The US said yesterday it doubted either Russia or China would veto a new UN Security Council resolution designed to pave the way for war on Iraq.
The comments, made by a senior US administration official speaking on condition of anonymity, seemed to improve prospects for the resolution, although questions remained over the nine council votes it needs to pass and a possible French veto.
Washington's main supporter, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, faced potentially the biggest revolt yet within his ruling Labour Party in a parliamentary vote on his stance on Iraq expected later on yesterday.
Blair was hoping to head off the rebellion by presenting a motion which does not mention the possibility of war but asks instead for backing for the UN route to disarmament of Iraq.
He was betting that political and public opinion will rally round if a second resolution is passed by the 15-member Security Council, of which only four so far have pledged to vote for it.
The resolution circulated at the UN this week by the US, Britain and Spain says Baghdad has missed a "final opportunity" to disarm peacefully.
Washington and London have made clear they would like it passed in mid-March. Blair told the British parliament he thought the resolution would gain the required support.
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan told Russian newspaper Vremya Novostei that countries which supported America in any future war would be legitimate targets for retaliation. Asked whether Iraq could strike Kuwait or Turkey, he said:
"War is war. If aggression is shown against Iraq, it can of course use any means to defend itself. I want to say only that whoever helps the Americans will be seen as their accomplice."
But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Tuesday that if there was a war, "people who are in charge of fighting the war to kill US troops cannot assume that they will be safe ... of course including [President] Saddam Hussein".
The New York Times said US intelligence officials had identified more than 2,000 members of the Iraqi elite, with some to be captured as possible war criminals and others the US military would try to turn against the Iraqi leader.
Saddam rejected suggestions he may accept exile in excerpts from an interview with CBS television broadcast on Tuesday: "We will die in this country and we will maintain our honor, the honor that is required in front of our people."
The senior US official, speaking in Moscow, said he doubted China and Russia would use their vetoes despite their public stance that UN inspectors should be given more time.
"I don't think there is any question of a Chinese veto. The most likely result is that they'll abstain ... They are not going to stand in the way," he told reporters.
"I don't think there'll be a Russian veto either", he said, adding that Moscow might even vote for the new resolution.
"We're not there yet but we have got two weeks," he said, referring to the preferred US mid-March deadline for a vote.
One of the countries most concerned about retaliation from Iraq is Turkey, which Washington would like to use as a launchpad for a northern invasion of Iraq in the event of war.
Powell telephoned Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul to stress the urgency of deploying up to 62,000 US troops in Turkey, Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency reported.
The Turkish government asked parliament on Tuesday to consider the demand and discussion of a motion supporting it was expected to begin yesterday or today, officials said.
A cargo ship docked at Iskenderun port in southern Turkey yesterday and began unloading Dutch Patriot air defense missiles promised for the defense of Turkey if there is a war.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS