The 15-nation UN Security Council was called into a special session yesterday to analyze letters from Baghdad's new leader and the US command on military operations, diplomats said.
The US, after three revisions on a resolution on Iraq's future, may also present what it hopes will be a final draft. Security Council ambassadors went on a retreat on Saturday to discuss the resolution.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he expected a breakthrough after Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi sent a letter to the UN on Saturday.
The letter is to set down how the military operation can be subject to a review, should the US want to engage in a major operation that Iraq's new leaders do not like.
Iraq has already said it did not want a veto over US military actions, and Powell has said there was no chance they would get one. But Iraqi officials have made clear they want a say in any large campaign by the US-led multinational force, as they believe their influence can prevent unnecessary bloodshed, like that in Fallujah.
No vote has been scheduled and none was expected yesterday or today, although the US and Britain, sponsors of the resolution, would like one in the coming week.
Members wanted to hear first from Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN envoy who helped form the interim government that is to stay in office until elections for a transitional government, expected by January 2005. Brahimi briefs the council on Monday.
The resolution would give international endorsement to an Iraqi interim government that takes office on June 30 and authorize a US-led multinational force to use "all necessary means" to keep the peace.
The presence of 160,000 foreign soldiers has given several Security Council members second thoughts, apprehensive they would be endorsing an occupation under another name.
Russia, in particular, has hesitated in backing the resolution, saying the council should hear from Arab nations first and not carry the burden alone in approving the new government.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was