Sandstorms could be a big challenge for US-led forces in Iraq in coming days, senior officers on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier said yesterday.
But Rear Admiral John Kelly, head of all Navy aircraft in the Gulf, also told the crew of the Lincoln that the Iraqi army was "on the run" five days into a war to oust President Saddam Hussein.
Warplanes from the Lincoln kept up a high pace of sorties yesterday, including missions to provide air support for ground troops in Iraq.
PHOTO: AP
"We do not know exactly how much the weather will deteriorate over the next couple of days but we do know that it's going to deteriorate significantly," said Captain Kendall Card, commanding officer of the Lincoln.
Kelly told the crew more bluntly that the weather would be "a pain in the ass" in coming days.
Card said over the public address system that there were "still many challenges ahead ... the most significant is the call for support of US and coalition land forces around the clock and especially during all weather."
Navy F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets as well as F-14 Tomcats from the Lincoln and two other carriers in the Gulf have been flying missions around the clock in Iraq. Around 30 other ships have been launching missile strikes on Iraq.
Another two US aircraft carriers are launching strikes from the Mediterranean in the five-day-old war aimed at ousting President Saddam Hussein.
"We've got them on the run and we're going to keep them on the run," Kelly also told the crew.
Sandstorms can cut visibility to almost zero and force dust into high-tech equipment. It also cuts the efficiency of US thermal imaging gear that allows troops to see the heat given off by the bodies of Iraqi forces in the dark.
But it also has benefits for US-led forces, cooling the desert heat for attackers wearing stifling chemical weapons protection suits. Many modern missiles and bombs are unaffected by the weather since they rely on satellite navigation.
"This is like a road race here," Kelly said. "We're out of the blocks fast. We're settling in to a pace that we're going to sustain for the long run, however long that takes."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique