President George W Bush has confirmed that the US and its allies will present a new resolution on Iraq to the UN Security Council next week. The resolution will set out in "clear and simple terms" that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is not complying with disarmament demands, Mr. Bush said. The UK Government backed the move, but said the UK and US would seek to delay a vote on the new resolution until mid-March.

But Mr. Bush stressed the urgency of the resolution, saying he was not willing to wait two months for the UN Security Council to approve a new text - the time it took to approve Resolution 1441.

It would be the Security Council's "last chance" to show its resolve to disarm Iraq, he warned.

President Bush, speaking after he and visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar held a four-way telephone conversation with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said the Security Council was faced with a clear choice.

In London, a spokesman for Mr. Blair said the UK Prime Minister would make a "final push for peace next week".

ElBaradei Says Iraq Is Not Cooperating Fully with His Team of Nuclear Inspectors

On Saturday, the man in charge of nuclear inspections, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Iraq was still not doing enough to convince the world it had no banned weapons.

"We have not finished our work and Iraq is not fully co-operating with us," he said, adding that private access to Iraqi scientists remained a problem.

Other Key Developments Concerning Iraq

*_American warplanes bombed military communications sites in southern Iraq after Iraqis fired anti-aircraft guns at U.S. planes, U.S. Central Command said. The planes bombed six cable relay sites between Al Kut, about 95 miles southeast of Baghdad, and Basra, about 245 miles southeast of Baghdad.

*_ The United States hopes to send troops and equipment into Turkey as early as this week, preparing for an expected second front in a possible war with Iraq, Pentagon officials said. They confirmed a tentative agreement on U.S. aid to Turkey, and a Turkish official said the deal involved DLRS 5 billion in grants and DLRS 10 billion in loan guarantees.

*_ Iraqi opposition members expressed deep reservations about reported U.S. plans for Iraq after the potential ouster of Saddam Hussein. Many of the delegates said they felt betrayed by President Bush, who they perceive to be ignoring the opposition.

*_ U.N. weapons inspectors searched a company involved in production of Iraq's Al Samoud 2 missiles, which chief inspector Hans Blix has ordered destroyed by March 1. Dr. Blix's demand is being seen as a key test of whether Saddam Hussein will disarm to avoid war. There has been no formal response from Baghdad, but Iraq's Foreign Minister Naji Sabri insisted any disagreements could be resolved with the inspectors. The UN inspectors meanwhile also went to eight other sites, including a medical college and a dairy factory.

*_ Pope John Paul II held a private audience with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, offering the Vatican an opportunity to voice its strong opposition to a possible war against Iraq. The Vatican refused to bless the planned war against Iraq as a 'just war'. 

PHOTO CAPTION

President Bush holds a press conference at his Texas ranch with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who has firmly supported Bush's Iraq policy despite fierce opposition in Spain, in Crawford, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2003. (AP Photo/J. Scott