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.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS