There are 17996 articles

  • UN Security Council to Discuss Iraqi Crisis, Disarmament

    Hours before a US deadline runs out for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave his country, the UN Security Council meets to discuss the Iraqi crisis and hear a report from its chief UN weapons inspector.The council's public, ministerial meeting of an expected half a dozen members -- Angola, Cameroon, France, Germany, Guinea and Russia, has been set.. More

  • Arafat Officially Asks Abbas to Take New PM's Job

    Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat officially asked his moderate PLO deputy Mahmud Abbas to become prime minister a day after parliament approved the creation of the post, a top Arafat aide confirmed.Nabil Abu Rudeina told reporters Wednesday that presidential secretary Tayeb Abdelrahim had asked Abbas on the veteran leader's behalf to take the job of.. More

  • Iraqis May Use Chemical Weapons in Combat

    Intelligence reports indicate a high risk that Iraq would use chemical weapons during a U.S.-led war to topple President Saddam Hussein, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. The reports indicate Saddam has given field-level commanders the authority to use chemical weapons on their own initiative, without further directives from the Baghdad, Pentagon officials.. More

  • Palestinians Back Premier Post, Cut Arafat's Power

    The Palestinian parliament ratified the new post of prime minister on Tuesday, drawing U.S. praise coupled with disappointment over President Yasser Arafat's retention of key powers. Despite reservations voiced in Washington over the division of authority, it appeared the move toward reform demanded by a U.S.-led "Quartet" of international peace brokers.. More

  • Oil Price Dips as War Nears

    The prospect of an imminent war has sent the price of oil plummeting. US crude oil futures plunged dlrs 3.53 to a two-month low of dlrs31.40 per barrel, before closing at dlrs 31.67. In London, international benchmark Brent crude oil slumped by dlrs 2.23, or 7.6%, to dlrs 27.25 per barrel. The falls are consolidating a trend set during the past few.. More

  • Chirac: Iraq War Unjustified, Much at Stake

    French President Jacques Chirac invoked international law, world stability and the future of the Middle East on Tuesday as he denounced the U.S. war ultimatum to Iraq as an unjustified act against a phantom threat. Chirac, championing a multipolar global order against Washington's unilateral approach, said in his first reaction to President Bush's.. More

  • Yemeni Gunman Kills American, Canadian Oil Workers

    A Yemeni shot dead an American and a Canadian working at a Western oil firm in the Arab state on Tuesday and then killed himself, a Yemeni official said. Another Yemeni man was killed and a third Western man wounded in the attack, carried out by a carpenter working on the premises of the unnamed firm in the oil-rich Marib province, 105 miles east of.. More

  • Two Killed in W. Bank Village Shootout

    An Israeli occupation soldier and a senior Hamas leader were killed in a shootout in a West Bank village Tuesday, military officials said. The Hamas leader, Ali Alian, fired at occupation troops as they searched his hideout, killing one soldier and injuring another, the officials said. Occupation troops killed Alian in return fire. The exchange of.. More

  • Bush Gives Saddam 48 Hours to Leave or Face War

    President Bush on Monday gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours to flee his country with his sons or face the full might of the U.S. war machine and told Iraqi soldiers they could save their lives by laying down their arms. In a 13-minute address to the American people signaling an end to months of diplomacy and a prelude to war, a sober Bush.. More

  • Blix Outlines Steps Iraq Must Take

    Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix on Monday spelled out exactly what Iraq must do to prove it has disarmed and avoid U.S.-led military action, even as war looms. In a report to the Security Council, Blix said if Saddam Hussein cooperates, the dozen key remaining disarmament issues could be resolved in months. France, Russia and Germany have seized on Blix's.. More

  • Cook Draws Comparison over Washington's Impatience With Iraq & Endless Patience With Israel

    Robin Cook has won an unprecedented standing ovation in the House of Commons after telling MPs why he resigned from the government over the looming war with Iraq. Mr. Cook said he could not back a march towards a war that did not have international and domestic support. He drew a comparison over the impatience shown with Iraq over its failure to comply.. More

  • Foreigners Leave Baghdad; Anxious Iraqis Await War

    The United Nations on Monday ordered all its aid workers and weapons inspectors to evacuate Iraq, joining diplomats and other foreigners fleeing ahead of a likely invasion by U.S.-led forces. Sources said the U.N. team was expected to quit Baghdad on Tuesday morning, adding to gloom among local Iraqis who had been clinging to slender hopes of peace... More

  • UK's Blair Loses One Minister, Maybe Two Over Iraq

    British Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered his biggest political blow of the Iraq crisis on Monday when a senior cabinet minister resigned in protest at the prospect of war and another said she may follow. "As I cannot give my support to military action...I write with regret to resign," Robin Cook said in a letter to Blair. "In principle I believe it.. More

  • U.S. Ends Diplomacy; Bush to Deliver Ultimatum

    The United States and its allies on Monday abandoned diplomacy and prepared to deliver a final ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to go into exile or face a massive military onslaught. As Washington cut short diplomatic efforts to win U.N. authorization for the use of force against Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors and other foreigners scrambled.. More

  • Nine Palestinians Killed in Israeli Raids in Gaza

    Nine Palestinians, including a four-year-old girl, were killed during Israeli swoops in the Gaza Strip on Monday that touched off fierce battles with gunmen, witnesses said. The bloodshed in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and around the town of Beit Lehiya in the north was a fresh blow to U.S. and British attempts to promote the prospect of.. More