Ailing Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's condition is "curable," officials said yesterday as French doctors carried out further tests to determine whether he is fit to stay on as Palestinian Authority president.
In the West Bank, the Palestinian parliament and national security council met in emergency session, presenting a business-as-usual picture to the world amid fears that political chaos could ensue should Arafat fail to recover.
But top Arafat advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina tried to allay those fears, saying: "I can assure you that he is not suffering from leukemia or any serious problem. His situation is curable, and we hope that he will recover soon."
Arafat -- the symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood for 40 years -- was dramatically evacuated from his Ramallah headquarters on Friday and flown to Paris aboard a French government jet to receive treatment.
The frail 75-year-old Palestinian leader was undergoing a battery of tests at the Percy military hospital in the southwestern Paris suburb of Clamart to determine the nature of what is believed to be a serious blood disorder.
In Ramallah, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Arafat had eaten his first meal since being admitted to hospital -- corn flakes, tea and milk.
French and Palestinian officials said a diagnosis of Arafat's condition would not likely be known until Wednesday.
"His condition is better than expected," Abu Rudeina said.
When asked about the nature of Arafat's illness, the advisor replied: "I am not a doctor, but all options are being considered including poisoning. It is up to the French doctors. He is under the full control of the French doctors."
Another of Arafat's aides, Mohammed Rashid, said it was unclear how long Arafat would remain in hospital, adding: "The situation will become more clear after the announcement of the test results expected Wednesday."
One of Arafat's doctors said last week that his white blood cells were destroying platelets, which are needed for blood clotting. Specialists said such symptoms could indicate a range of conditions, from a virus to cancer.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier defended President Jacques Chirac's decision to allow Arafat to seek treatment in France, saying: "We have welcomed him. I think it's completely normal."
Barnier also delivered the message that Paris expected Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to make good on his pledge to allow Arafat to return home to Ramallah after being treated.
"I've heard the formal assurances given by the Israelis that Yasser Arafat will be able to return to Ramallah, and I think that is indeed the case," Barnier said in an interview with France Inter radio.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who has frequently called for Arafat's expulsion, made it clear that he wanted the Jewish state to be rid of the Palestinian Authority president permanently.
Sharon said yesterday at the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting that he was prepared to open negotiations with a new Palestinian leadership "which is both serious and responsible," should one emerge.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
CHIP WAR: The new restrictions are expected to cut off China’s access to Taiwan’s technologies, materials and equipment essential to building AI semiconductors Taiwan has blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯), dealing another major blow to the two companies spearheading China’s efforts to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chip technologies. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ International Trade Administration has included Huawei, SMIC and several of their subsidiaries in an update of its so-called strategic high-tech commodities entity list, the latest version on its Web site showed on Saturday. It did not publicly announce the change. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. Local companies need
CRITICISM: It is generally accepted that the Straits Forum is a CCP ‘united front’ platform, and anyone attending should maintain Taiwan’s dignity, the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it deeply regrets that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China” principle and “united front” tactics by telling the Straits Forum that Taiwanese yearn for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to move toward “peace” and “integration.” The 17th annual Straits Forum yesterday opened in Xiamen, China, and while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local government heads were absent for the first time in 17 years, Ma attended the forum as “former KMT chairperson” and met with Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧). Wang
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
RSS