Blix arrives in Baghdad for talks

The chief UN arms inspectors arrived in Baghdad today for urgent talks with Iraqi officials, bearing a long list of questions about Iraq’s weapons programmes and a demand for more “active co-operation” from Saddam Hussein’s government.

Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei arrived for what Mr ElBaradei described as a “last-ditch effort” to persuade Iraq “to give us what we need” before the two report to the UN Security Council on January 27 to give their assessment of Iraq’s claim that it has no banned chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.