Ailing Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's condition is "curable," officials said yesterday as French doctors carried out further tests to determine whether he is fit to stay on as Palestinian Authority president.
In the West Bank, the Palestinian parliament and national security council met in emergency session, presenting a business-as-usual picture to the world amid fears that political chaos could ensue should Arafat fail to recover.
But top Arafat advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina tried to allay those fears, saying: "I can assure you that he is not suffering from leukemia or any serious problem. His situation is curable, and we hope that he will recover soon."
Arafat -- the symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood for 40 years -- was dramatically evacuated from his Ramallah headquarters on Friday and flown to Paris aboard a French government jet to receive treatment.
The frail 75-year-old Palestinian leader was undergoing a battery of tests at the Percy military hospital in the southwestern Paris suburb of Clamart to determine the nature of what is believed to be a serious blood disorder.
In Ramallah, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Arafat had eaten his first meal since being admitted to hospital -- corn flakes, tea and milk.
French and Palestinian officials said a diagnosis of Arafat's condition would not likely be known until Wednesday.
"His condition is better than expected," Abu Rudeina said.
When asked about the nature of Arafat's illness, the advisor replied: "I am not a doctor, but all options are being considered including poisoning. It is up to the French doctors. He is under the full control of the French doctors."
Another of Arafat's aides, Mohammed Rashid, said it was unclear how long Arafat would remain in hospital, adding: "The situation will become more clear after the announcement of the test results expected Wednesday."
One of Arafat's doctors said last week that his white blood cells were destroying platelets, which are needed for blood clotting. Specialists said such symptoms could indicate a range of conditions, from a virus to cancer.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier defended President Jacques Chirac's decision to allow Arafat to seek treatment in France, saying: "We have welcomed him. I think it's completely normal."
Barnier also delivered the message that Paris expected Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to make good on his pledge to allow Arafat to return home to Ramallah after being treated.
"I've heard the formal assurances given by the Israelis that Yasser Arafat will be able to return to Ramallah, and I think that is indeed the case," Barnier said in an interview with France Inter radio.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who has frequently called for Arafat's expulsion, made it clear that he wanted the Jewish state to be rid of the Palestinian Authority president permanently.
Sharon said yesterday at the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting that he was prepared to open negotiations with a new Palestinian leadership "which is both serious and responsible," should one emerge.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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