US: With war apparently only weeks away, President Bush raised the national terror alert in the US from yellow to orange, the second-highest level in a five-colour coding system. From Conor O'Clery, North America Editor.
US Attorney General Mr John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Secretary Mr Tom Ridge asked Mr Bush to approve the new level of alert after pouring over new intelligence reports from the CIA and FBI yesterday morning.
"I agree, change the code," the President said, according to spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer.
Mr Ashcroft told reporters later that there was an "increased likelihood" that the al-Qaeda terror network would attack Americans, either at home or abroad, to weaken resolve, and that apartment buildings, hotels or other "lightly-secured targets" in the US could be vulnerable.
He said their intelligence indicated a possible attack by al-Qaeda to coincide with the hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Islam's holiest site, which begins today.
Mr Ridge urged people to "take some time to prepare for emergencies" in the days ahead.
Families should devise plans for contacting one another if separated by an emergency. He called on governors to increase security at infrastructures such as electric power grids, dams or nuclear plants.
The alert has been at code yellow, or "elevated," since last September, when it was raised to orange for two weeks. The highest alert level is red.
In New York city, where the level has remained at orange since 9/11, Governor Michael Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg called a separate press conference to issue a special alert.
Mr Pataki said he had activated a 27-member elite National Guard team trained to react to biological, chemical or radiological weapons. He had also activated certain specialised units of the state police and National Guard and an emergency command centre in Albany.
But he advised New Yorkers: "Go out to dinner, take the subway, get a movie."
Mr Bloomberg said: "Go about your lives as you normally would and we will do everything in our power to protect you. We will be increasing security at appropriate locations, where lots of people gather; lobbies of hotels, apartment buildings and our subway system."
Officials are increasingly worried that al-Qaeda might try to use a "dirty bomb" which spews radiation into the atmosphere over a relatively confined area.
Mr Bush yesterday urged the UN Security Council to "make up its mind soon" about confronting Iraq. "This is a defining moment for the UN Security Council," he said, answering reporters' questions before a ceremony to swear in new Treasury Secretary Mr John Snow.
Meanwhile, French President Mr Jacques Chirac told Mr Bush in a telephone call: "We can disarm Saddam Hussein without going to war." Chinese President Mr Jiang Zemin told Mr Bush in another call for inspections to continue.
Britain is likely to introduce a Security Council resolution to authorise force to disarm Iraq after weapons inspectors report to the council on February 14th, British and US diplomats said yesterday.