The US says that it could go to war on Iraq without clear UN backing but Russia, Germany and France all refused yesterday to drop their opposition to rapid military action.
French President Jacques Chirac told British Prime Minister Tony Blair that Paris was ready to work with London on disarming Iraq but he rejected any ultimatum, aides to Chirac said.
In Washington, the White House said US President George W. Bush will travel to Portugal's Azores islands, about 1,450km west of the European mainland, to meet Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in a "final pursuit" of a UN resolution on disarming Iraq.
And in Baghdad, Iraq's top preacher urged Muslims to attack American interests worldwide to counter any invasion by about 250,000 US and British troops massed in the Gulf region. Diplomats say Washington could attack in coming days.
In a bruising dispute between allies, Washington and London, along with Spain, failed on Thursday to persuade the 15-member UN Security Council to agree on a new resolution authorizing military action, accusing President Saddam Hussein of failing to disarm.
A spokeswoman for Chirac said France was ready to discuss halting UN arms inspections before the end of a 120-day period which Paris has until now backed. But her account of a telephone call to Blair suggested little else new in Chirac's position.
Faced with such resistance, the US said it might abandon efforts to get a UN vote altogether. It says last November's resolution 1441 is mandate enough. But Blair is anxious for UN cover to assuage British public opinion.
Washington and London agreed to extend diplomacy over the weekend by dropping a demand for a Council vote yesterday.
"The options remain, go for a vote and see what members say or not go for a vote," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday. "But ... all the options that you can imagine are before us and [we will] be examining them today, tomorrow and into the weekend."
Asked about the possibility of a three-way summit with the US and Spain, Blair's spokesman said: "If the prime minister has to travel he will ... Nothing has been finalized."
Moscow, Berlin and Paris all reiterated bitter opposition to any attacks, saying UN weapons inspections were still the best route to peace with Saddam.
In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder told parliament in a state of the nation address at the Reichstag, "It is still possible to solve this conflict peacefully."
And Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov dismissed Britain's six-point plan: "The British proposals on Iraq are not constructive and do not solve the main problem -- preventing the use of force against Baghdad," he told Interfax news agency.
In a sermon at Baghdad's Mother Of All Battles mosque yesterday, leading Iraqi preacher Abdul-Razzaq Saadi called on fellow Muslims to sink US and British ships and asked God to drown their leaders, President George W. Bush and Blair.
"It is the duty of Muslims today, Iraqis and others, to threaten American interests wherever they are, to set them on fire and to sink their ships. This is jihad in the name of God," he said.
The US navy said it was moving a dozen more missile-firing warships from the eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf region, joining more than 60 other US ships arrayed against Iraq. Such a move could bring more cruise missiles to bear on Iraq.
The US suggestion of dropping a Security Council vote marked a shift from a pledge by Bush to hold a vote to force "people to show their cards."
Once the diplomatic maneuverings have ended, Bush intends to issue an ultimatum to Saddam, telling him to disarm or face invasion within days, according to administration officials.
If there were no vote on a new resolution, the legal situation might be governed by Resolution 1441, adopted on Nov. 8, which threatened "serious consequences" if Iraq did not disarm. But if a new resolution were voted down, an attack against Iraq would be in violation of international law.
Many world stock markets, depressed by worries about war in Iraq and a grim economic outlook, jumped for a second day yesterday on hopes that any war would be short, or even averted by diplomacy.
In Madrid, the European Commission said that it had proposed initial plans for steering the EU economy if war breaks out. They include closer ties between finance ministers and avoiding unilateral measures like cuts in energy taxes.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
DISPUTE: A Chinese official prompted a formal protest from Tokyo by saying that ‘the dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,’ after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks Four armed China Coast Guard vessels yesterday morning sailed through disputed waters controlled by Japan, amid a diplomatic spat following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. The four ships sailed around the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to Taiwan, and which Taiwan and China also claim — on Saturday before entering Japanese waters yesterday and left, the Japan Coast Guard said. The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it carried out a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters and that it was a lawful operation. As of the end of last month,
RSS