George W Bush 'Time is running out'
Tony Blair Dismissed Iraqi claims
The High Court has ordered the Government to hand over documents relating to its decisions to allow foreign military aircraft to overfly Irish airspace and to land and refuel at Irish airports.
Mr Justice McKechnie made the order in an action taken by student activist Eoin Dubsky, who is claiming that the permission is unconstitutional and amounts to paraticipation in war.
The judge ordered the government to disclose the documents within four weeks.
The government opposed the application, arguing that some decisions were 'not written' and that the documents sought were neither relevant to nor necessary for the action.
Mr Dubsky took the proceedings while on bail on charges relating to the damaging of a US military aircraft at Shannon airport.
Bush: 'Time is running out'
US President George W Bush said this afternoon that it is 'clear to me now' that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was not complying with UN resolutions calling for him to disarm.
'He's delaying. He's deceiving. He's playing hide and seek with inspectors,' Bush told reporters after meeting a group of economists at the White House.
'It's clear to me now that he is not disarming. ... He's been given ample time to disarm,' Bush said. 'Time is running out.'
But the IAEA head, Mohamed El Baradei, said he expected the UN Security Council to continue arms inspections as long as Baghdad cooperates.
Asked if there was justification for a military intervention before the inspectors finished their work, El Baradei said: 'I am pleading for the inspection process to take its course.'
'As long as we are making progress, as long as Iraq is cooperating actively, I expect the Council to want us to continue with our process,' he said.
Blair talking up response
In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair refused to rule out the use of non-conventional weapons such as nuclear bombs in any war against Iraq.
Mr Blair was answering questions in Westminster from members of a House of Commons committee.
Asked how Britain and the US might react if President Saddam Hussein appeared ready to use his own weapons of mass destruction, the British leader said the two governments would deal with the threat in any way they thought necessary.
Defending the large-scale mobilisation of British and American troops, he said the effects of this pressure were already showing on the regime in Baghdad.
Mr Blair also dismissed claims by Iraq that it had no significant weapons of mass destruction.
The leader of the Labour party said his government was certain that Baghdad possessed chemical and biological weapons. He said the Iraqis were also believed to be trying to rebuild their nuclear capability, though it was not certain how far they had got.
Mr Blair also predicted that the British public would eventually back a war against President Saddam Hussein's regime if it became necessary.
Meanwhile the chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, has said that Iraq has not answered a great many questions about its alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Further 37,000 US troops deployed
The US has announced a further deployment of nearly 37,000 troops to the Gulf. This is on top of around 150,000 personnel already committed to the region.
In a separate development, new differences have emerged at the UN among Western countries over how to deal with Iraq after the weapons inspectors report on their work there in a week's time.
The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has suggested that tough action may be needed. But France and Germany have insisted that they are not yet ready to support military intervention.
The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said talk of military action could not be justified until every other means of disarming Iraq had been tried.
