities some of the men said it took too long - over a year and two months - to be found innocent. Others said their ...

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Coalition pushes for Baghdad

Coalition forces in Iraq have started their push to strike at the heart of Saddam Hussein's regime in what is being seen as a decisive phase in the war.

Following five days of strategic bombing raids on the Iraqi capital, US helicopter gunships and war planes have attacked positions held by the Republican Guard, Iraq's elite troops, outside Baghdad overnight.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said the encounter between the coalition forces and the Medina division of the Republican Guard, defending the route to the capital, would "be a crucial moment" in the campaign.

Military officials are however concerned that persistent sandstorms forecast for the Baghdad region could hinder their advance.

US commander General Tommy Franks said coalition lead formations were now less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Baghdad.

Substantial numbers of US forces are also passing through the town of Nasiriya, located on the road north to Baghdad, according to BBC correspondent Andrew North.

Meanwhile the British military has said that Iraq's second largest city Basra, which has been subject to unexpectedly intense ground fighting, had become a military target in order to get humanitarian aid to its people.

This is not what the British wanted, says the BBC's Tim Franks, but they have little choice.

Air raids

US-led forces have flown 900 strike sorties in the last 24 hours, including pounding raids by B-52 bombers and Apache helicopter gunships against Republican Guard positions.

Correspondents reported sporadic explosions to the south of the city throughout the night on Monday.

The sandstorms forecast for the Baghdad region on Tuesday could hinder helicopter operations.

A Reuters reporter with the US Third Infantry Division near Najaf, 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of the Iraqi capital said visibility was down to 500 metres.

US-led troops have been involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the war so far - running into stiff resistance particularly in the southern town of Nasiriya, where 10 Americans have been killed in the fighting.

British troops meanwhile have been drawn into urban warfare in Basra.

Water supplies and treatment have been disrupted by a loss of power during fighting between the coalition troops and the Iraqi opposition in the city.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has called for urgent measures to help the local population which face the threat of disease from a lack of clean water.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said has sent a specialist engineer to the city to help try to restore water supplies.

More PoWs

Bombardments of Iraqi positions have continued on the northern front between Kirkuk and the Kurdish-controlled town of Chamchamal.

The city of Mosul has also been targeted by coalition bombers.

And US, UK and Australian special forces soldiers were active in the west of Iraq.

The aircrew of a US Apache helicopter brought down in Karbala south of Baghdad and paraded on Iraqi television have been identified.

Pentagon officials named the missing crew as Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young, 26, and Chief Warrant Officer David Williams, 30.

The Iraqi Government said the men would be treated as Prisoners of War under the rules of the Geneva Convention.

Other key developments

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is to meet US President George Bush later this week to discuss the war, say US government officials

Arab League countries have condemned the "aggression" against Iraq and called for the immediate withdrawal of US and British forces from the country

US President George W Bush has complained directly to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that Russian companies have been selling military equipment to Iraq in breach of UN sanctions

President Bush is preparing to ask Congress for nearly $75bn to meet the cost of the war.

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Tuesday, 25 March, 2003

Iraq shows off Apache crew

The two men were not asked questions on camera

Two US helicopter crewmen captured by Iraq and paraded on TV have been identified by the Pentagon.
The US named them as Chief Warrant Officer David Williams and Chief Warrant Officer Ronald Young, missing after an attack near Karbala involving 30 or 40 helicopter gunships.

Iraq said the two men were the crew of an Apache attack helicopter downed near the city, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south-west of Baghdad.

The Iraqi broadcast came the day after five other US prisoners-of-war were shown being questioned by Iraqi television in an episode described as "disgusting" by US officials.

A Pentagon official, Major General Stanley McChrystal, confirmed that the two warrant officers had gone missing during an attack on the Medina Division of Iraq's Republican Guard on Monday.

Identification papers

The two captives were not asked questions on camera and were shown sitting, apparently in good health.

Pictures of what were said to be their identification papers were also shown.

Iraqi television also broadcast footage of the state-of-the-art helicopter, which looked virtually intact, in a field.

The Apache appeared undamaged

A correspondent for the US television network CNN, who was travelling with the US Army Fifth Corps 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, said the helicopters had been attacking Republican Guard units close to Baghdad in a night-time operation.

He quoted one of the pilots as saying the regiment had hit a "hornet's nest, a barrage of anti-aircraft fire".

The correspondent added that most of the armoured helicopters had been hit by bullets and he said that the crews had arrived back "feeling surprised, dazed, stunned somewhat".

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf said two Apaches had been shot down by a "small number of... brave peasants".

The US has denied that a second helicopter is missing.

'Vietnam flashbacks'

Relatives of US service personnel captured in Iraq have been speaking of their anguish over their loved ones' fate.

I just want him to come home alive

Anecita Hudson
mother of POW

Anecita Hudson of Alamogordo, New Mexico, said that seeing her 23-year-old son Joseph Hudson paraded on Iraqi TV as a POW was like a "bad dream".

"I don't want him to get cold, and I don't want him to get hungry. I just want him to come home alive," she said.

Another of her sons, 18-year-old Anthony, reacted with anger to his brother's capture.

"I feel like loading up my shotgun and going overseas," he was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. "Send me over there. I'll get him back."

Correspondents report that the war is reviving bad memories of an earlier war for some Americans.

Robert Colson, a Vietnam veteran in Nashville, Tennessee, told Reuters that the conflict was giving him "a lot of flashbacks".

"I can't help but feel that [US soldiers] are victims of a government policy gone amok," he said.

Another interviewee, Nicholas Anton of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, said it was naive to think that the Iraqis would be "flag-waving and welcoming".

"That crazy euphoria everyone had in the beginning was very short-lived, and now people have to deal with the consequences of a real war," he said.

 

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Saddam promises Iraqi victory

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has issued a rallying call to what he called the "brave and heroic" Iraqi people in a broadcast on national television.
The Iraqi leader, dressed in an olive green military uniform and reading from a script, promised that victory over US and British forces was near.

His speech - only the second he has made since the outbreak of war - came as US-led forces continued to close in on Baghdad in the face of some fierce Iraqi fighting.

US military commander, General Tommy Franks, said the coalition forces were making "rapid and, at times, dramatic progress", and described the Iraqi resistance as "sporadic".

Iraqi TV has shown pictures of an American Apache attack helicopter which it said had been shot down near the town of Karbala, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the capital.

The US military has confirmed that one helicopter is down. It has not commented on Iraqi reports that a second helicopter was hit and two American pilots taken prisoner.

American helicopter gunships were involved in a three-hour battle with a division of Iraq's Republican Guard at Karbala on Sunday.

US troops have meanwhile intensified their assault on Nasiriya, where the bridges across the Euphrates river are essential for troops moving north towards Baghdad.

The BBC's Andrew North, who is travelling with the US soldiers, says a large column of armoured vehicles is moving into the town, covered by artillery fire.

Further south, British forces have fired artillery into Iraq's second biggest city, Basra, in what they said was a response to Iraqi attacks.

IRAQ CAMPAIGN

Map: Military operations
Iraq's Republican Guard
In the north, US warplanes have been bombing Iraqi positions near Chamchamal, a frontline town controlled by Kurdish forces.

After a night of heavy bombardment, the capital Baghdad came under fresh attack on Monday afternoon. Reuters news agency reported a series of six explosions in the east and south-east.

Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi television at 0800 GMT (1100 local time) to proclaim that Iraqi forces were inflicting losses on the US and UK forces.

"Victory will be ours soon," he said. "Iraqis will strike the necks as God has commanded you."

At one stage he read out a roll call of honour naming individual commanders and their locations, such as the southern port of Umm Qasr.

Live pictures from Baghdad
(video feed may be interrupted)
But UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon said the speech was almost certainly recorded.

"Obviously analysis continues, but what I can say straight away is that those pictures were not live," Mr Hoon told a news conference in London.

There has been intense speculation about the fate of the Iraqi leader since the war began.

Advance

Coalition forces are continuing their push towards Baghdad after what the US military described as the toughest fighting so far on Sunday.

American forces are facing particularly stiff resistance in Nasiriya - where 10 soldiers are now known to have been killed in an Iraqi ambush.

The coalition says it is holding about 2,000 Iraqi prisoners

What happens to surrendering troops?
Iraqi television showed pictures of the bodies of several American soldiers and their wrecked vehicles, and broadcast interviews with five captured survivors - one of them a woman.

The US reacted angrily to the TV footage, which was shown around the world by the al-Jazeera news channel.

Iraq's Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Sahaf on Monday said the prisoners would be treated according to the Geneva Conventions.

The minister also said Iraqi forces foiled an attempted US and British landing near Kirkuk, a key city in the northern oil fields.

The BBC's Jim Muir, who is in northern Iraq, says it is impossible to verify the Iraqi report.

Water supplies

In the south, heavy artillery was fired into Basra after British troops came under attack, Brigadier Andrew Gregory said.

The British accuse the Iraqis of placing their guns close to the civilian population.

HAVE YOUR SAY
War is the language that Saddam understands, then why not communicate with him in that way

Soane,Tonga

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The International Red Cross says it is still concerned about the humanitarian situation in the city, where water and electricity supplies have been disrupted since Saturday.

About 40% of Basra's pumping capacity has been restored - but not enough to supply its two million inhabitants with clean water, an ICRC delegate told the BBC.

Meanwhile, the southern Rumeila oil fields, which on Friday had been pronounced "safe" by British and US troops taking them, were declared "unsafe" by US officials on Monday morning because of the presence of armed Iraqis in the area.

In other developments:

Iraq says 62 civilians have been killed and more than 400 wounded in various cities in past 24 hours

US military experts investigate what they say is a suspected chemical plant near the town of Najaf, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Baghdad

Syria condemns the deaths of five civilians, killed when a US missile hits a bus near the Iraqi border.

The Saudi Shura Council, which advises the ruler of Saudi Arabia, has called for an immediate end to the war in Iraq

US President George Bush says he expects a massive humanitarian aid programme for Iraq to begin within days.

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Iraqi TV broadcasts Saddam address

Iraqi television has broadcast what is claimed to have been an address by President Saddam Hussein. The speech came against the background of speculation that he had been killed or injured in the first bomb raids on Baghdad. Analysts believe Saddam has a number of lookalikes and it is not possible to say if this was the real Iraqi leader or not.


Life on the street in Baghdad

In Baghdad's cafes, people are trying to glean as much information as they can from television reports. There is a semblance of normal life but of course only one subject of conversation. Saddam Hussein's broadcast this morning would have raised some spirits butthe reality of the position is all too clear to everyone in the Iraqi capital.


Allies continue to meet strong resistance in advance on Baghdad

US and British troops are continuing to face strong resistance from Iraqi forces as they advance towards Bagdhad from the south of the country. Nevertheless frontline units are reported to have pushed to within 100 km of the capital. The Pentagon has said they may reach the city by tomorrow.

Iraqi TV shows downed Apache helicopter

Iraqi television has shown pictures of one of two "enemy" helicopters allegedly shot down south of Baghdad. The black Apache helicopter, which appeared intact, was still armed with guided missiles with U.S. markings on them. Iraqis waving rifles surrounded the aircraft, which normally carries a crew of two.


Jouranalists shown "bomb damage" in Basra
Iraqi officials have taken journalists on a tour of buildings they claimed were bombed by American and British forces. Correspondents were shown what was claimed to be the remains of a local school. Residents gathered in the rubble and shouted their praise of Saddam Hussein.Authorities there claim it is proof that the western armies are ...


Southern Rumaila oilfields declared 'no-go' area by US
A resurgence of activity by the Iraqi military in the southern Rumaila oilfields has forced the US to declare it a no-go area. But the Pentagon denies there is a danger that the allies could lose control of the region. US marines had seized the oil wells and a nearby pumping station on Friday.Such facilities were stated to be a key objective ...


Syria protests over civilian deaths
Syria has delivered a strongly-worded protest to the United States and Britain after five Syrian civilians were killed leaving Iraq. The victims were part of a group of labourers returning home on a bus that was hit. An unspecified number of people were also injured. The bodies of the dead were taken to a hospital in Damascus. Syria, the ...


Gulf casualties arrive in Germany
The first American casualties of combat have been flown to a US air base south of Frankfurt. The 12 injured soldiers arrived in Europe on board a "Starlifter" transport plane. It landed on Monday at the massive Ramstein air base from where the troops were to be transferred by ambulance for treatment at a nearby military hospital. At ...


PoW footage breaks Convention
The United States has expressed outrage over Iraqi television pictures of American prisoners of war. The International Red Cross has warned all parties involved in the war not to broadcast such footage because it violates the Geneva Convention. In the videotape shown on Iraqi television on Sunday, four men and a woman questioned give their ...


Bush issues warnings over US POWs
US President George W Bush has warned Iraq to treat captured American troops well. "We expect them to be treated humanely just like we will treat any prisoners of theirs that we capture humanely. I think it is an interesting contrast that a lot of their soldiers welcome American troops. They are surrendering gleefully, happily, and they will be ...


Unpredented media coverage of war
The war is unfolding live and direct before the eyes of the world. Several battles have been broadcast live in what has been the most openly and existensively reported conflict ever. Hundreds of journalists have descended on Iraq, a reflection of the now global hunger for istant news.Relations between the military and news organisation have ...


Markets fall and oil rises as optimism for a quick end to war dampens
Across the world's stockmarkets Friday's optimism has been replaced with pessimism as hopes fade for a quick end to the war. Stocks are down with investors going back to safe haven bonds. European shares tumbled in opening trading this morning with the FTSE Eurotop 300 index losing 2.2 percent. The oil price also reacted to events in Iraq, ...


Mystery surrounds Iraqi search for allied pilot

A crowd gathered in Baghdad on Sunday evening as rumours went round that a British or American pilot may have ejected and landed in the Iraqi capital. Security forces fired their weapons into the banks and the water of the river Tigris, believing the person they were seeking could be hiding there.


Allied forces surprised by Iraqi resolve

British Royal Marines and Iraqi troops have been in close combat as coalition forces continue operations to secure key parts of southern Iraq. It is the type of warfare allied forces were hoping they would not have to fight - high-risk and time-consuming. Coalition forces seem to have been surprised by the strength of Iraqi resistance.


Oscar winners make their stance against the war

The stars at last night's Oscar ceremony reflected the mood of an America subdued and thoughtful. Anti-war protestors and pro-war supporters provided a sideshow outside. Inside one of President Bush's greatest critics, the film maker Michael Moore received the Oscar for best documentary and attacked the US leader in his speech.

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Firefight goes on in vital Iraqi port

In the southern Iraqi town of Umm Qasr, US soldiers have opened up with heavy bursts of machine-gun fire in an area where US forces had set up a headquarters.

It comes one day after US officials said they had won control of the strategic port.

The Marines said on Saturday that US and British forces had taken between 400 and 450 Iraqi prisoners in fighting around Umm Qasr, Iraq's only deep-water port.

There is one group of Iraqis occupying positions inside the town and putting up resistance.

Gaining complete control of Umm Qasr would give US and British forces access to thousands of tonnes of humanitarian aid currently sitting on ships in the Persian Gulf.

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US and UK forces continue push towards Baghdad

American troops are being held up in their advance towards Baghdad, battling Iraqi forces near the holy city of Najaf, just 160 kilometres from the capital.

There are reports of heavy fighting close to Najaf, which lies on the west bank of the Euphrates river. The Iraqi government said allied forces had fled after clashes in the region.

Further south, coalition units have been consolidating their positions and American soldiers have secured a vital bridge at Nassiriya, across the Euphrates.

Ground forces have the support of a formidable array of combat aircraft. US jets were in action overnight over the northern city of Mosul.

But allied spokesman continue to warn that Iraqi resistance could be a lot fiercer as invading troops close in on Baghdad.

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B-52s leave English base

American B-52 bombers have taken off from RAF Fairford in the west of England.

It takes them roughly six hours to reach Iraq - and six hours after they took off on Friday, Baghdad suffered massive strikes.

On Saturday night aircraft left at about 11.30pm GMT, meaning they would be over Iraq in the morning.

This would represent the first daytime bombing by B-52s so far.

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Low level defence of Iraqi capital

Iraqi authorities have been trying to defend Baghdad by setting fire to oil and aluminium oxide-filled trenches.

The resulting smoke is supposed to interfere with missile guidance systems but appears to be having little effect.

For a country apparently in possession of weapons of mass destruction, Iraq has so far offered astonishingly little resistence to the allied onslaught.

There have been no signs yet of the chemical or biological attacks allied forces have been preparing for.

Nor have any Scud missiles been fired, says the Pentagon, although there is evidence Iraq does still possess banned rockets and could be preparing to use them.

Lorries carrying rockets - possibly al-Samoud 2 - have been seen on motorways around the capital.

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American soldier detained after fatal grenade attack

An American soldier has been detained at the 101st Airborne Division camp in Kuwait following a grenade attack in which a colleague was killed.

TV reports in the US describe the suspect as a Muslim who had been "acting strangely" before the attack.

It appears two grenades were thrown into a command tent in Camp Pennsylvania - one of the northern desert bases from where the ground assault on Iraq has been launched.

More than a dozen men were injured - 11 were evacuated by helicopt

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Coalition forces fight Iraqi oil well fires

US and British forces say they are preparing to douse fires at seven oil wells blazing in Iraq's southern Rumaila oilfield, not far from Basra. US Central Command says the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has secured the gas oil separation plants, crude export facilities and the field's 1,074 wells.

It says specially-trained personnel are preparing to fight fires at the Rumaila fields, which are capable of pumping more than one million barrels per day. US General Vince Brooks earlier told a news conference in Qatar that Iraq had "sabotaged" a total of nine wells. US military sources say some deserted plants had been "improperly shut down by Iraqis", causing oil pumping from the well to overfill tanks.

Iraq denied torching oil wells, saying instead that it had set oil-filled trenches ablaze to prevent US and British warplanes from finding their targets.

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Allies avoid street fighting on march to Baghdad

The likelihood of resistance is one reason why the coalition has not tried to actually enter Basra - the biggest city in southern Iraq.

US marines went only as far as the outskirts of the city, launching land and air missiles to "secure" it.

The official reason was the desire to limit civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure.

But the Arabic-language TV channel, Al-Jazeera, says 50 people were killed in the bombardment.

Basra is thought to be defended by the remnants of the 51st Division and - more importantly - the elite Republican Guard.

Any attempt to fight them on the streets could prove costly in terms of time and casualties.

For now, the coalition is content with having secured the city's oilfields, pipelines and the route to Baghdad.

But simply isolating rather than neutralising resistance is a risky tactic that could backfire.

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British TV crew missing in Iraq

This war has already shown the dangers of reporting from conflict zones.

Terry Lloyd, a correspondent working for the British company ITN, is missing with two of his colleagues, a cameraman and a local translator.

Another cameraman travelling with them through southern Iraq, Daniel Demoustier, said the group came under fire near Basra.

"I saw, I think, more high-ranking Iraqi officers signing to me, doing 'thumbs up' and 'that way'," he said. "Exactly at that moment, gunfire started hitting us from the right side of the vehicle quite strongly."

It is thought Lloyd and his crew were caught in crossfire between British and Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, a freelance cameraman working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was killed by a car bomb in northern Iraq.

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Royal Navy mourns lost servicemen

Flowers have been laid outside the Royal Navy's Culdrose base in Cornwall in memory of the six British servicemen killed yesterday.

The men, together with an American soldier, were onboard two Sea King helicopters that collided in mid-air over the Gulf.

Alan Massey, captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal where the men were based, described the crash as a "tragic accident".

The collision came the day after eight British troops died when their helicopter, a Chinook, crashed on the Iraq-Kuwait border.

 

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Another day of anti-war rallies

Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking part in anti-war rallies across Europe, with the biggest demonstrations in those countries whose governments support the military strikes.

In Madrid the crowds were huge. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's decision to stand by President Bush is not popular there.

In Britain, the pressure is easing on Tony Blair as sections of the public heed his call to back the troops now the war is underway.

But his Labour Party is still divided over the issue and 200,000 still marched in London. A million took to the streets across the country as a whole.

Arrests were made as protesters blocked roads around Oxford Street, and more people were detained in a rally outside RAF Fairford, the temporary home of B-52 bombers.

Thousands took to the streets of Paris, insisting the pressure must be kept up although the French government has opposed the war from the start.

In Strasbourg there were violent confrontations between police and protesters.

The clashes were sparked by an attack on a McDonalds. Rocks and other missiles were flung at the restaurant, smashing windows. The fast food chain is often the target of anti-American sentiment in France. A branch in the city of Lyon was also damaged.

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Iraq says 250 civilians wounded in Baghdad bombing

Authorities in Iraq say at least 250 civilians have been wounded after a night of heavy bombardement in Baghdad.

Coalition forces unleashed a spectacular attack on the city signalling the start of what the Pentagon calls its "shock and awe" strategy.

The skyline of the Iraqi capital was lit-up with a series of explosions as hundreds of cruise missiles and other precision guided bombs rained downed on a number of targets.

In other significant events the commander of Iraq's 51st division surrendered, boosting hopes of quick allied victory in the southern city of Basra.

And in the north, a contingent of 1,500 Turkish troops crossed the border into the Kurdish-controlled area. It is heightened fears of clashes between Turkish forces and Kurds, and complicated Washington's delicate negotiations with Ankara on cooperation over Iraq.

The massive escalation of the war is meant to provide the Iraqi regime with only a taste of the allies' awesome power.

Key government buildings and palaces belonging to President Saddam Hussein were among the targets.

Iraqi air defences fired into the nightsky but were ineffective against high flying B52s and cruise missiles.

US planes also hit military targets in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. This came as British and American forces continued their push north from Kuwait into southern Iraq. US units also claim to have captured two key airfields in Iraq's western desert, furthering the aim of encircling Baghdad.

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Seven British soldiers die in helicopter crash

All seven crew members aboard two Royal Navy Sea King search and rescue helicopters have died after a mid-air collision in the Gulf this morning. The exact circumstances of the crash aren't yet known. A British military spokesman said the incident had not been caused by enemy action.


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Saddam's palaces targetted in new attacks

With Saddam Hussein himself being the allies declared target it is not surprising that the Iraqi president's palaces have been among the buildings struck in the bombing of Baghdad.

In the aftermath of one bombardment a residence known as the Peace Palace was left a burning ruin.

The Pentagon claims the buildings are more like military installations than private homes. But Iraqi officials said the Peace Palace was used to house works of art and entertaining dignitaries.

The Palace of the Republic, the biggest in the capital, was also hit by several missiles during the air strikes.

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51st division surrenders, Basra undefended

The 51st division of the Iraqi army has surrendered to US and British forces, representing a major success for the coalition.

The estimated 8,000 troops of the 51st were deployed in southern Iraq, directly in the path of allied forces heading north.

It is thought the development leaves Basra, the largest city in southern Iraq, virtually defenceless. Should it now fall, it would ease the push to Baghdad.

The capitulation follows the massive bombardments launched from ships in the Gulf and the Red Sea.

A thousand cruise missiles were fired on Iraq on Friday and British and American planes carried out 1,000 strikes and 2,000 sorties, say Pentagon officials.

Allied forces have also been air-dropping propoganda leaflets aimed at persuading Iraqi soldiers to give themselves up.

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Northern towns under fire

The key strategic sites of Mosul and Kirkuk in the north of Iraq have come under fire.

Explosions and anti-aircraft tracer fire lit up the night sky. Kirkuk is an important oil city, close to the region controlled by Kurds.

Mosul, also on the edge of the Kurdish region, is home to a million people. A reporter for the Arabic language Al-Jazeera satellite television channel said security forces were out on the streets of Mosul.

Quelling resistence in the two cities would make it easier for coalition forces to launch a simultaneous ground push from the north.

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Capture of Umm Qasr a key breakthrough

One of the first significant breakthroughs of the ground campaign on Iraq came with the capture of the southern city of Umm Qasr.

British engineering troops paved the way for the advance of US marines.

It was part of an objective to secure key oil facilities before they could be destroyed by Iraqi forces.

The port city was taken after British troops had stormed the Al Faw peninsula at the head of the Gulf.

As they pushed northward the allies met the first serious resistance. But it was quickly ended when US artillery shelled Iraqi trenches and machine gun positions.

For those Iraqi soldiers who wanted to surrender the war was quickly over.

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Father of downed US marine hits ut at President Bush

The war has so far claimed the lives of 14 allied troops. The father of one of the marines killed in a helicopter crash in Kuwait on Friday made his feelings clear. "President Bush you have taken away my only son," he told reporters.

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Turkish troops enter Iraq

A vanguard of 1,500 Turkish troops has crossed into northern Iraq, says Ankara, despite warnings from Washington not to.

The deployment came just hours after Turkey opened their airspace to American warplanes allowing easier strikes on northern Iraq.

The arrival of Turkish soliders in the region threatens to open the Pandora's box of a possible Kurdish uprising against the Turks.

It is a diplomatic nightmare for US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"At the moment we don't see a need for any Turkish incursions in northern Iraq and we're talking with the Turkish authorities to see whether or not there is some planning we should do with respect to any humanitarian needs that might arise along the border," he said shortly before reports of the incursion came through.

"But, our position is these two items should be separable. Let's deal with the overflight issue and deal with the need for making sure there is not a disturbance along the Turkish-Iraqi border."

Turkey had warned it would send in troops to "filter" refugees, but denied any territorial ambitions. The Kurds have expressed fears for several weeks that Turkey would take advantage of an Iraqi offensive to deploy troops and end effective Kurdish autonomy within Iraq. Since early March the Turkish army has been preparing for this, building up forces on the frontier.

 

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Iraqi troops surrender to coalition forces

A group of 250 Iraqi soldiers now under American control following the taking of Umm Qasr in southern Iraq.

This is the war Washington and London had hoped to fight - with Iraqi troops giving themselves up or being easily captured.

Coalition chiefs will be encouraged by the surrender of the commander of Iraq's 51st division.

And British Armed Forces chief, Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, said deserted posts and abandoned equipment indicate "capitulation on a massive scale."

This could raise a new logistical problem of how to cope with so many prisoners.

According to Iraqi television, Saddam Hussein has pledged to respect international conventions on prisoners of war should any allied soldiers be captured.

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Marines cheered in southern Iraqi village

US marines have been literally ripping Saddam Hussein to shreds. The soldiers, with the help of a few locals, tore down the Iraqi president's portrait in a southern village. According to the military, Safwan is one of several villages that offered no resistence to advancing allied forces.
US marines were cheered by some local residents, and kissed by others. Elsewhere in Safwan, government buildings were apparently looted, villagers seizing food and furniture.

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Senior regime figures reportedly killed in strikes

 

Although Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, is believed to have survived the allied onslaught so far, a CIA source says three key figures of his regime perished in a bunker targetted during Thursday night's strikes.

If true, it will be a severe blow for the Iraqi leader.

Among those apparently killed is Saddam's cousin, General Ali Hassan Al-Majid, or chemical Ali as he is known for his part in the massacre of Iraqi Kurds in Halabja in 1988.

Ezzat Ibrahim is vice president of the all powerful Revolutionary Command Council.

He came close to arrest on war crimes charges in 1999 when he traveled to Austria for medical treatment.

Taha Yassin Ramadan has been vice president since 1991. He was one of the most outspoken critics of UN arms inspectors.

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Anti-war protests in Australia and New Zealand

Thousands of people have marched in several Australian cities to protest against the country's involvement in the Iraq war.

Australia, which has sent around 2,000 troops to the Gulf, says its special forces have been involved in fighting deep inside Iraq.

A new poll suggests public support for Australia's involvement has risen from 25 to 45 per cent in just over a week.

In the New Zealand capital, Wellington, about 4,000 people marched on the US Embassy. New Zealand's centre-left Labour government does not support military action against Iraq and says action outside of the United Nations sets a dangerous precedent.

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Peace protests expected as Oscars go ahead

The Oscars will go ahead tomorrow night, unless there are what organisers call "extraordinary events" in the Iraq conflict. The film awards ceremony has never been cancelled in its 75-year history although it has been postponed several times. ABC televison, which broadcasts the event live, could still break away for news coverage.

Ceremony producer Gil Cates said "We've been watching the news as closely, the rest of you. And we all know that the war options are quite wide, and we are keeping close tabs. So we are preparing to do the show on Sunday."

At the Kodak theatre in Los Angeles, a National Guard unit will be on hand, as thousands of anti-war protestors are expected to gather before the ceremony.

Some award winners may use their acceptance speeches to criticise the Iraq attacks. Actors including Dustin Hoffman and Julianne Moore plan to wear special peace signs.

Meanwhile Elizabeth Taylor will use the event to say goodbye to the film industry. She says she intends to work on AIDS projects.

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US missiles target Saddam

The strikes began at dawn

The strikes began at dawn
US President George W Bush has launched war on Baghdad, vowing to "disarm Iraq and to free its people".
Mr Bush delivered a live television address shortly after explosions rocked the capital at 0534 local time (0234 GMT), signalling the start of the US-led campaign to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

US military sources have told the BBC that five key members of the Iraqi regime, including Saddam Hussein, were targeted in the first attacks.

It is not known whether the targets were hit and what damage might have been caused.

Let the unbelievers go to hell... you will be victorious, Iraqi people

Saddam Hussein
Iraqi officials said some non-military targets had been hit and a number of civilians injured in Doura, a southern suburb of the capital.

Shortly before Baghdad air raid sirens sounded the all clear at 0600 GMT, Iraqi TV broadcast what it said was a live speech by Saddam Hussein.

"I don't need to remind you what you should do to defend our country," he said.

"Let the unbelievers go to hell... you will be victorious, Iraqi people."

Saddam Hussein is known to have several body doubles, but correspondents familiar with the Iraqi leader say they believe it to be him.

China has condemned the US attack, saying that the war was a violation of the UN charter and of international law.

Early stages

BBC Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the attack was on a much smaller scale than had been expected for the opening of the conflict, and was probably mounted at short notice when US military planners spotted a good target.

The F-117s were probably already in the air, ready to attack if required, our correspondent says.

President Bush gave his order for the first strikes on Baghdad after being told by the CIA that it believed it knew the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein, the Washington Post reported.

CIA director George Tenet said he believed the Iraqi leader was meeting advisers in a suburban house in southern Baghdad, according to the newspaper.

Speaking from the Oval Office, President Bush said American and coalition forces were in the "early stages of military operations" and had struck "targets of military importance".

He promised a "broad and concerted campaign" and said the US would prevail.

But, he warned, the campaign could be "longer and more difficult than some predict".

As dawn broke in Baghdad, anti-aircraft artillery peppered the sky as deep, heavy thuds were heard in the outskirts of the city.

'Limited thing'

The same target, in the east, is reported to have been hit three or four times.

US officials said 2000-pound (900-kilogram) precision-guided bombs were dropped from F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter-bombers.

More than 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles were also fired from six US Navy vessels, including two submarines, stationed in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, officials said.

The French AFP news agency quoted a Pentagon official as saying the first strikes were "a limited thing - it ain't A-Day," referring to the planned massive air campaign.

A BBC correspondent in Baghdad said anti-aircraft guns were in action for about 15 minutes, after which the city became quiet again.

After the first strike, a large pall of black smoke was seen in the south of Baghdad

We will accept no outcome but victory

US President George Bush

Speech in full

At about the same time as the strikes began, the US military appeared to take over a frequency of Iraqi radio with an Arabic-speaking presenter announcing: "This is the day we have been waiting for."

Our correspondent in Baghdad says the timing of the attack is unusual - coming as it did in daylight.

He says traffic remains normal and people are beginning to appear on the streets.

Two Iraqi missiles hit the northern Kuwait desert on Thursday, and there have also been reports of exchanges of artillery fire on the border.

Troops and reporters have been ordered to put on gas masks and protective suits.

Deadline passes

The attack on Baghdad began after President Bush's 0100 GMT deadline for Saddam Hussein to go into exile or face war expired.

We will resist the invaders

Saddam Hussein

As the deadline approached, US-led combat troops in the Gulf - numbering about 150,000 - took up battle positions for an imminent invasion of Iraq.

A British military spokesman in Kuwait says no order has yet been given to the US and British troops who are waiting on the Iraqi border.

But UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon said on Thursday that British forces were on "very, very high" state of alert and that it would not take long before the attack on Iraq escalated.

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War "very likely" within two days

With the countdown to conflict well underway, American navy personnel on board the USS Constellation in the Gulf have given a warm welcome to their top commander, Vice Admiral Timothy Keating. "When the President says go, look out, its hammer time, okay!" he told a cheering crowd. His appearance was a clear morale-booster and also perhaps an indication as to just when the hammer will fall. As troops gear up in the Gulf, the Vice Admiral said a war was "very likely" to start within a couple of days.

Washington's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein expires at 4:15 a.m. Thursday morning Iraqi time. Ground forces are expected to push into Iraq during or just after a short intense bombardment that could see more than 3,000 satellite-guided bombs and cruise missiles unleashed from sea and air. A propaganda war has already got underway with a US military plane transmitting radio and TV broadcasts denouncing the Iraqi president. Against this backdrop, chief weapons inspector Hans Blix was due to present his latest report to the United Nations in New York.

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Iraqi parliament pledges support for Saddam

 

"We will sacrifice our blood and souls for Saddam!" That was the cry from members of the Iraqi parliament, meeting in emergency session, with war on the horizon. The speaker Saadoun Hammadi said it was "unthinkable" that Saddam Hussein would flee the country, in line with the United States' ultimatum. That, however, is exactly what Saudi Arabia has officially proposed for the first time, in a last-ditch effort to prevent bloodshed. Despite the appearance of normality, Baghdad is bracing itself for the bombing to start. Its people are well aware that they could be spending the days ahead huddled in air raid shelters. Schools meanwhile have added an extra lesson to the curriculum - what to do when war comes. Teachers have been giving practical lessons on how to survive when the bombs begin to fall.

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Children in Iraq study how to survive aerial onslaught

 

Primary school pupils in the Iraqi capital Baghdad have an extra subject on the curriculum - what to do when the war comes. Teachers are giving practical lessons in how to survive when the bombs begin to fall. Basic first aid and the importance of knowing where the nearest air raid shelters make up part of the daily routine. A teacher speaking in an Iraqi school says "Though the kids are very young in their minds they are old."

The United Nations has turned its attention to how best to provide aid for the 26 million people in Iraq. War Child, an organisation which cares for children caught up in conflict says that in the last decade 1.5 million children have died worldwide as a result of war with millions more are left traumatised.

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Blair survives parliamentary vote

Boxed into a corner, the British anti-war movement has been left licking it's wounds after the revolt of MPs against war in Iraq failed to reach expected proportions. Secretary of State for Scotland Helen Liddell has became the fourth of Tony Blair's ministers to resign, but Cabinet minister Clare Short didn't go and faced with the near inevitability of conflict, just 139 Labour deputies voted against government policy. That was 17 more Labour rebels than in February but far fewer than some had predicted.

Prime Minister Tony Blair can now enter the conflict with the domestic front assured. He said it was time not just for a Prime Minister but for Parliament to show that it was ready to take the decisions necessary to defend it's values. Blair, however, knows that the support he has could yet prove brittle if the war does not progress as planned.

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Berlusconi defends pro-US stance on Iraq

Imminent war in Iraq has sparked an angry parliamentary debate in Italy, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi defending his staunch support for Washington's stance on Saddam. Not surprisingly, feelings have been running high in the chamber with observing members of the public and the opposition joining forces in a protest against military action. The speaker struggled to keep order as the Italian leader outlined his position, arguing that the use of force in the Gulf is legitimate.

He confirmed that the Italian military won't be taking part in the fighting, though this did little to placate his political enemies who made their feelings more than clear. Most Italians oppose the war and in recent weeks millions have marched in protest. Silvio Berlusconi is, however, certain to win the vote that follows the debate, because of his overwhelming parliamentary majority.

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Anti-war demonstrators gather in New York

In New York's Union Square hundreds of demonstrators have gathered to protest against the war in Iraq. The city council had called on George Bush not to go to battle without UN backing. "If the Iraqi government, if the Iraqi leadership is so terrible, then it is the Iraqi people that have to deal with it, not US bombs, not US soldiers," said one activist. "The destruction of that land and that people. I don't think that it is a right thing to do, just for oil," added another. New York is one of 159 cities and counties across the United States to pass resolutions opposing Bush's policy on Iraq. Opinion polls, however, have suggested that two-thirds of Americans approve their President's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to quit power or face war.

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As one army of foreigners continues to arrive in Kuwait another leaves.

As one army of foreigners continues to arrive in Kuwait another leaves. The exodus of western civilians from Kuwait is gathering pace as more and more employers advise their staff to leave. The country is considered vulnerable to chemical or biological attack by Iraq. For many it is a painful upheaval. One British man about to board a plane said: "Well I'm very disappointed, I have to say, I was hoping to stay but unfortunately insurance problems, the company wants us to leave so they said we've got to go. Hopefully only for two or three weeks."

An American woman heading home said: "Well I think it's time to leave. But I'm leaving a lot because our family back home is interested in us getting back home and I think that it's better to just go away and be safe than sorry about staying here." But many other foreign nationals are staying put, choosing to prepare for life in a potential battle zone rather than quit the country they have made their home. People have been stocking-up on essential provisions and other items. Plastic sheeting, batteries and tape are all on the shopping lists of those who are not willing to take any chances, however remote the risks of an attack may be.

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America on alert for potential terror attacks

A day after it issued Iraqi President Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to leave his country or face war, America has announced its increasing domestic security. But the threat, it hints, is not just from Iraq. Recent intelligence is indicating Al Qaeda and its supporters is as much a threat as Baghdad. Tom Ridge, Homeland Security Secretary, said: "Iraqi state agents, Iraqi surrogate groups, other regional extremist organisations, ad hoc groups, or disgruntled individuals may use this time period to conduct terrorist attacks against the US".

The nation has been put on the second highest level of terror alert - Orange - following New York's move in recent days to upgrade ITS level. Measures include heightened security at airports, train stations and borders. In Washington, security was tightened at federal buildings, with access to the White House restricted. Meanwhile, the Oscar's ceremony in Hollywood could be postponed. It is planned for Sunday night, but organisers have said if war breaks out, its date may be moved.

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Breakthrough on killer pneumonia virus

Doctors in Hong Kong say they have identified the deadly new pneumonia virus that has killed eleven and left hundreds ill, as a strain from the paramyxoviridae family. A 66-year-old French doctor at the Vietnam France hospital in Hanoi has been named as one of the latest victims of the deadly virus, which has been detected in China, Hong Kong, Australia, Britain, Spain, and the United States among other countries and for which no reliable cure has yet been found.

The breakthrough in discovering the family from which the virus comes, its exact makeup is still unknown, will help in the search for a vaccine. So far, doctors have been using a combination of anti-viral drugs and steroids to treat victims, but not all patients have responded positively.

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Bush issues ultimatum as troops prepare

American military jets in the Gulf are preparing for war after George W.Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to get out of Iraq. If he does not go then the US president said he would launch a military attack in response. Bush also had a warning for those who may support Saddam. "I urge every member of the Iraqi military and intelligence services: If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life," he said in a televised address on Monday evening.

"And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning: In any conflict, your fate will depend on your actions. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people." The president's words prompted an early start for American ground forces in Kuwait. Many packed up their tents and kit and moved into new positions. After weeks waiting under canvas their mood is now said to be confident, and ready to fight.

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Strong criticism from France and Germany

International reactions have been swift following Washington's ultimatum, with France and Germany not surprisingly among the leading critics. Jacques Chirac said there was no justification for a unilateral decision to attack Iraq. He underlined the impact it would have on international relations and on the future of the Iraqi people, the surrounding region and the stability of the world.

His views were echoed by the German Chancellor. Gerhard Schroeder told television viewers that he believed weapons inspections had been succeeding in efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein. "My question was and is: does the degree of threat stemming from the Iraqi dictator justify a war that will bring certain death to thousands of innocent men, women and children?" he asked. "My answer was and is, no."

China meanwhile is holding out hope of an 11th hour solution but Premier Wen Chow Bow offered no new proposals to avert a conflict. "As long as there is a glimpse of hope, we will not give up our efforts for a political and peaceful solution," he told a news conference, stressing Beijing's long-standing line that the crisis should be resolved within the United Nations.

Down under, however, it was a different story. Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch backer of George W. Bush's stance to disarm Iraq, said his country's troops will fight in a war. Australia has already sent a 2,000 strong force to the Gulf including warships despite polls that show at least two thirds of its people oppose military action without UN backing.

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Nagging doubts for half of Americans

The Bush administration may be presenting a united front over Iraq, but a recent poll shows around 50 per cent of Americans are against military action without UN backing. In one Washington bar there were mixed emotions over the President's plans. "I think it's good", said Jay Ragley. "It's about time we take a step forward and do what's right for not only the country but the world. This guy has been in power way too long, he has tortured his own people, and it is about time we take some steps to make the world a better place and a safer place for everybody to live in."

In a city that has already suffered a deadly terrorist attack some are now urging caution. Heather Cox said, "I think in this day and age with September 11th and all the things that have happened, we understand exactly what war means, exactly what a bomb may mean, exactly what these things mean, and so a little more hesitant to go there, but I think 48 hours is too soon".

"We are the United States, we don't start wars", said Justin Hakes. "That's not what this country was founded on, it's never what we've stood for. I think this is the fist step in a bad direction." At the gates to the White House peace campaigners have staged a candlelit vigil in protest at the march towards war.

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Blair suffers rebellion within Labour ranks

The pressure is building on British leader Tony Blair as his government begins to fragment over Iraq. Now junior health minister Lord Hunt and home office minister John Denham have joined parliamentary leader Robin Cook in resigning in protest at the prime minister's hawkish stance.

Now Blair will have to face the House of Commons, and he is widely expected to suffer a huge revolt from within the ranks of his ruling Labour Party. Over 150 MPs are predicted to vote against a motion supporting war on Iraq without United Nations backing. However support from the opposition Conservatives is likely to hand Blair a majority.

But Cook's stance- that it is wrong to go to war without broad international support- reflects the opinion of many on the backbenches.

Meanwhile International Development Secretary Clare Short has now confirmed she will stay in the cabinet. At the weekend she threatened to resign over Blair's handling of the crisis, which she branded "reckless".

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Turkish government to discuss cooperation with US over Iraq

The newly-installed Turkish Government of Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a resolution to allow US forces to use its territory as a launchpad for military strikes against neighbouring Iraq. Two weeks ago the Turkish parliament rejected a government proposal to allow 62,000 American troops on to its soil but kept open the option of re-submitting the proposal for a second vote. The Bush administration has offered Turkey a package of around 30 billion euro to secure its cooperation.

Military planners see the opening of a "northern front" as essential to bringing a quick end to any conflict by positioning forces on Turkish military bases close to Iraq's northern frontier. A huge US force is already on the move from the port of Iskenderun. Meanwhile anti-war demonstrations are becoming a daily feature of Turkish life prompting a harsh response from the authorities.
The Turkish government finds itself being pressured into tacit approval of a conflict that its people appear opposed to.

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World on alert as pneumonia outbreak spreads

A mysterious and lethal type of pneumonia spreading across the world has killed nine people and infected hundreds of others. Air travel is being blamed for the global scale of the outbreak, which began in Asia. Doctors are in a state of alert in airports because of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, as it has been dubbed. Europe is trying to protect itself, but one new suspected case, the first in the UK, has been revealed.

And a doctor who flew in from Singapore has been put into quarantine in Germany. He is reported to be in a stable condition. An American businessman who flew from Shanghai in China to Vietnam has died from the illness, and a nurse who treated him at hospital in Hanoi has also died. Now, more than 30 medical staff are ill.

The first case is believed to have appeared in Hanoi, in Vietnam. There have been 48 cases there alone. It is affecting China, Hong Kong, where there are 83 cases, Taiwan, Singapore, and Canada, where there have been eight cases and two deaths. There are two cases in Switzerland and one in Slovenia.

The World Health Organisation has issued a worldwide disease alert. The symptoms from the illness are fever, fatigue, breathing difficulties and coughing. One doctor from the World Health Organisation says: "In this emerging illness, something that is spectacular is that it has a very short incubation period which could have potentially severe consequences ". At an airport in Taiwan passengers and workers are being advised to wear masks - the only known protection. Other than that, little more is known about this lethal illness, slowly making its way across the globe.

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UN inspectors told to leave Iraq

The US government has advised UN weapons inspectors to pull out of Iraq. In one of the strongest signs yet that war could be a matter of hours away, both the IAEA and Unmovic have been urged to pack up and get out. Amid confusion, IAEA boss Mohammed ElBaradei has asked the UN for guidance on how to act. Meanwhile German diplomats have left Baghdad. Ambassadorial staff from Italy, Portugal and Japan are also heading home.

Britain and the US have gone one step further. They are urging their people to get out of neighbouring Kuwait while commercial flights are still available. United Nations monitors on the Iraq-Kuwait border say they have stopped all operations in the demilitarised zone. Non-essential military and civilian staff left the area last week.

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Iraq diplomacy looks doomed

It is the day that has been dubbed "a moment of truth for the world". They were the words used by George W Bush, describing Monday's last-ditch efforts to gain international approval for military action against Iraq. The US president was speaking on the wind-swept Azores islands in the eastern Atlantic as he met the leaders of Britain, Spain and Portugal, in a gathering branded a "summit of outlaws" by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Washington has left no doubt that an invasion of Iraq will take place whether or not it has UN backing. The 15-member Security Council was meeting today to discuss a second resolution laying the groundwork for war. The resolution, however, already appears doomed after Russia and France threatened to use their veto. Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, today repeated that threat and insisted that there is still a way for the international community to disarm Iraq peacefully.

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Marines wait for go-ahead from Bush

US Marines in the Kuwaiti desert used a simple transistor radio to listen to their president discussing the latest situation concerning the Iraqi crisis after Sunday's summit in the Azores. But those expecting an order to go to war were disappointed. "It is the same thing we have been hearing for months. They keep saying Iraq is in material breach, the time for diplomacy is over, and that is the same thing we hear tonight. So it does not really mean anything to me," said one soldier.

The marines have even begun opening up vacuum-sealed bags holding their chemical suits. They have been told only to get them out when war is certain, as the suits degrade when exposed to open air. Meanwhile British troops, warned to conserve ammunition, have been training with their bayonets. One soldier told reporters that he was ready for war. "Obviously everyone is going to be nervous, but this is what we are trained to do. We joined the army for a reason and this is it," he said. An estimated 270,000 British and American troops are poised for action in the Gulf region.

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Saddam determined despite threat of war

Saddam determined despite threat of war

If President George W.Bush and his allies were looking for a dramatic eleventh turnaround from Saddam Hussein, there was no immediate evidence it was coming. In a defiant response he said Iraq would take the fight "anywhere in the world" if the US led an invasion. His message was broadcast on Iraqi television after he met with top military commanders. He also said it was a "great lie" that Iraq still had banned weapons.

Iraqi TV carried the speeches made by the American, British and Spanish leaders. The Iraqi regime has prepared its people for war. Saddam has divided Iraq into four military districts ahead of any assault. One of his ministers said tens of thousands of Iraqis were prepared to martyr themselves in attacks against Americans.

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Bloody clashes in Gaza refugee camp

Israeli army tanks and personnel carriers have carried out a deadly raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The key target was the local leader of Islamic Jihad. He is reported to have fired his rifle and pipe bombs at the Israeli forces before being shot dead. A two-year-old girl, hit in the stomach, was among at least nine Palestinians killed during a series of clashes. The incursions come a day after an Israeli army bulldozer killed 23-year-old American peace campaigner Rachel Corrie as she tried to prevent a house from being demolished. The Israeli military said her death was "regrettable". The bloodshed is a fresh blow to US and British attempts to promote the prospect of a roadmap to peace in the Middle East as war looms in Iraq.

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US military in place and ready for war

As the US prepares for war, with the backing of Britain and Spain, it has been announced that several hundred US airforce attack jets among them B-2 stealth bombers are in place in the Gulf and ready for action when called upon.

The American navy has begun moving cruisers and destroyers through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea to join more than 60 other war vessels lined up against Iraq.

Meanwhile a United States B-1 bomber is reported to have attacked two Iraqi radar installations west of Bagdhad.

On the diplomatic front President George W Bush will meet with Britain's Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar in the Azores on Sunday a move which many see as a final war briefing.

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New Turkish Prime Minister sworn in

Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in as Turkey's Prime Minister, but Washington's hopes of a rapid move on troop deployment look doomed to failure as Erdogan appears to be taking his time over the issue.

He has not called an emergency meeting of parliament over the weekend to speed up the process and therfore a vote on US troop deployment will not be taken until the end of next week.

Low level troop movement has been seen seen in the region, but a massive quantity of hardware is currently being held in ships offshore waiting for permission from the Turkish government to land. Meanwhile Turkish police have taken a hard line against any peace protesters, an apparent indicator that the government is preparing the way to let troops in.

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French media magnate Jean-Luc Lagadere dies in hospital in Paris

Jean-Luc Lagadere, head of the Lagadere Group, has died after contracting a rare auto-immune infection following a hip operation earlier in the week.

The 75 year old businessman headed a group with a 13 billion euro turnover, its subsidiary Hachette dominates French publishing while other interests range from television to Matra cars.

He also oversaw the restructuring of the European defence industry and the formation of the aerospace giant EADS.

His son Arnaud has taken control of the business alongside EADS co-president Phillippe Camus.

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More antiwar protests in Europe

Peace campaigners in Berlin were among around 100,000 people across Germany who stopped work for several minutes to register their opposition to war in Iraq. There have been several such demonstrations in Europe in the past weeks as the threat of conflict in the Persian Gulf increases. Protesters also took to the streets in Spain, where the government's staunch support for Washington has angered most of the population. In Austria the Catholic Church has played a prominent role in the anti-war campaign. Congregations across the country held simultaneous silent prayers.

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Bulldozers go in on home of suspect in Djindjic assassination

Serb authorities have begun the destruction of the palatial home of former police special operations commander Dusan Spasojevic, said to have been behind Wednesday's assassination of prime minister Zoran Djindic.

Bulldozers moved in on the giant complex on the pretext that it had been built without planning permission. Local rumour has it that the building featured at least three underground floors that were used as dungeons by the infamous Zemun clan that's said to have a mafia like grip on the country.

Tributes continue to flow for Djindjic. In a memorial meeting held by the government, deputy prime minister Zarko Korac said that he'd transformed the country during two years in power and that the criminals who'd killed him would be unable to stop the reform process.

With Montenegran prime minister Djukanovic present it was reasserted that there'd be no going back on the institutional break up of the former Yugoslavia.

Zoran Zivkovic is now being tipped to replace Djindjic as prime minister - a move likely to herald a continuation of western-backed economic reforms

Meanwhile there've been lengthy queues to sign a book of condolences at the Serb government buildings.

International war crimes tribunal prosecutor Carla del Ponte will be among those present at tomorrows funeral for Djindjic, which will be retransmitted live on EuroNews.

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Son of former king returns to Italy after fifty seven year exile

Prince Victor Emmanuel de Savoie son of the last king of Italy, Umberto the second, is to return to Italy after 57 years in exile.

The 66 year old prince is to arrive in Naples the place where his father left Italian shores following the referendum of 2 June 1946 and the proclamation of the Italian Republic.

The head of the House of Savoy has taken the Italian government to the European Court of Human Rights saying the decision to ban him and male members of his family from the country was unjust, the court overturned the decision last July.

There will be no official welcome for the prince, his wife Maria Doria, and son Emmanuel Philibert.

The anti-Savoie movement say they will present the prince with a compensation claim of 1,000 million euro for damages against the people of the south of Italy, who they claim lost their identity when the country became one entity in 1861.

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Schroeder opposed to war but fighting for economic turnaround

The German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has used a State of the Nation speech to the Bundestag to repeat his belief that Saddam Hussein can still be disarmed peacefully. Schroeder's Social Democrat-led government is firmly against war and, as a member of the 15-nation United Nations Security Council, has lined up behind France and Russia in opposing efforts by the United States and the United Kingdom to pass a new resolution authorising military force.

"Together with our French friends, with Russia, China and the majority of the nations of the Security Council, we are more convinced than ever that the disarmament of Iraq can and must be brought about by peaceful means," Schroeder said. The Chancellor's speech was an effort to relaunch the government's programme after party squabbling and it dealt chiefly with domestic policy.

Many political commentators saw this address as Schroeder's last chance to secure his own political future and carry out structural reforms of Germany's feeble economy. The unpopularity of Schroeder and the Social Democrats has been underlined by recent crushing defeats in regional elections. The Chancellor called for a "massive joint effort" from Germans in a speech that announced cuts to welfare payments, a shortening of the period of entitlement to full unemployment benefit and measures that would make it easier for companies to fire workers.

"Work and the economy are our top priorities, at the heart of our reform agenda," he said. "We want to see a dynamically-growing economy and an increase in employment, laying the ground for a successful social market economy. We will not give up the goal that everyone who can work should be able to." However, unemployment is rising and is currently at around 4.7 million, and with trade union frustration growing and the opposition conservatives threatening to block tax rises aimed at plugging a budget deficit, Schroeder's future is far from assured.

Six 'undecided' Security Council members discuss position on Iraq

Perhaps the most crucial of the negotiations on Iraq going on at the United Nations at the moment are those among the six undecided members of the Security Council. They are trying to find a common position on a second resolution, which would pave the way for war. Yesterday the group said they would put forward their own suggestions. But Pakistan's UN ambassador, Munir Akram, said it was not an easy task.

"No, I, don't think that any position is identical or can be identical, we are different countries, but we are trying to search for common ground and that's the best one can say," he said. The six states, all non-permanent members of the Security Council, hold the balance between Washington's pro-war allies and their opponents, who include Germany, France, Russia and China. The latter three are all permanent members who can veto America's plans. But the US Secretary of State Colin Powell has hinted that the White House may hold back on a vote rather than face a humiliating defeat. The US, Britain and Spain are expected to discuss the situation at a special summit this weekend.

US bombers take off for unknown destination

Two US B-2 planes have taken off for unknown missions. The Stealth bombers, as they are commonly known, left their Missouri base in the early hours of Thursday morning. They are suspected to be on their way to the Gulf region but American Air Force spokesmen have refused to reveal the destination. The B-2 played an important role in Washington's campaign in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Britain's famous "Desert Rats" are training in the Kuwaiti desert. Officially known as the British 7th Armoured Brigade, the team is prepared for rapid reaction operations. However, many of their American colleagues in the area have complained of being frustrated. Rising temperatures and harsh desert conditions are taking their toll and many have said they are eager to "get into action now". But with diplomatic wrangling intensifying, the troops are left to wait and wonder, which for some, is leading to low morale.

Djindjic assassination suspects 'cooperating' say Serb police

Police hunting the killers of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic claim three of those arrested are cooperating with prosecutors and have asked for protected witness status. They were among 56 people detained during a swoop of suspected members of criminal groups. But Serb authorities admit three prime suspects are still at large. They are alleged to belong to the so-called Zemun gang, and include a former commander of a special forces unit which fought in the Balkans wars.

Serbs are observing a three-day period of mourning for Djindjic who was shot by three gunmen outside the main government building in Belgrade on Wednesday. Hundreds of people have filed past his coffin. Djindjic was a reformer who played a key role in the ousting of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. His death leaves Serbia with neither a prime minister nor a president since two recent elections failed due to a low turnout. It has raised fears of increased instability in the turbulent republic.

The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana conveyed Europe's condolences, saying the EU would support Belgrade in its attempts to shore up stability in Serbia and the Balkans. The country is currently being led by acting Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic.


Two Israelis killed mistakenly killed by army

Two Israelis have been shot dead by their own army after being mistaken for Palestinian gunmen. The shooting happened near the Pnei Hever Jewish settlement southeast of the West Bank city of Hebron. The pair killed were reportedly security guards at a research site, who had stopped at the side of the road to make coffee.

Soldiers ordered them, in Arabic, not to drive off. But the men, both of them armed, failed to respond. Troops opened fire, killing one of the Israelis. The other man ran off and was shot dead by a helicopter gunship. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli special forces have killed five Palestinian militants in exchanges of fire south of Jenin.

Return of "stolen" paintings provokes Russian rebellion ù

Russia's Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi says he will press ahead with plans to return a collection of art treasures to Germany, from where they were taken by a Red Army officer at the end of the Second World War. Deputies in the lower house of parliament, the Duma, have passed a motion calling on President Vladimir Putin to veto the handover of the paintings and drawings.

The Bremen Museum of Art, where the works of art were displayed until the outbreak of war, has repeatedly requested their return but in 1997 parliament passed a law banning the handing-back of so-called "trophy art". War booty is an emotive issue in Russia, where some 20 million people died during the invasion and occupation of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany.

Shvydkoi, however, insists that the paintings were stolen by the officer in question, Viktor Baldin, and therefore they must be given back. "I am sure we have all the legal rights to issue an order for the collection to leave Russia as we do not own it. This should be clear once and for all," he said.

The paintings and drawings became known as the Baldin collection and include works by Goya and Degas. They have been displayed latterly at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. Baldin, who died in the 1990s, recounted how he found the paintings in a castle being ransacked by fellow Soviet troops. He said he immediately realised their worth and put them in his suitcase to take back to Russia, convincing reluctant comrades to part with the drawings of naked women they had already seized. Baldin, who later became a museum director, urged Moscow on many occasions to return the works of art to Bremen but his pleas were ignored by the Soviet high command.

Albertina Palace re-opens as museum

Vienna's Albertina Palace opens today after ten years of renovation work to transform it into a world class museum. Austrian president Thomas Klestil took Norway's Queen Sonja for a sneak preview on Wednesday, not least because Norway's most famous painting has been loaned to the Albertina.

Built in 1529, the building became the largest residential palace for the Habsburg royal family but in the Second World War it was badly damaged. Now visitors to its palatial rooms will be treated to masterpieces by Rembrandt, Rubens and Michelangelo. Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is one of the most angst ridden paintings in the world and remains Norway's most famous work of art. In 1994 it was stolen from Norway's national museum in a daring raid but was recovered quickly afterwards by the police. Now it is at the centre of the museum's largest exhibition and is the must-see painting for newcomers.

Britain's Prince Charles embarrassed by report on staff antics

Not comfortable reading" was the reaction of Britain's heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles to a report into financial and sexual misconduct in his household. The prince's closest aide Michael Fawcett has resigned after the report's publication. He had been criticised in the press for selling official gifts given to the royal family. The inquiry found Fawcett had acted only with the prince's authority and it said he had done nothing wrong. Some gifts Fawcett sold were said to have been sold on to royal fans for big profits.

But the report was written by Sir Michael Peat, the prince's private secretary, which has led to some calling it a whitewash.

Sir Michael denied Fawcett had been laid off or paid off.

"He hasn't been given a financial settlement, he's been helped a little with his housing because in the past for a number of years he has been provided with free housing," Sir Michael said of Fawcett, who was rumoured to have looked after the tiniest details of the prince's life, down to squeezing toothpaste onto the royal toothbrush.

The prince's household, St James's Palace, said Fawcett had left royal service to set up his own events management company, which would be employed by the Palace in future. The report also looked at allegations of a cover-up when a royal servant said another staff member had raped him but the inquiry dismissed the allegations. The report also scoffed at suggestions that the recent trial of the former royal butler Paul Burrell on theft charges was aborted because Queen Elizabeth feared more secrets about the royals becoming known.

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Criminal gang behind Serbian Prime Minister's murder

The Serbian government has announced a criminal gang is behind the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. It comes as makeshift memorials are being set up at the site of the shooting in the capital Belgrade where Djindjic was killed yesterday lunchtime. A state of emergency has been declared amid fears extremists are trying to return the country to the chaos and instability associated with the Slobodan Milosevic era.

Djindjic played a major role in handing the former Yugoslav president over to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague and has made many enemies over the years as a pro-democracy campaigner. The attack happened outside the main government buildings. A sniper shot Djindjic in the back and stomach and despite frantic efforts to save him he later died in hospital. Authorities are blaming a criminal gang for the shooting and want to question up to 20 people in connection with the murder.

Serbia loses its champion for change

October 2000 may have been Zoran Djindjic's political high-water mark; a huge crowd in central Belgrade hailed him and Vojislav Kostunica for having toppled the Milosevic regime.

Their reformist opposition took power, raising the promise of an end to old ways, a new dawn for the Serbs, and an eventual return to the international fold.

In fact it was a marriage of convenience between two bitter rivals, Djindjic being the real reformer, but handicapped by having to deal with many shadowy figures to get elected in December 2000 at the head of a new government.

The German-educated Dijindic never shook off the tag of being Berlin's man in the Balkans, and the West's willing helper, an impression reinforced when he allowed Milosevic to be spirited away to answer war crimes charges at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

For Serb nationalists this was the final straw, and in the street Djindjic's promise to march towards a free market did not make people feel wealthier. His popular support weakened and supporters also noted he seemed powerless to protect a free press, which only spoke out at the risk of being targeted by criminal gangs who fought each other in a rising tide of violence.

Indeed some critics say Djindjic compromised too much with criminals to gain power, allying himself with gangsters who rose under Milosevic, and who are today even more powerful. His recent promise to crack down may have led them to order his murder. Some even say Djindjic's drive was too late, and that the real power in Belgrade is now this Mafia.

This determination to fight organised crime led to the seizure last month of Europe's largest drug making factory, in co-operation with the US Drugs Enforcement Agency, the final proof for his enemies that Zoran Djindjic had sold his Slav soul to the west.

The political vacuum his death creates will not be filled easily, and the challenges he was not afraid to face are not for the faint-hearted

Hopes for second UN resolution on Iraq unlikely to succeed

Desperate attempts to win support for a new United Nations resolution to disarm Iraq have made little headway. No consensus was reached at a meeting at the UN on Britain's suggestion that Baghdad be given six key tests to avoid a US-led attack. Iraq's Foreign Minister also dismissed the proposals, calling them "aggressive plans for war". France and Russia have rejected the ideas outright.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has today said he believes a second resolution is less likely, making war probable. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Tony Blair are holding talks in London. Attending an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, the two confirmed their friendship, despite stark differences over the Iraqi crisis.

US warplanes prepare for conflict

At an air base at an unidentified location in Kuwait, near the Iraqi border, American F-18 fighter planes are being fine-tuned to war readiness. The pilots at the base fly regular two-hour sorties over Iraq, gathering information that they hope will lead to rapid victory with a minimum of US casualties. The planes are currently flying reconnaissance missions, collecting photographic intelligence on possible bombing targets. They are also training for search-and-rescue missions that they may have to carry out if a fellow pilot bails out or is shot down over Iraq.

Suicide strikes planned against US and British forces

As US and British troops mass at Iraq's border, volunteers from across the Arab world are training as suicide attackers. Fighters from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Libya and elsewhere are being instructed by Iraq's special forces. heir ideologies may range from Arab nationalism to Islamic fundamentalism but the men all have one thing in common - they hate the United States and are prepared to die in their quest to destroy the country. Camera crews were taken to a display of two dozen fighters at a camp just outside Baghdad, although the volunteers say there are hundreds more training for death and glory.

For that to happen they will have to face the military might of 250,000 US and British soldiers. With Washington desperate to avoid casualties and to prevent the bodies of American soldiers appearing on television screens, the suicide attackers could prove surprisingly effective.


Bomb defused in Northern Ireland

British troops in Northern Ireland have carried out a controlled explosion of a bomb found in a van outside a courthouse in Belfast.
The bomb was a blast incendiary containing fuel and a timer, the type which police say has been used in the past by dissident republicans. A man was forced to drive the van with the bomb inside from his home by three masked men. Police said the device could easily have killed passers-by if it had gone off.

Meanwhile, in Washington the leader of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, has been meeting two Irish-American Senators ahead of traditional St Patrick's Day celebrations. The Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern will hand a sprig of shamrock to President George W Bush today before the two leaders hold talks at the White House.


Royal scandal rocks Netherlands

A princess has taken a trip to the Dutch parliament, in the latest extraordinary episode in a right royal row that is sending shockwaves through the Netherlands. Deputies have been debating the drama, under the watchful gaze of Princess Margarita, the niece of Queen Beatrix. For weeks, she has waged a bitter media campaign against members of the Royal Family, whom she accuses of vilifying her and her husband, saying they dislike him.

She has also launched legal action against former Prime Minister Wim Kok over a secret service inquiry carried out three years ago into her then fiancé, who has demanded a public apology from the monarch. The affair has cast a new light on a Royal Family not usually associated with the sort of scandals more commonly seen at Queen Elizabeth's court in Great Britain.

 

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US could attack Iraq without Britain

Washington seems willing to go it alone after the US Defence Secretary raised the prospect of attacking Iraq without the help of British forces. The United States and its most prominent ally have more than 250,000 troops in the Gulf. With Britain's Tony Blair under mounting domestic pressure from the anti-war lobby, however, Donald Rumsfeld indicated that the US might act without UK involvement.

"To the extent they are able to participate, in the event that the president decides to use force, that would obviously be welcomed," he said. "To the extent they are not, there are work-arounds and they would not be involved, at least in that phase of it."
Donald Rumsfeld later backtracked, expressing confidence that British forces would be side by side with US troops should an attack take place. His comments came as the US successfully tested the most powerful conventional bomb in its arsenal for the first time.
It was an exercise that Defence officials suggested sent a message to Iraq about the might of the US military. The 9,450-kg explosive device has been dubbed the "Mother Of All Bombs."

US may extend March 17 Iraq deadline

Day by day the diplomatic crisis surrounding Iraq intensifies, with deep splits remaining within the United Nations. The US has, however, pledged more flexibility over the terms of a new resolution, saying that it will look at proposals giving Saddam Hussein slightly more time to comply than the March 17 deadline suggested by Washington last week. The White House, though, dismissed as a "non starter" a proposal by some members to give Baghdad a 45-day reprieve to satisfy disarmament demands. It wants a vote this week.

An open meeting being hosted by the Security Council continues today, giving more countries a chance to air their views. Iraq's representative was keen to have his say in Tuesday's session, claiming that the aim of the US and Britain is not Iraqi disarmament but rather control of the country's oil. Mohamed Al-Douri urged the UN to prevent what he called the "imminent catastrophe of a war."


Tony Blair has accused France of playing into Saddam Hussein's

Blair was speaking after Downing Street talks with his Portuguese counterpart Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.

"My concern is that if countries talk about using a veto in all sets of circumstances, the message that sends to Saddam is: 'you're off the hook', and I think that would be very unfortunate," he said. Barroso reiterated Portugal's support for Britain's stand.

Aid workers prepare Iraqis for war

The International Red Cross has stepped in to aid Iraqi civilians, living under the shadow of a conflict that many think is inevitable. From the provision of medicine, tents and blankets to food, milk, and drinking water, officials are taking what steps they can to help the most vulnerable survive. "We have also established warehouses in Baghdad, in Basra and in the northern part of Iraq and we hope that we will be able to assist the population," said Ronald Huguenin-Benjamin, of the Red Cross.

Security for Red Cross staff in Baghdad is also a priority with sandbags part of the limited protection that the organization is able to put in place. United Nations aid workers meanwhile have been distributing high protein biscuits to thousands of malnourished children. UNICEF has already warned that it is racing against time to protect those most at risk, with many of Iraq's 25 million people still suffering the effects of the country's last two conflicts and a decade of economic sanctions

Ocalan to hear verdict on human rights

The European Court of Human Rights is set to rule today on the alleged "inhuman" treatment of Abdullah Ocalan. Turkey blames the 54-year-old for the death of some 30,000 people over the course of a 16-year battle for independence by the Kurdish people. He was handed a death sentence for treason by a Turkish court in 1999, but it was reduced to life imprisonment in October last year after Anakara abolished the death penalty.

Ocalan still claims that the conditions of his arrest, trial and imprisonment were "inhuman and degrading". He also claims that his right to family life and freedom of expression have been violated. If the European Court rules in his favour then Turkey could be forced to bring him to trial all over again. Ocalan is currently in solitary confinement on the Turkish island of Imrali.

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Intense diplomacy continues as the US looks for a diplomatic path to war

The US and Britain have delayed a resolution demanding Iraq disarm by March 17 -or face attack. With France and Russia promising to vote no, war only looks likely without the UN's backing. This morning the UN began an open debate as intense diplomacy across the world showed no signs of resolving the crisis. So far, the US has said it will go to war with or without the UN's backing but clearly it does not want to fight alone, hence the importance of its biggest ally Britan - except the country is showing signs of disarray at the prospect of war without the UN.

Prime minister Tony Blair could face revolt from his Labour party - another reason why President Bush needs UN backing. The US can only count on two other votes Spain and Bulgaria, which leaves three African states, Syria, Mexico, Pakistan and Chile to garner the necessary nine votes. In his first TV interview on Iraq last night, French president Jacques Chirac repeated his opposition to war: "The position is that, whatever the circumstances, France will vote no because she considers tonight that there is no reason to wage a war to reach the goal we set ourselves, that is the disarmament of Iraq." France has also just wound up a vote hunting tour of Angola, Guinea and Cameroon on the Security Council.

Iraq crisis: Aznar attacks as Blair defends

Staunch Washington ally Jose Maria Aznar has gone on the offensive over Iraq, hinting that France, Russia and China are all threatening to veto a new UN resolution to protect their business interests in the oil-rich country. The Spanish Prime Minister also used a television interview to dismiss criticism that going to war without a second resolution would be illegal. He said previous UN resolutions had threatened serious consequences if Iraq failed to disarm and they should be respected as well.

Meanwhile British leader Tony Blair appears to be on the defensive over his hardline on Iraq, a policy he shares with Aznar and the Bush administration. At times he even faltered as he tried to answer questions from critical members of the public during a talk show.
After a worried pause, he justified his decision. "I'm doing it because I think it is the right thing to do and I think that we can still resolve this without conflict actually". The fragility of his position and lack of a fiery response to continued questioning served to illustrate how he is beginning to look increasingly isolated at home.

Three Palestinians killed by Israelis after gunmen kills Israeli soldier

Three Palestinians were killed after an Israeli tank shelled an apartment block in the divided West Bank town of Hebron. The Israeli military said they were after a Palestinian gunmen who shot dead an Israeli soldier in an ambush before hiding in the block. The violence came as the Palestinian parliament prepared a bill to create the post of prime minister - a move international mediators have been pressing for. A peace quartet of the EU, the UN, Russia and the US want a new prime minister to carry out reforms they say are vital for peace in the Middle East. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat wants to keep control of security and peace policies but the peace quartet disagrees. Arafat's choice for the new post is Mahmoud Abbas, who has said he will wait to see what powers the post is given.


New international criminal court swears in judges

The world's first global criminal court is holding its inaugural session today, but representatives from the US will not be attending. Eighteen judges will be sworn in at the International Criminal Court at the Hague in the Netherlands. America's decision to stay away has been strongly criticised. In 1998, it withdrew from the treaty, fearing in some circumstances its troops could face prosecution. The ICC is being hailed as the world judicial system's biggest step since an international military tribunal was set up in Nuremberg, which tried Nazi leaders after World War 2. The court officially opened last year, with the backing of 60 states, but until now, it has been operating with a limited staff and no prosecutor or judges. It will try cases linked to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.


Cyprus peace talks paving the way for EU entry end in failure

Renewed peace talks on Cyprus have ended in failure meaning only the Greek Cypriot side will be joining the European Union in 2004. The UN had pushed for the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides to unite in time for a referendum on EU membership this March. Speaking in the Hague, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash said he was concerned about creating refugees: "As far as we are concerned, the plan which was on the table was not acceptable to us because it envisages the removal of about 100,000 Turkish Cypriots from their present habitations."

Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos said he was concerned the plan woud prevent some Greek Cypriot refugees returning.
The UN envoy Alvara de Soto said he was sad: "I share tonight with all peace loving Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Greeks and Turks a deep sense of sadness. I'm not sure another opportunity like this one will present itself again any time soon." The failed talks are also a blow to Turkey in that they are likely to frustrate its own attempts to join the European Union. The UN will now resume patrolling the island's ceasefire border.

Our man in Havana: EU opens Cuban office

The flag of the European Union has been unfurled over downtown Havana, marking a step forward in relations between the 15-member bloc and communist Cuba. It flies over the new EU office in Cuba, a building that is set to become a focal point of business for the island's largest trade, aid and investment partner. For Cuba this is more than a symbolic event - 80 percent of its imports come from EU countries. The 1.5 billion euro worth of goods are vital to keeping President Fidel Castro's country afloat. However it is not all plain sailing for Havana. EU states often criticise Cuba's human rights record and relations have become strained over the lack of democratic rights under its one-party system.

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US and France woos Security Council members over Iraq

In another sign of an impending war, an airfield in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq has lain idle for over a decade. There is speculation it is being prepared as a landing stage for US forces or humanitarian flights. Washington has refused to say whether its soldiers are already in Iraq, but it has 100,000 or so troops in Kuwait, and at least the same number again elsewhere in the region. Some UN staff on the Iraq-Kuwait border are being withdrawn for their own safety.

Baghdad says it will continue to co-operate with UN inspectors despite the March 17 deadline contained in a resolution that the Security Council could vote on as soon as tomorrow. The US says it still hopes to get the nine out of 15 votes necessary to pass the resolution but will not be surprised if France vetoes the text authorising war. The other veto-holders, Russia and China, say UN weapons inspections are making progress and should continue. Germany and Syria agree.

Britain, Spain and Bulgaria are behind Washington but six states- Chile, Cameroon, Angola, Pakistan, Guinea and Mexico - are yet to decide.

The French Foreign Minister is undertaking a whistle-stop tour of the three African countries urging them to vote "no". In oil-rich Angola he has to contend with considerable American financial clout, although Paris has stronger historical and trade links with Cameroon and Guinea.

There is also a struggle ahead over the Latin American countries. Washington is offering its neighbour Mexico a new treaty on immigration, legalising millions of undocumented Mexicans in the US. For Chile there is the tempting prospect of a free trade agreement with the States.

That leaves Pakistan, which depends heavily on American aid and is a key ally in the so-called war on terrorism.

British cabinet minister threatens resignation over Iraq

A leading member of the British cabinet, Clare Short, says she will resign if the country goes to war with Iraq without UN backing.
The International Development Secretary says the stance of Prime Minister Tony Blair is "extraordinarily reckless". Junior government member Andy Reed has quit his post and three other ministerial aides say they will stand down if military action is taken without a second UN resolution. The internal dissent is further proof, if needed, that Tony Blair is taking a huge political gamble by backing Washington.

Blair has said he would send troops into action even if a new resolution is blocked in the Security Council, prompting more opposition not only in some national newspapers but also on the streets. Polls indicate only 15 per cent of the public would back military action under those circumstances. This weekend's protest by around 15,000 people in Manchester followed an anti-war rally last month in London that attracted a million marchers.

With war now expected rather than a remote possibility Iraqi

In Baghdad schoolgirls have spent some of their lesson time learning what to do when the aid raid warning sounds. Adults have also learnt a drill: when they hear the sirens they have been instructed to get off the streets as fast as possible. In the last Gulf war there were about three and a half thousand casualties. And this time, if Washington goes to war, analysts say they'll want to keep casualties to a minimum.

But Washington says its concerned Saddam Hussein may engineer casualties for propaganda purposes. In the last Gulf War there were about three and a half thousand casualties and analyst says Washington wants to keep casualties to a minimum. Washington has said they're concerned Saddam Hussein might also create civilian casualties for propaganda purposes.

Erdogan poised to become Turkish PM - hints at US troops deal

A by-election victory for the leader of Turkey's ruling party could result in the Turkish parliament reconsidering a US request to deploy troops along the border with Iraq. The vote has propelled Tayyip Erdogan from the sidelines of Turkish politics and put him on course to become the country's prime minister. He had been barred from holding office because of a conviction for Islamist sedition. But Erdogan's AK party overturned the ban after it came to power in last November's election.

His supporters' victory celebrations were fuelled by the knowledge that his elevation to prime minister is now a formality, Earlier this month the Turkish parliament narrowly rejected Washington's request to open up its southern border to American forces. Erdogan has indicated he will push for a new vote but added that timing was a key factor.

Malta votes to join EU but opposition seeks general election

Malta has said yes to Europe in a non-binding referendum. Final results showed 53.6 per cent voted for joining the EU next year, while 46.4 per cent voted against. The vote followed an acrimonious campaign that was split along party lines. Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami was quick to claim victory: "I am very satisfied about the result of the referendum and the fact that 91 per cent of those entitled to vote did participate in this referendum."

As supporters of Adami's Nationalist Party celebrated in the capital Valletta, the opposition Labour Party refused to accept defeat.
It says the issue should be decided in a general election, which the premier looks set to call for mid-April. Malta, an island with barely 400,000 citizens, would be the smallest member of the EU.


Last ditch talks to salvage Cyprus deal

The leaders of Cyprus' Greek and Turkish communities, along with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, will try to thrash out a deal on the divided island's future at a meeting in the Netherlands today. Annan has warned if no agreement is reached it could be a decade before a chance comes again.

The controversial power-sharing proposals have not been universally welcomed, but many have taken to the streets urging their leaders to accept the plan. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash believes the arrangement would create refugees and throw many of his people out of their homes.

Cyprus, or at least the Greek part, will be accepted into the EU in 2004. If it were to enter as a unified island it would boost Turkey's hopes of joining the bloc.


Party time in Patras at carnival climax

After a weekend of partying, the people of the Greek city of Patras could have been forgiven for letting their annual carnival come to a quiet end. But that was never on the agenda. The streets of the busy port thronged with revellers enjoying the spectacle of extravagant floats and lavish costumes. There were similar scenes in towns and cities across the country as communities celebrated the last day before the beginning of a traditional fast period before Easter.



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Maltese narrowly vote in favor of EU

An early estimate on Malta's referendum on whether it should join the EU indicates 53 per cent are in favour. Tiny Malta is one of ten states which have been invited to join the EU next May. The Mediterranean island is the first of the ten to go to the polls and had been expected to narrowly vote in favour of joining, although the result is not binding.

Casting his vote in favour, Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami was insistent that EU membership will not diminish Malta's sovereignty. But opposition Labour Party leader Alfred Sant has argued that jobs may be lost should Maltas 400,000 citizens join.

Sant wants the island to adopt a Swiss approach to membership by establishing free trade with the EU but without adhering to its regulations. In the last poll, conducted two weeks ago, 49 per cent said they wanted to join.

But whatever the outcome the referendum will have to be validated by a general election which is likely to be held in April. The official result is expected late on Sunday.

Saddam defiant as US courts Security Council members

Despite the massive military build-up on his doorstep the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein remains defiant. His regime issued a statement demanding the UN Security Council denounce the US and Britain as "liars" and calling for the lifting of sanctions against Iraq.

Iraq destroyed more of its banned missiles but US President George Bush dismissed the move as a charade, claiming Saddam had already commissioned replacements.

Washington is engaged in a flurry of diplomacy to persuade Security Council members to support a new resolution authorising war on Iraq.

The vote takes place possibly as early as Tuesday but the 15 nation body remains deeply divided. Four states have indicated their opposition. The US can rely on the backing of Britain, Spain and Bulgaria. But the rest are undecided.

The resolution, which gives Iraq a new disarmament deadline of March 17, needs a minimum of nine votes for adoption and no veto by any of the five permanent members.

If the measure fails to win the approval of the Council the White House has said it could launch a war with what it is described as a "coalition of the willing".

US troops make final preparations

As the deadline to a possible war in Iraq nears, the tension is building in American military bases across the Gulf. Most of the US forces are based in Kuwait but final preparations are also taking place in Qatar which serves as US military headquarters.

Soldiers in Qatar have been practising the drill for possible chemical weapon attacks. But if temperatures in the desert rise soldiers may find it almost impossible to fight wearing their protective suits.

Elsewhere Saudi Arabia has agreed to let the US use two of its airbases, but only for what it called defence purposes or to prepare for a refugee crisis.

Iraqs ruling Ba'ath party is running nationwide campaigns to recruit men for military training in readiness for a possible showdown with the US.Iraq now seems to regard war as inevitable - soldiers and sandbags appeared on the streets of Baghdad for the first time this weekend.

But the Iraqi army is still much weaker than the one which invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Meanwhile on the the Iraq/Kuwait border UN observers said they were withdrawing civilian staff from Kuwait City.

Kurds warn of Turkish troop build up

Iraq's Kurds said they were not scared by reports of a build up of Turkish troops on the northern Iraq border but a Kurdish leader urged Turkey not to enter Iraq. Hundreds of army vehicles are massed at the border which Turkey said was to prevent a refugee crisis from developing. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said any incursion "will havew very negative consequences for the people of the region, for Turkey and for everybody

Israel blows houses of Hamas suspects

The Israeli army responded to the shooting of two Israelis in the settlement of Kiryat Arba by blowing up the houses of the Hamas militants they said carried out the attack.

The Israeli army had also retaliated on Saturday by killing a top Hamas leader in a helicopter gunship attack in Gaza City. Ibrahim al Maqadma was said to be responsible for planning dozens of suicide bombings in Israel.

Thousands mark International Women's Day in Paris

Between 10,000 and 30,000 people have marched in Paris to mark International Women's Day.

The annual gathering in the French capital has this time been dominated by the theme of physical violence against women. Demonstrators were joined by a group of men and women who hav staged a five-week walk across the country; they are protesting against attacks on women, particularly on suburban housing estates.

They say women in some areas face a double problem. They are expected to conform to conservative religious attitudes, but they are also subjected to insults, sexual harrassment, and attacks.

The collective started its campaign after the death of a 17-year-old woman who was burnt alive by her boyfriend.

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No Security Council vote on new Iraq resolution before Tuesday

A vote at the UN Security Council authorising the use of force against Iraq will not take place until Tuesday at the earliest.

The US has asked the 15 nations currently sitting on the Council to be ready to vote from Tuesday onwards.

The draft resolution proposed by America, Britain and Spain lays down a deadline of March 17 for Baghdad to comply with disarmament orders or face military action.

The measure is opposed by some permanent and non-permanent members. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw appealed for unanamous backing.

"The only way we can achieve disarmament of their weapons of mass destruction, which the Council has said poses a threat to international peace and security, is with a credible threat of force. I wish we lived in a different world."

There were similarly passionate words from Straw's French counterpart, Dominique de Villepan, who flatly rejected the March 17 deadline.

"We cannot accept an ultimatum while inspectors are making progress in their work. It would signify war."

Earlier the Council received a report from UN weapons inspectors which highlighted increased cooperation by the Iraqis but which stated many questions about Baghdad's arsenal remain unanswered.

British troops prepare for 'the inevitable'

War may not be inevitable but British and American troops stationed in Kuwait are operating on the basis that it is.

Britain has 30,000 soldiers deployed in what would be the main launchpad for a ground attack.

General Sir Mike Jackson, the UK armed forces chief, said while on a visit to one battalion, that his troops would be fully operational in less than a week.

Jackson also dismissed media reports that the soldiers were not completely equipped to deal with a chemical attack.

Britain is very much the junior partner in the western military alliance.The U.S. has committed close to a quarter of a million army, navy and air force personnel to a war against Iraq.


Al Qaeda suspect in court amid bin Laden rumours

Terror suspect Ahmed Quddus has faced a Pakistani court as confusion reigns over just how successful the hunt for al Qaeda operatives has been in recent days.

The judge challenged prosecutors to produce any evidence linking Quddus to Islamic militants before remanding him in custody.

Quddus was picked up as police arrested Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Rawalpindi. Mohammed is considered to be the number three in al Qaeda and is accused of masterminding the September 11th attacks.

As Mohammed is interrogated at an unknown location Pakistani officials made the surprise claim that two sons of Osama bin Laden were wounded and possibly arrested in Afghanistan.

It is a claim that was swiftly denied by an American military spokesman at Bagram air base, "We have no information regarding the possible capture of Osama bin Laden's sons. CJTF-180 does not have any forces operating in the area of Rabat at this time."

The search for bin Laden has intensified since Mohammed was caputured last week. The alleged clash between US forces and al Qaeda fighters happened in a remote region that straddles Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.


Hamas founder killed in missile strike

A senior official and founding member of the radical Islamic group Hamas has been killed after his car was hit by an Israeli missile. Fifty-year-old Ibrahim al-Maqadma was among four Palestinians killed in the strike by the helicopter gunship hovering over Gaza City.

Hamas has already promised more violence in retaliation. It comes just hours after Palestininan radicals gave a bloody response to a new security strategy from Israel.

Two Israelis died when they were shot by Palestinian militants who had entered their highly protected community near the West Bank town of Hebron dressed as religious Jews. Three others, including a soldier, were wounded.

The gunmen themselves were later shot and killed by Israeli troops. Earlier the Israeli army had seized control of a swathe of Gaza with the aim of clamping down on militant attacks.

Serbia and Montenegro votes in first president

A new president for a new union of states: Svetozar Marovic has been elected as the head of Serbia and Montenegro, the new name for what is left of the former Yugoslavia.

The 47-year-old was the only candidate for the job and won the support of 65 deputies in the 126 seat assembly.

Marovic is a senior official in Montenegro's ruling DPS, a party that favour independence for the coastal state.

He pledged to work to improve the standard of living, cooperate with the UN war crimes tribunal and to forge closer ties with Brussels. Both Serbia and Montenegro harbour hopes of one day joining the EU.

But Marovic will not expect to be in the job for long, as after three years both sides have the option of breaking away from a union to go it alone.

Narrow yes vote possible in Malta's EU referendum

It is decision day in Malta where people are voting on whether to join the European Union. The tiny Mediterranean island is one of ten countries which have been invited to join the bloc.

Malta lies just to the south of Sicily, closer to north Africa than Europe, and has traditionally been a neutral state.

The "yes" campaign has been spearheaded by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami.He says membership of the EU will not diminish Malta's sovreignty.

The last poll, conducted two weeks ago, predicted a win for the pro-entry camp with 49 percent of the vote.

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But there is a significant "no" faction on the island which is perceived as the most euro-sceptic of all the candidate countries.

The same survey put the anti-EU vote at 22 percent with 16 percent undecided.

Observers says a close win or even an upset can't be ruled out.

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It's the first time the Maltese have held a referendum on their future since opting for independence from Britain in 1964.

1.03 ends

Families of Srebrenica victims win compensation battle

In a landmark ruling Bosnia's top human rights court has ordered Bosnian Serb authorities to pay compensation to relatives of victims of the Srebrinica massacre in 1995.

They have been ordered to give around two million euros to the muslim families to help with burial costs.

The case was brought by 49 people who accused Bosnian Serb officials of hiding the truth about what happened and of failing to investigate the massacre properly.

Up to 8000 muslim men and boys were slaughtered after Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica in July of 1995. The town had been declared a UN "safe haven" two years earlier.

Nearly 6000 bags containing human remains have been dug up from mass graves but most remain unidentified.

There has been no reaction to the ruling from the Bosnia Serb Republic, one of Bosnia's two autonomous entities.

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Bush pushes world closer to war on Iraq

US President George W.Bush has used a prime-time news conference to call on sceptical allies to get ready to use force, but threatened to go it alone if necessary: "If we need to act, we will act. And we really don't need United Nations approval to do so," he said. He used the 30-minute session to prepare his country for conflict, arguing that when it came to issues of national security, Washington did not need anybody's permission to protect itself.

"I will not leave the American people at the mercy of the Iraqi dictator and his weapons," said Bush. Bush accused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of ordering more illicit missiles even as others were destroyed, and of deliberately hiding away biological and chemical weapons in mobile labs. The president said a Security Council vote on a resolution that would authorise war was "just days away", and he said he was not put off by the prospect of losing that vote. He also shrugged off the anti-war protests worldwide, arguing that after 12 years Saddam had had enough time to disarm.

Foreign ministers face-to-face ahead of Blix speech

A bomb scare at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York has served only to increase tensions as foreign ministers from the UN Security Council got together there for last-ditch diplomatic talks. While the emergency proved to be a false alarm, the friction between those taking part was very real. Britain's Jack Straw is rock solid behind US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Both are said to be working on a draught resolution that would be capable of winning majority support.

But they are unlikely to persuade the likes of French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin to withdraw his threat to veto any resolution authorising war, a threat backed up by Russia and China. So now all eyes are set on this afternoon's Security Council meeting when chief weapons inspector Hans Blix will give his latest update on the extent of Iraqi compliance with disarmament demands. Most analysts expect his results to give fuel to both sides by stating that Iraq is co-operating more, but still needs to account for missing arms.

Blair and Straw adopt different tone over Iraq

The British government's backing for President Bush remains rock solid. However, differences seem to have emerged in London over just how hardline a stance to take over Iraq. The Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, for example, has stressed that, in his view, Saddam Hussein could remain in power if he disarms fully. "We do not want military action. Let us be quite clear about this," said Straw.

Speaking on MTV, however, in a question and answer session with young people, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was talking tough and said that he would still be ready to take military action, even if a second UN resolution was opposed. "If there was a veto applied by one of the countries with a veto or by countries that I thought were applying the veto unreasonably, in those circumstances, I would," he said.

The complex diplomatic manoeuvrings which have dominated UN affairs in recent weeks reach a potentially crucial point today when weapons inspectors deliver their latest progress report on Iraqi disarmament to the Security Council. You can watch live coverage of their presentation on EuroNews at approximately 4pm CET.

Schroeder-Berlusconi agree to differ over Iraq

The extent to which Iraq has split the European Union was underlined in the German city of Bremen, when Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. "We believe that, at this point, there is no need for a second resolution," said the Chancellor, who has placed Germany firmly in the anti-war camp. Berlusconi, a firm backer of America, said a second resolution was not necessary but desirable.

Outside, the Italian leader was greeted by demonstrators, a reminder that back home, seven in ten Italians oppose a war. The two leaders were at least able to agree over Europe with the Chancellor expressing his support for the new EU treaty to be signed in Rome later this year.

Israel continues crackdown in Gaza Strip

Israeli tanks have seized control of a small band of territory in the Gaza Strip. The army says the operation is a bid to stop any further Palestinian missile attacks on southern Israel. Three Qassam rockets slammed into the town of Sderot on Thursday just hours after 11 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid. The conflict follows a suicide bombing in Israel that left 15 people dead.

Meanwhile a known moderate has been nominated to the job of Palestinian prime minister. Mahmoud Abbas was offered the newly-created post by Yasser Arafat after intense international pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority. Abbas has said he wants to know what the position would entail and what kind of power he would have before he accepts. Regarded as the behind-the-scenes brains of the PLO, Abbas has been singled out as a possible successor to Chairman Arafat.

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Spanish parliament backs Aznar over Iraq

The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, has won a parliamentary vote endorsing his support for United States' policy on Iraq. Madrid recently joined London and Washington in calling for a second United Nations resolution on Iraq, effectively sanctioning military action. The Prime Minister won 183 votes, exactly the same number as seats held by his Popular Party. 164 deputies voted against the motion. The opposition had hoped the secret ballot would persuade government supporters over to the anti-war camp.
A second motion, calling for the government to rethink its position, was defeated. The vote flies in the face of public opinion with the overwhelming majority of Spaniards opposing military intervention but Aznar has shown no sign of changing his position despite a slump in his popularity.

Straw fails to move Ivanov over Iraq

Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, in London visiting his British counterpart, Jack Straw, again warned that Moscow would use its Security Council veto to block any resolution paving the way for war. In a radio interview he said Russia would not support any decision leading directly or indirectly to war. At a news conference later, Ivanov added that Russia would not abstain in a vote because Iraq was too grave an issue to opt out of. He outlined his government's interpretation of Resolution 1441, saying it did not contain any provisions authorising the automatic use of force.

The remark directly contradicted a statement Straw had made to the British government earlier in the day. As Ivanov heads for Paris today for talks with the French President, Jacques Chirac, some 650 Russian construction workers based in Iraq are also on the move. Although no-one is talking of an evacuation, the Russian authorities are flying their nationals home between now and March the 10th.

Gulf force moves into Kuwait

The final contingent of the Peninsular Shield force has crossed into Kuwait. Now up to full strength, the 8,000 men with Apache helicopters and Leclerc tanks is drawn from the six states of the Gulf Co-Operation Council, and has deployed in solidarity with Kuwait on the Iraqi frontline.

Despite this military stiffening, the GCC has joined the European Union in again emphasising that it is the United Nations' job to disarm Iraq. In a joint communiqué the two organisations insisted that Iraq must apply UN resolutions if it is to avoid war. They also announced progress on a number of economic issues, and expressed the hope that Palestinian efforts at political reform would contribute to greater calm in the region.


US presses al-Qaeda "mastermind" to tell all

The FBI is celebrating the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man alleged to be the brains behind the September 11 attacks but in reality, the Americans are racing against time. They are sure more, spectacular, terrorist atrocities are planned by al-Qaeda and its sympathisers but they need Khalid to crack during interrogation and tell them where and when. However, according to Yosri Fooda of the Arabic satellite TV channel Al Jazeera, who interviewed Khalid, the man who was arrested in Pakistan at the weekend will be as obstructive as he can be. "I think Khalid will realise that this is the end. Maybe he will bargain for some time to give his people who would be taking every precaution now some more time to reorganise themselves. To change a few things about themselves," said Fooda. Meanwhile, the Americans say they are questioning Khalid at an undisclosed location.




Elections delayed as Northern Ireland talks end

A marathon session of intensive talks aimed at restoring Northern Ireland's power-sharing assembly have failed to produce a breakthrough. The assembly was suspended in October amid allegations of spying by the Irish Republican Army. With no agreement, new elections scheduled for May the 1st have been delayed. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, said talks had been constructive but all sides needed time to consider a plan for the future.

"We will put back the date of the elections to the 29th of May. That will give people time for discussions with their colleagues," said Blair. "The Taoiseach and myself will come back in April and publish our proposals. We are not coming back for negotiations, but to publish those proposals." The plans include paramilitary disarmament, a possible amnesty for fugitive activists, the withdrawal of more British troops from Northern Ireland and a mechanism for ensuring implementation.

Old Guard standing down at Chinese congress

Major changes will take place during a two-week session of China's National People's Congress which started today in Beijing. President Jiang Zemin and the Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, will both make way for younger men as the Congress sets the seal on a fundamental overhaul at the top of the ruling Communist Party.

Jiang Zemin, now 76, handed over the leadership of the party to Hu Jintao, a relatively-youthful 6O, last November. Hu will now also become state president.Zhu Rongji, 74, whom the Chinese call the "boss", is tipped to be succeeded by Vice Premier, Wen Jiabao, 60.

Zhu has presided over China's emergence as a major economic power and has made fighting endemic corruption a priority. In his final speech, he warned that unrest among farmers and the millions of workers in state-owned firms made redundant by foreign competition could derail China's spectacular progress.

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Right-wingers grab surprise result in Estonia

Estonia is facing an uncertain political future after the right-wing Res Publica party won a surprise result. The right-wingers took 24.6 percent of the vote. Founder Juhan Parts obviously reached the voters other parties could not with a promise to crackdown on corruption and crime. It was a recipe for success that left him just 0.8 per cent behind the winners, the left-leaning Centre Party of Edgar Savisaar. The rival parties, who will both have 28 seats in parliament, have ruled out a grand coalition, leaving the field open to a handful of smaller parties to play the kingmaker role.

With Estonia having been invited to join both Nato and the European Union in 2004 the future government will need to be both credible and stable. But the campaign highlighted unease. Many Centre Party voters feel left behind by the past decade of capitalism, while those choosing Res Publica want a no-nonsense right-wing alternative.


Pressure builds as Iraq destroys missiles

In Iraq's eyes it is "full" cooperation with UN demands - a second batch of al-Samoud missiles have been destroyed under the gaze of weapons inspectors. In the eyes of America it's a "game of deception", a cynical ploy by Baghdad to buy more time for President Saddam Hussein. Now, with UN teams holding talks with Iraqi officials about the VX gas and anthrax supplies they say they have destroyed, Washington is looking to next Friday's report from inspections chief Hans Blix. If his words support US claims then a second UN resolution authorising military action could be taken to a vote.

The current situation however is less than perfect for the Bush administration. Tayyip Erdogan, leader of Turkey's governing AKP party, remains evasive over whether the parliament will reconsider a narrow vote against allowing American troops to use its bases. Nato's defensive forces are already rolling into place along Turkey's Iraqi border. But American navy ships anchored off the Turkish coast may have to find an alternative port to unload.

Pro US demonstration in Paris

In Paris, a small group of demonstrators have braved local hostility to voice their support for the United States build up against Iraq. Around 250 people gathered on La Place de la Concorde, not far from the American embassy. Opinion polls have suggested a large majority of the French population support their government's stand which calls for more time to be given to United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq. Foreign minister Dominique de Villepin refused to rule out vetoing any new resolution on Iraq in the UN security council, insisting on US television that France was acting as a good ally.

Warm welcome for French president in Algeria

French President Jacques Chirac has been greeted by more than a million well wishers as he begins a three-day trip to Algeria. It is the first full state visit by a French president to the country's former colony since Algeria secured independence in 1962. President Chirac may have served in the French army during the Algerian campaign but now both countries are determined to put their troubled past behind them and make a fresh start.

The French delegation in the capital Algiers includes senior figures from politics, business and culture. Later, President Chirac will sign a "friendship declaration" with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The pair's good rapport was demonstrated by the fact that they held hands as they took part in a walkabout on the crowded streets.

Turbulent times continue in Algeria, however, with Islamic militants waging an armed campaign to overthrow the government. Some two million people of Algerian origin live in France and the two countries remain entwined in a close and complex relationship, four decades after the end of French colonialism.

Mass anti-war rally highlights Pakistan's dilemma

Some 70,000 people have been marching through the streets of Karachi, in by far the biggest anti-war rally yet in Pakistan. Security was tight in the restive port city, where a gunman outside the American consulate killed just days ago two policemen.

Anti-American sentiment was rife, with banners attacking President George Bush. Many in this Moslem country resent the government's cooperation with the US. Leaders of Islamic movements slammed the participation of American agents in the tracking and yesterday's arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - the man accused of master mining the September 11 attacks.

Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf is walking a tightrope trying to appease both his allies in Washington and the Moslem population at home.

Prince Charles linked to fraud case businessman

Prince Charles has again had his judgement called into question after newspapers revealed he had close links with a Turkish businessmen who is now wanted in a fraud investigation. The heir to the British throne is said to have dined at his Highgrove country home with Cem Uzan, an invitation given in thanks for a 600 000 euro donation to his charities. Last December Uzan was given a 15 months prison sentence in his absence after failing to answer charges he'd tricked mobile phone operators Motorola and Nokia into lending 3 billion euros that he had no intention of repaying. St James's Palace said it would investigate any allegations of wrongdoing, but royal watcher Robert Lacey said the damage has been done. Sleaze allegations that emerged during the collapsed trial of royal butler Paul Burrell have put Charles's household under the spotlight.


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September 11th "mastermind" in custody

A big catch in the global war on terror: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the September 11th attacks and said to be a right-hand man to Osama bin Laden has been arrested in Pakistan. Mohammed has already been handed over to American officials.

Two other alleged members of al Qaeda were picked up in the swoop on addresses in Rawalpindi.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had a prominent place on the FBI's most wanted list. He is believed to be a lynchpin in the terror network and is suspected of involvement in the the US embassy bombings in Africa and an attack on an American warship in Yemen.

Fallout begins after Turkish block US military

Turkish officials are meeting today in an effort to come to terms with the implications of their parliament's narrow vote against allowing American troops into the country.

Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the governing AKP party, said there was little that could be done to change what was a "completely democratic decision".

But Ankara knows the stakes are high. By keeping the US military from using its bases in any war on Iraq it gives up a much needed 30 million dollar aid package.

As Washington asks for further "clarification" of the Turkish position its military planners are finding an alternative to the strategic bases at Incirlick and Diyarbakir which would have been used for the large contingent of forces currently in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile the Bush administration's drive to win backing for an attack on Iraq for failing to disarm has been dealt another blow. UN teams witnessed yesterday the destruction of the first batch of Baghdad's illegal al-Samoud missiles in line with demands from the inspections chief.

Arab League summit ends with anti-war stand

Arab leaders see strikes on Iraq as a threat to Arab security and will not participate in any war, they declared in a the joint statement at the close of the Arab League summit in Egypt.

However, no mention was been made of Anglo-American troops currently in Arab countries. And there was only a vague reference to a proposal from the United Arab Emirates that Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, go into exile.

The final communique only went as far as denouncing attempts by anyone other than the people of a country to impose a regime change. It also called on UN weapons inspectors to be allowed to continue their work.

During the summit, Iraqi Number Two, Ezzat Ibrahim, insisted his country was doing its best to comply with UN inspectors to avoid a conflict.

But he said Washington was bent on "colonising Iraq and redrawing the map of the region".
Live transmission was briefly interupted as Libya's Colonel Gaddafi attacked Saudia Arabia's stance during the 1991 Gulf War.

Saudi's Crown Prince Abdallah ben Abdel Aziz was so furious he stormed out of the room.

Mixed response to Iraqi missile destruction

British foreign minister, Jack Straw is unimpressed by Iraq's missile destruction. He has described it as a cynical way of gaining time. According to Straw, it is the big picture that counts.

"We have to judge what happens in the light of what has actually happened and whether there is full and immediate compliance in respect of all the other obligations that Saddam Hussein is under," he said. But other countries, such as France and Russia, interpret the latest events very differently.

For Moscow, the destruction of the missiles shows that "Iraq is really disarming" and is a "fundamental turning point in the inspections process".

For Paris, it represents an "important step in the process of peaceful disarmament" and it shows that the "inspections system produces results".

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Banned Iraqi missiles destroyed

Weapons experts have begun destroying four of Iraq's stock of banned missiles following talks between Iraqi and United Nations weapons personnel. The UN says the al-Samoud 2 missiles breach range restrictions.

Baghdad denies this but has agreed to scrap the rockets within a deadline set by arms inspectors. There are around 100 al-Samoud 2 missiles in all and a timetable for the destruction of the remainder has been agreed.

Washington and London have dismissed Iraq's acquiesence over the missile issue as propoganda and game playing.

But UN weapons chief, Hans Blix has described it as a "significant piece of real disarmament" a comment likely to fuel the anti-war lobby.

UEA proposes exile for Saddam

A United Arab Emirate initiative calling on Saddam to go into exile is being presented to today's Arab League summit in Egypt.

The proposal suggests offering the current Iraqi leadership complete amnesty from prosecution and a range of privileges if they leave the country.

And it envisages a combined United Nations-Arab League effort to supervise a transitional period within the country until Iraqis say the situation has returned to normal.

Washington has previously evoked exile by Saddam as an alternative to war, but saw the US as playing a key role in a post-Saddam era and has even mentioned possible interim leaders for Iraq.

The Arab League summit is expected to conclude with a joint statement on Iraq calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Turkey set to decide on US troop deployment

The Turkish parliament is preparing to vote later today on whether to allow thousands of American troops onto its soil for a possible war on Iraq. The government has delayed the decision several times amid high public opposition and fears over the impact on its Kurdish minority.

Meanwhile defensive weapons are already being deployed in Turkey. Dutch patriot missiles are among the military hardware being shipped-off to the south as part of Nato preparations.

But as the US loses patience with Ankara over its offer of massive financial aid in return for use of strategic military bases, the issue looks set to become bogged down even further amid questions over the constitutional legitimacy of a "yes" vote on foreign troops on Turkish soil.

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