AS REPORTED BY GULF NEWS

- Iraq unconditionally accepted a United Nations resolution demanding its disarmament, saying it was choosing “peaceful means to protect the country from the threat of war”. In a letter to Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, the Iraqi government said it “accepts the resolution, unreservedly, without conditions and accepts the return of the inspectors”, Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Al Douri, said. The Iraqi ambassador said the government always chose “peaceful means to protect the country from the threat of war”. United States President George W. Bush said that the world expects Iraq to disarm “for the sake of peace”, giving a muted reply to Baghdad’s pledge to comply with a UN disarmament resolution.