Bush on air to counter hostility

EDGING toward war, President George W Bush scheduled a rare prime-time news conference last night in an effort to counter stiff opposition to his plans for disarming Iraq.

The news conference was part of an intensifying campaign to prepare the nation for the possibility of a war that could be days away, White House officials said.

"He thought it was appropriate to talk to the American people as directly as possible," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.