No draft before Bush speech

US President George W. Bush today said he will probably not get a new UN Security Council draft resolution ready before addressing the UN Ge...

US President George W. Bush today said he will probably not get a new UN Security Council draft resolution ready before addressing the UN General Assembly next Tuesday. Speaking at Camp David, Bush said he is counting on Europe to provide financial aid for Iraq.

Asked whether he expects before Tuesday a new UN resolution through which the US seeks to clear the way for additional peacekeeping troops and money for Iraq from other countries, Bush said, ‘‘No, I don’t think so, but it could be.’’

‘‘We will continue to work it, though. And the whole purpose, of course, is to make sure that if the nations feel they need a UN resolution, they will have one, in order to justify participation.’’ The other thing, said Bush, ‘‘is that the UN resolution must promote an orderly transfer of sovereignty to what will be a freely elected government, based upon a constitution.’’ (PTI)

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Blix slams Washington, London for ‘spin and hype’
LONDON: Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix , who said this week he believed Iraq had destroyed its WMDs 10 years ago, told BBC Radio that Washington and London “over-interpreted” intelligence about Baghdad’s arms programmes. “In the Middle Ages when people were convinced there were witches they certainly found them. This is a bit risky…What in a way stands accused is the culture of spin, the culture of hyping. We know advertisers will advertise a refrigerator in terms that we don’t believe in, but we expect governments to be more serious,” he said.

Germany, France push for Iraq power transfer
BERLIN: French President Jacques Chirac said on Thursday he would like to see a transfer of power in Iraq within months, as he and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder renewed their push for a quick return to sovereignty. Chirac said France wants authority transferred to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible. ‘‘When I say quickly, I mean months, not years,’’ he said. He also voiced support for an offer by Schroeder to help train new Iraqi security forces in Germany.

Saddam wouldn’t avert war; Iraq had no WMD: Sahhaf
DUBAI: Former Iraqi information minister Mohammad Said As-Sahhaf said in an interview to Abu Dhabi television that Saddam Hussein never considered stepping down to avert war but maintained that Baghdad had scrapped its WMDs long before the US invaded. Sahhaf maintained that Iraq had destroyed its WMDs as far back as 1991, including its chemical weapons, nuclear program and missiles banned under UN resolutions pertaining to that year’s Gulf war. (Agencies)