Wednesday, June 04, 2003
Tony Blair has once again been forced to defend his stance on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The Prime Minister has this morning claimed that intelligence sources suggested that two mobile biological weapons plants played a major part in Saddam Hussein's regime and that he stood by his intelligence information, branding allegations that information had been doctored as "completely and totally untrue".
It would appear that the pressure to release this evidence is growing on the Prime Minister though as more and more sources produce views to the contrary; suggesting that information was changed, and that weapons of mass destruction was merely a cover story. ABC news suggests that US government officials - including President Bush are now beginning to stray from their previous stance on WMD's ""We were not lying," said one official. "But it was just a matter of emphasis"... On Thursday, President Bush raised the possibility for the first time that any such Iraqi weapons were destroyed before or during the war." The American Green Party has also come out with allegations that the war was more about oil than WMD's: "The revelation that Halliburton's multibillion-dollar postwar contract involves distribution of Iraqi oil tops off a list of White House deceptions about the purpose of the invasion of Iraq," said Jake Schneider, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States.
Tony Blair has once again rejected the proposal of an independent inquest into the intelligence gathered on Iraq's WMD's according to the bbc, although did back a minor inquest into the information. When questioned on people's faith in his integrity Mr Blair responded that "charges should have evidence, and there is none.... it is wrong for people to make allegations when the facts are precisely the facts that we have stated" ( number-10.gov.uk ).
Mr Blair also discussed this weeks G8 summit hailing it as a resounding success, and despite both himself and President Bush leaving before President Chirac's address insisted that Anglo-French relations were strong, and that G8 nations had found a lot of common ground over Iraq and other problems.
However, as the Prime Minister has acknowledged there is still a lot of anti-war sentiment in the UK and as Iain Duncan Smith reminded him yesterday "these allegations are not going to go away". It would appear that the Prime Minister will have to address these allegations and if necessary reveal whatever evidence he may have, to public scrutiny.
The Prime Minister has this morning claimed that intelligence sources suggested that two mobile biological weapons plants played a major part in Saddam Hussein's regime and that he stood by his intelligence information, branding allegations that information had been doctored as "completely and totally untrue".
It would appear that the pressure to release this evidence is growing on the Prime Minister though as more and more sources produce views to the contrary; suggesting that information was changed, and that weapons of mass destruction was merely a cover story. ABC news suggests that US government officials - including President Bush are now beginning to stray from their previous stance on WMD's ""We were not lying," said one official. "But it was just a matter of emphasis"... On Thursday, President Bush raised the possibility for the first time that any such Iraqi weapons were destroyed before or during the war." The American Green Party has also come out with allegations that the war was more about oil than WMD's: "The revelation that Halliburton's multibillion-dollar postwar contract involves distribution of Iraqi oil tops off a list of White House deceptions about the purpose of the invasion of Iraq," said Jake Schneider, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States.
Tony Blair has once again rejected the proposal of an independent inquest into the intelligence gathered on Iraq's WMD's according to the bbc, although did back a minor inquest into the information. When questioned on people's faith in his integrity Mr Blair responded that "charges should have evidence, and there is none.... it is wrong for people to make allegations when the facts are precisely the facts that we have stated" ( number-10.gov.uk ).
Mr Blair also discussed this weeks G8 summit hailing it as a resounding success, and despite both himself and President Bush leaving before President Chirac's address insisted that Anglo-French relations were strong, and that G8 nations had found a lot of common ground over Iraq and other problems.
However, as the Prime Minister has acknowledged there is still a lot of anti-war sentiment in the UK and as Iain Duncan Smith reminded him yesterday "these allegations are not going to go away". It would appear that the Prime Minister will have to address these allegations and if necessary reveal whatever evidence he may have, to public scrutiny.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
A Helicopter crash in which up to three people were killed has marred this weeks anniversary celebrations on Mount Everest.
A Nepalese private airline helicopter crash landed into a glacier on Wednesday, whilst returning foreign journalists to Kathmandu. Although it has not yet been confirmed how many died in the crash two of the dead have been named as Phudorji Sherpa and Anup Dewan by abc.net. It is thought that the Helicopter lost control due to the extreme altitude and difficult weather conditions associated with the mountain. Jane Hughes of the bbc reported from the scene that "flying into Everest is inherently dangerous because there is only just enough lift for the [Helicopter] blades".
The incident comes amongst the culmination of year long celebrations commemorating the scaling of the summit for the first time on May 29th 1953. This week has seen up to 1000 climbing enthusiasts descend on the mountain with at least 20 individual expeditions setting off to make it to the summit this week alone. Family members of Sir Edmund Hill and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa are also in attendance.
Around 500 of the 1300 people to reach Everest's peak are expected at the event where they are due to be honoured this Friday by Nepal's King and Prime Minister. The occasion has also been marked by untraditional events such as the opening of the mount everest brewery and activities such as Football tournaments, Bowling, mountain biking and Photography exhibitions all taking place on the mopuntain according to official organisers.
A Nepalese private airline helicopter crash landed into a glacier on Wednesday, whilst returning foreign journalists to Kathmandu. Although it has not yet been confirmed how many died in the crash two of the dead have been named as Phudorji Sherpa and Anup Dewan by abc.net. It is thought that the Helicopter lost control due to the extreme altitude and difficult weather conditions associated with the mountain. Jane Hughes of the bbc reported from the scene that "flying into Everest is inherently dangerous because there is only just enough lift for the [Helicopter] blades".
The incident comes amongst the culmination of year long celebrations commemorating the scaling of the summit for the first time on May 29th 1953. This week has seen up to 1000 climbing enthusiasts descend on the mountain with at least 20 individual expeditions setting off to make it to the summit this week alone. Family members of Sir Edmund Hill and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa are also in attendance.
Around 500 of the 1300 people to reach Everest's peak are expected at the event where they are due to be honoured this Friday by Nepal's King and Prime Minister. The occasion has also been marked by untraditional events such as the opening of the mount everest brewery and activities such as Football tournaments, Bowling, mountain biking and Photography exhibitions all taking place on the mopuntain according to official organisers.
