As a massive US military buildup continued in the Gulf, UN weapons inspectors in their second month in Iraq conceded they had found no evidence of the weapons of mass destruction Washington and Britain claim exist.

A spokesman for the inspectors said Baghdad, in keeping with a UN mandate, had turned over the names of some 500 scientists who had worked on military projects.

A British tabloid meanwhile claimed in its Sunday edition it had information a US-led war on Iraq would start on February 21 "at midnight."

The Sunday Express said the date and time -- not specifying which time zone -- was given by US President George W. Bush to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a telephone call over Christmas.

"The timing is confirmed by British defence chiefs, who have been told to expect war in the second or third week in February," the paper said, without giving the source of its information.

As preparations built up for possible war on Iraq, US television reported that the USS George Washington and another carrier group had been ordered to prepare to leave for the Gulf within four days.

The Washington Post said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had signed an order deploying significant ground forces, combat aircraft and logistics support to the Gulf, the last phase of the war preparations.

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