Despite stiff opposition in the UN Security Council, the US and Britain still plan to press ahead this week with a new resolution seeking authorization to use military force to disarm Iraq, diplomats from the two allies said.
US Ambassador John Negroponte and British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock met Monday afternoon to discuss the content and timing of a second resolution, which diplomats say will likely be circulated late today after a two-day open debate on Iraq in the Security Council.
The US and Britain face an uphill struggle following last Friday's modestly upbeat reports from the UN's chief weapons inspectors and calls from the overwhelming majority of council members led by France for inspections to continue.
Buoyed by weekend demonstrations around the world that attracted millions of people, the anti-war forces are likely to get another boost at the debate that started yesterday afternoon in which nations that aren't on the 15-member Security Council can express their views on the Iraq crisis.
The debate was scheduled at the request of South Africa, which heads the Non-Aligned Movement of 115 mainly developing nations who are overwhelmingly opposed to the war. More than 40 countries have signed up to speak, and the session is not expected to conclude until this afternoon, when Washington and London are likely to circulate their proposed resolution.
Signaling the opposition ahead, French President Jacques Chirac said Monday his country would oppose any effort to draft a new UN resolution to explicitly authorize war against Iraq at this time. "There is no need for a second resolution today, which France would have no choice but to oppose," Chirac said.
Still, yesterday, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin downplayed the talk that France might use its veto.
Raffarin said the veto was a "very strategic element" for France that allows Paris to act independently on the world stage. But he said that the current strategy on dealing with the Iraq crisis "consisted of maintaining the unity of the international community."
"We are not pursuing a course of isolation and blockage," Raffarin said when asked whether France would use its veto power. "To the contrary, we are pursuing a course of unity."
France, Russia and China -- all with veto power as permanent council members -- are pushing to prevent a rush to war and let inspectors do their work. Among the 10 non-permanent members, only Spain fully backed Washington and London in Friday's debate.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
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
RSS