Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, giving a report which could be crucial to whether war is waged on Iraq, said yesterday that banned Iraqi weapons still were unaccounted for and Baghdad must detail the status of anthrax and VX stocks and long-range missiles.
Blix also told a tense meeting of the UN Security Council that two versions of Iraq's al Samoud 2 missile exceed the maximum range of 150km set by the UN.
"The issues of anthrax, the nerve agent VX and long-range missiles [are] ... perhaps the most important problem we are facing. Iraq itself must squarely tackle this task and avoid belittling the questions," he said.
But Blix, reporting to the council on the progress his inspectors have made in Iraq since last November, said he had no convincing evidence that Iraq had advance knowledge that the inspectors were coming and that his teams were "effectively helping to bridge the gap in knowledge."
Just hours before the report was delivered, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decreed a ban on importing or making weapons of mass destruction, in at least a symbolic gesture to meet one of the demands that Blix and nuclear weapons inspector Mohamed ElBaradei made when they visited Baghdad in mid-January.
"Individuals and companies in private and mixed sectors are banned from importing and producing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons," the presidential decree read. Saddam also reiterated that Iraq was free of any such weapons, a claim the US rejects.
As the inspectors reported, the US military said aircraft taking part in US-British patrols attacked Iraqi missile systems in the southern "no-fly" zone yesterday, the fifth strike on Iraqi targets in a week.
After inspectors had examined evidence found in the search for chemical and biological weapons, including analyzing earth samples from some sites, Blix said in his report: "The results to date been consistent with Iraqi declarations."
But he said Iraqi cooperation "means more than opening doors" and Baghdad was obliged to actively present "convincing evidence" that they have eliminated all biological and chemical weapons programs and materials.
Iraq had accepted an offer by South Africa to send a group of experts for further talks on how to disarm, Blix said.
At issue is whether the US and Britain can follow up yesterday's meeting with a fresh UN resolution explicitly or implicitly authorizing war amid deepening rifts not only on the Security Council, but also within NATO and the European Union.
Millions of people were expected to take to the streets of towns and cities around the world at the weekend to demonstrate against a looming US-led war on Iraq in the biggest peace protests since the Vietnam war. More than 100,000 anti-war activists turned out in Melbourne to kick off the protests.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, at odds with major European partners France and Germany and in danger of alienating many within his own ruling Labour Party, is anxious to give any use of military force international legitimacy.
France, Russia and China, who also wield a veto on the 15-member Council, as well as Germany, Syria and other members, want to beef up inspections, triple the number of arms experts and send in UN security guards to "freeze" suspected sites.
UN inspectors travelied to at least four military and industrial installations outside Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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