New UN resolution will set deadline for Iraq

Britain and the United States are to introduce a new UN resolution that paves the way for military action against Iraq, while still giving Saddam Hussein a final few weeks to co-operate fully with the arms inspectors.

The White House said President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a lengthy telephone conversation last night to discuss the wording of the resolution. It must be approved by a UN Security Council, which strongly opposes a rush to war.