Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Tareq Aziz, has rejected a new United Nations resolution that could ease sanctions on Iraq if it co-operated with a new weapons inspection regime. Mr Aziz denounced the measure as a trick and said that it did not meet Iraq's demand for a complete lifting of the embargo.
Earlier today, thousands of people took part in protests in Baghdad, demanding an end to the sanctions and opposing the return of arms inspectors. The resolution was adopted by the Security Council yesterday, but without the support of three of its five permanent members.
