Israel, U.S. Lock Horns over Roadmap Peace Plan; Intifada Update
Palestine Chronicle, April 1, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - Israel and the United States locked horns Tuesday, April 1, over the implementation of the U.S.-backed "roadmap" plan, with Washington saying it will publish the peace plan despite Israeli demands that changes be made.

US Says Roadmap 'Not Open for Negotiation' But Palestinians Still Skeptical
Palestine Chronicle, April 1, 2003
WASHINGTON (PMC) - Washington said the stalled Middle East peace process has “reached a hopeful moment,” and that the so-called “roadmap” to peace “is not open to negotiation,” but again without committing itself to timetables or implementation mechanisms, which kept Palestinians skeptical that such statements are merely “pain-relieving” political tactics.

FM: Road map needs adapting; Erekat: Israel rejecting plan
Haaretz, April 1, 2003
Israel is requesting changes to the internationally endorsed road map for Middle East peace, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Tuesday, following talks with Bush and other senior White house officials. But Palestinian Minister Saeb Erekat slammed the call for changes, accusing Israel of rejecting the entire plan.

U.S. report slams Israel, PA for human rights records  
Haaretz, April 1, 2003
Israel and the Palestinian Authority were criticized for their poor human rights records in the U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights conditions worldwide, published Monday.

US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices  - 2002 - Israel and the occupied territories
US State Department, March 31, 2003
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 31, 2003. "The report on the occupied territories is appended at the end of this Report."

Breaking News: Palestinian Civilian Shot Near Hebron
International Press Center, April 1, 2003
12:30-- Israeli soldiers shot and wounded Palestinian civilian, Mohammed Hashish, 25, in the town of Beit Awwa, near Hebron, Palestinian medical sources said.

Mofaz: Syria's statements and actions "extremely grave"
Jerusalem Post, April 1, 2003   
Israel views gravely the physical aid Syria is giving to the Iraqi regime, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Tuesday, noting that Israel is also monitoring statements made by Syrian officials including those of President Bashar al-Assad that suggests that peace with Israel is not possible.

Palestinian volunteer returns from Iraq in coffin
Reuters, April 1, 2003
BEIRUT, April 1 (Reuters) - Guns and roses on Tuesday greeted the coffin of Palestinian volunteer Thaer Othman, killed in Iraq on his way to fight U.S.-led troops.

Poraz loosens rules on peace volunteers
Haaretz, April 1, 2003 
American and European peace activist volunteers wishing to enter Israel and the Palestinian Authority will receive a tourist visa including a work permit, Interior Minister Avraham Poraz decided yesterday, in response to requests from the U.S. and European ambassadors to Israel. Former interior minister Eli Yishai gave such volunteers only a volunteer's visa, and during his term hundreds of peace activists' were refused admission to Israel, among them members of international voluntary organizations.

Jenin:  Israeli Army Retracts Claim that ISM Sheltered Armed Man
International Solidarity Movement, March 31, 2003
In a very rare occurrence, the Israeli army has actually admitted that their spokesperson gave false information to the Associated Press regarding the incident in the ISM apartment in Jenin.   The Israeli army spokesperson claimed that there was a pistol found in the apartment.  Another spokesperson claimed that there were two Russian rifles also in the apartment.  However, The Israeli Army website claimed that the pistol was found near the apartment.

Poll: Palestinians support Iraq, oppose security cooperation with Israel 
Alternative Informatyion Center/Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion, March 28, 2003 
A poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) and prepared by President Dr. Nabil Kukali.

Silvan Shalom meets with Capitol Hill leadership
Jerusalem Post, April 1, 2003 
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom concluded his visit to Washington on Tuesday by meeting with senior legislators on Capitol Hill to discuss the Middle East "road map" for peace, the war in Iraq, and US President George W. Bush's aid package requests for Israel.

Meeting between Finance Ministry, Histadrut ends with no result  
Haaretz, April 1, 2003 
Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Meir Sheetrit met Histadrut Chairman Amir Peretz Tuesday night at Netanyahu's office in an attempt to bridge gaps between the sides on the treasury's economic austerity plan, but ended the meeting without agreement.

Yediot Ahronot”: IDF to cut territories operational budget by NIS 300m
Globes, April 1, 2003 
Hebrew daily “Yediot Ahronot” quotes a senior IDF source as saying that the IDF will cut its operational budget in the territories by NIS 300 million. The IDF proposes reducing deployments in the territories, saving NIS 250-300 million. Other cost-cutting measures include..

Israel spending £27,000 a month on protection for lone settler
The Independent, April 1, 2003
A Jewish settler living alone on a hill in the West Bank is being guarded by six Israeli soldiers. The cost is about £27,000 a month, an opposition member of parliament says.

Israel Opposes US Release of 'Roadmap' for Middle East Peace
VOA News, April 1, 2003
Israel says it opposes the Bush administration's release later this month of a U.S. plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace until terror attacks against Israel end. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Tuesday he informed President Bush and other senior U.S. officials in Washington of a number of conditions Israel wants met before it would be willing to resume peace negotiations with the Palestinians, including a halt to terror attacks.

Annan 'happy' Quartet to push forward with plan for Middle East peace
United Nations News, April 1, 2003
1 April – Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said he is "happy" that the diplomatic Quartet - comprising the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and United States - is determined to move ahead with a plan to resolve the Middle East crisis.

Shalom And Elon React To American "Road Map" Pressure 
Israel National News, April 1, 2003
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who met with U.S. President George Bush last night, said afterwards that nothing truly new was said regarding the Road Map plan and the Administration's position on the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza (Yesha). Shalom said that the Americans have been against the Yesha enterprise for 30 years. He emphasized, as well, that he had made it clear to the American officials that the cessation of Palestinian terrorism and incitement is an essential pre-condition for the implementation of the Road Map.

Israel talks in English of peace but gives orders in Hebrew to attack
Middle East Online, April 1, 2003
GAZA CITY - A senior Palestinian minister on Tuesday accused Israel of stalling an internationally drafted peace plan after Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said in Washington the Palestinians had first to fight "terrorism."

Israeli forces broke into Khan Younis, large campaign of detention
Arabic News, April 1, 2003
The Israeli forces yesterday broke into the city of Khan Younis and launched a campaign of arrest. The Israeli soldiers opened fire at one Palestinian citizen near al-Zeitoun ( olive ) hotel in Jerusalem and the Israeli forces carried out a campaign of arrest that targeted many of the citizens of Jaljolia and scores of the people of the West Bank and the Palestinians in the territories of 1948 (Israel) under the charges of resisting occupation.

Defense Ministry to pay quarter of Phalcon compensation to China
Globes, April 1, 2003
The $319 million in compensation will add to the burden of the cut in the Ministry of Defense’s budget. Sources inform “Globes” that the Ministry of Defense will pay a quarter of the compensation Israel is paying China for the cancellation of the Phalcon AWACS plane deal. 

PM: We're already holding talks with the Palestinians 
Haaretz, April 1, 2003
Israel is not waiting passively for the United States to present its "road map" for an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord and is already conducting indirect talks with the Palestinians, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday.

Weisglass tells IPI: Press card dispute not politically motivated
Haaretz, April 1, 2003 
International Press Institute delegates said last night they were hopeful of achieving a resolution in the impasse between the foreign media and the government over the accreditation of Palestinian journalists.

IDF soldier charged with negligent manslaughter
Haaretz, April 1, 2003 
An Israeli Defense Forces soldier was charged by the Southern Command's military court with negligent manslaughter yesterday, following an operation in the West Bank last year.

Arte channel cancels airing of `Jenin, Jenin'  
Haaretz, April 1, 2003 
The French-German TV channel Arte has canceled screening of the documentary "Jenin, Jenin," planned to air tonight. The film, directed by Israeli Arab actor Mohammed Bakri, has been banned in Israel.

Al-Aqsa Brigades says will halt terror attacks during Iraq war  
Haaretz, April 1, 2003
The West Bank leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, said yesterday that the group has decided to halt attacks against Israelis for the duration of the Iraq war.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine April 1, 2003
Palestine Media Center, April 1, 2003
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished two houses, one in Ramallah and another in Tulkarem and detained four citizens in those areas. IOF also shelled Beit Lahia town in the Gaza Strip. IOF Detain Over 30 Citizens in West Bank

The Palestinian Worker between Poverty and Israeli Blackmail Policy
International Press Center, April 1, 2003
GAZA, Palestine, 1April, 2003, (IPC+WAFA)-- Abed Al-Rhman, a Palestinian worker from Jabalyia refugee camp of Gaza Strip did not please too much with the work permit he has got less a month ago to work inside Israel after the Israeli occupation revoked his work permit.

PA minister asks police to wipe out Hamas Movement
Palestinian Information Center, April 1, 2003
Gaza - The Palestinian Information Center has obtained a copy of the lecture delivered by Abdul Aziz Shahin, Palestinian Authority minister of supplies last Monday (24/3/2003) in which he lashed out at the Hamas Movement.

Aqsa foundation doubles protection efforts of Mosque
Palestinian Information Center, April 1, 2003
Um Al-Fahm - The Aqsa foundation catering for Islamic shrines has declared an intensification in its “Banners’ March” to counter the Zionist siege laid to the Aqsa Mosque and holy city of Jerusalem.

PA officer provokes Arafat against Hamas and Islamic Jihad
Palestinian Information Center, April 1, 2003
Gaza - Mohammed Abu Samra, an officer in the Palestinian Authority’s foreign security apparatus, has addressed a message to PA chief Yasser Arafat complaining of Hamas and Islamic Jihad Movements’ position towards the American aggression on Iraq.

Iraq War News

48 more civilians killed south of Baghdad
Middle East Online, April 1, 2003
HILLA, Iraq - Forty-eight more civilians, including women and children, have been killed and 310 wounded in US-British bombings around this town south of Baghdad in the last 24 hours, a hospital director said Tuesday. The deaths brought to 73 the number of Iraqi civilians who have died under allied bombings since Monday.

They are going to let the genie out of the jar
Middle East Online, April 1, 2003
'The day Baghdad falls, is the beginning of the real war... with a lot of violence,' says Arab league chief. -- ATHENS - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa expressed concern here Monday that the Iraq war could spill over and destabilise the entire Middle East.

Killing of Women, Children in Najaf Sparks Outrage
Palestine Chronicle, April 1, 2003
DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia - People in the Eastern Province were angered, shocked and grieved at the news of the killing of seven innocent women and children in the Iraqi city of Najaf by American troops.

'You didn't fire a warning shot soon enough!'
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
A journalist's account of the killing of a car full of Iraqi civilians by US soldiers differs widely from the official military version.  -- The invasion forces suffered another self-inflicted disaster in the battle for hearts and minds yesterday when soldiers from the US 3rd infantry division shot dead Iraqi seven women and children.

US troops accused of excess force
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
Correspondents in Iraq have come upon a number of incidents in which the US military, especially the marines, have appeared to act with excessive force. Here are some examples.

Exclusive: Caring for Enemy Prisoners of War
Arab News, April 1, 2003
ON THE USNS COMFORT IN THE NORTHERN ARABIAN GULF, 2 April 2003 — The USNS Comfort is a state-of-the-art medical and surgical care floating hospital presently situated offshore from where war is being waged. Ironically, its hospital facilities are currently caring for more Iraqis, including POWs (Prisoners of War), than Americans.

Time Running Out for Iraqi Children: UNICEF
Arab News, April 1, 2003
BERLIN, 2 April 2003 — The United Nations children’s relief agency UNICEF warned yesterday that time is running out for Iraqi children as the US-led war against President Saddam Hussein drags on.

Deal to Sell Water All Wet, Critics Charge 
Common Dreams/New York Daily News, April 1, 2003  
"This provides them with an incentive to hustle and to work.."  -- UMM QASR, Iraq - The U.S. military came up with a solution yesterday for the penniless people of this port town begging for water: Sell it. Despite general mayhem at distribution points - including knife fights - the Army has struck a hasty agreement with local Iraqis to expedite distribution of water to the roughly 40,000 living here. Under the deal, the military will provide water free to locals with access to tanker trucks, who then will be allowed to sell the water for a "reasonable" fee.

U.S. Military Detains, Beats and Threatens to Kill Four Foreign Journalists in Iraq
Common Dreams/Democracy Now!, April 1, 2003  
A Democracy Now! interview with Israeli reporter Dan Scemama -- Amy Goodman: The international press watch group Reporters Without Borders has accused the US and British coalition forces in Iraq of displaying contempt for journalists covering the conflict who are not embedded with troops.

Jordan, PA help gain release of journalists from Iraqis
Four western journalists arrived ragged and worn at the Jordanian border Tuesday night after a week's detention by Iraqi intelligence officials. "The Palestinian Authority was immensely helpful, as well as the Jordanians. A lot of people helped out on this and were endlessly helpful," said Rupert.

Israeli Experts Expect More Killings of Iraqi Civilians at US Checkpoints
Antara, April 1, 2003
Jerusalem, April 1 (ANTARA/AFP) - The killing of seven women and children by US troops at a checkpoint in Iraq on Monday was a brutal lesson for the coalition military, and experts in Israel, which has long experience with such situations.

The proof: marketplace deaths were caused by a US missile
The Independent, April 1, 2003
An American missile, identified from the remains of its serial number, was pinpointed yesterday as the cause of the explosion at a Baghdad market on Friday night that killed at least 62 Iraqis.

U.S. said to control all movement in west Iraq 
Haaretz, April 1, 2003
U.S. special forces are in control of movement across Iraq's western desert, "denying freedom of movement throughout the western desert," U.S. Brigadier General Vincent Brooks, deputy commander of the coalition forces in Iraq, said yesterday.

IraqWar.ru
March 31, 2003, 1828hrs MSK (GMT +4 DST), Moscow - During the night of March 30-31 the situation on the US-Iraqi front became increasingly more critical. All indications are that the coalition has launched a new attack. Following a three-hour-long artillery barrage and several nighttime aviation strikes the coalition forces came in contact with the Iraqi troops near Karabela and attempted to move around the Iraqi defenses from the east.

IAEA Against U.S. Monitoring Of Iraqi Disarmament
Islam Online, April 1, 2003
VIENNA, April 1 (Islamonline.net & News Agencies) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stressed Tuesday, April 1, that it and not the United States, was responsible for checking that Iraq did not possess any atomic weapons.

Zionists, Rightists Fight Al-Jazeera In U.S.
Islam Online, April 1, 2003
WASHINGTON, April 1 (IslamOnline.net) - Dish Network, which hosts the Arabic-language television network Al-Jazeera telecasts is under pressure from many right-wingers, neo-conservatives, Zionists and others to drop the Arab channel from their network.

25,000 Egyptians Blast "Terrorists" Bush, Blair
Islam Online, April 1, 2003
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, April 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - More than 25,000 Egyptians staged a fervent anti-war demonstration in an Alexandria stadium Tuesday, April 1, branding U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair as "terrorists" and "war criminals."

British Propaganda’s Distortions Obvious: Expert
Islam Online, April 1, 2003
LONDON, April 1 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The war-time media campaign being waged by Britain alongside its ground offensive on Iraq has suffered severe setbacks and eroded the authority of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, charged a British propaganda expert.

Iraqis Foiled British Landing Near Mosul
Islam Online, April 1, 2003
"Americans had pushed the British to do that, as if it was an experiment to be implemented on the British to see what are the results," Sahhaf noted -- BAGHDAD, April 1 (Islamonline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqi forces thwarted a landing attempt by British forces near the strategic city of Mosul in northern Iraq, and killed many of the invaders, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf boasted Tuesday, April 1.

Analysis: UK forces apply peacekeeping lessons
BBC, April 1, 2003
British soldiers mingle with the crowd and talk affably. American troops rarely seem to behave in this way. -- In their press statements during the course of the War in Iraq British military commanders have used the word "effect" a great deal. There has been talk of "effects based targeting", a concept at the forefront of British military doctrine since Kosovo.

Space station in jeopardy
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
The future of the International Space Station is in doubt due to an American refusal to fund Russia's contribution because of Moscow's continuing assistance to the nuclear programme of Iran, labelled by the US as an "axis of evil" state.

Marine who said no to killing on his conscience
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
The first American conscientious deserter from the Iraq war will give himself up at a marine base in California this morning.

Marines seize strategic Basra suburb
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
Under cover of smoke shells fired by British gunners, Royal Marines mopped up the last resistance yesterday from Saddam Hussein loyalists in Abu al-Kacib, the strategic suburb of Iraq's second city, Basra.

Air war weapon stockpile runs critically low
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
US needs to keep up supplies to back threat of new wars.

Coalition Rushes to Clear Mines in Iraq
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
ABOARD THE USS PONCE (AP) - Ships, divers, helicopters and dolphins are all here looking for the same thing - mines that are clogging the waters of southern Iraq and blocking aid shipments.

Allies divided over battle for hearts and minds
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
British military critical of US troops' heavy-handed style with civilians -- Cracks are appearing between British and American commanders which have serious implications for their future operations in Iraq.

Captured Iraqi militia fighters may be sent to Guantanamo Bay
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
Hundreds face trip to al-Qaida suspects' camp -- US military officials have admitted they may send some of the prisoners captured in the Iraq war to the American detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

N.M Teachers on Leave Over War Protests
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Two high school teachers said Tuesday they have been placed on leave for refusing to remove war-related student artwork posted in their classrooms.

'If proved Jordanian, munitions cache predates embargo'
Jordan Times, April 1, 2003
AMMAN — A senior government official on Monday said that if reports referring to British troops discovering a cache of munitions marked “Jordan Armed Forces” in Iraq prove accurate, the arms definitely date back to the pre-embargo period, prior to the 1991 war.

Saddam urges Muslims to join jihad
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
A statement purported to be from the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, was read out on Iraqi television tonight, calling for Muslims to join in a holy war against the coalition invasion and that jihad was a "duty".

Galloway accuses PM of Iraq 'lies'
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
Rebel MP urges soldiers to disobey orders -- The renegade Labour MP George Galloway defended himself today against accusations of treachery after he branded Tony Blair and George Bush "wolves" for committing the "crime" of military action against Iraq.

Iran Worries of Damage to Iraqi Shrines
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - With U.S. forces at the gates of Karbala and Najaf, there's growing fear that any damage to the gold-domed shrines of the two holiest Shiite Muslim cities could inflame Shiite feelings worldwide, particularly in Iran.

As It Gets Hotter in Iraq, Danger Rises
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
KUWAIT CITY (AP) - For battle-weary troops already two weeks into a full-fledged war, one more challenge still looms - the desert heat.

U.S. officials concede they 'misjudged' Iraqi defections
USA TODAY, April 1, 2003
KUWAIT CITY — A three-month U.S. effort to persuade Iraq's generals and Baath Party leaders to surrender and oust Saddam Hussein is being scaled back after it failed to produce any significant defections, U.S. intelligence and military officials say.

Orthodox Church Urges Invaders To Defy Orders
Palestine Chronicle, April 1, 2003
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The Orthodox Church in Al-occupied Jerusalem called on all U.S. and British Christian soldiers invading Iraq to revolt against their commanders and disobey orders.

Only US Expected Uprising in South Iraq, Says Top Shiite Leader
Palestine Chronicle, April 1, 2003
TEHRAN (Agencies) - A leading Iraqi Shiite cleric said yesterday he had never expected a popular uprising to take place in southern Iraq as US-led forces moved toward Baghdad — only the Americans had.

Exclusive: ‘Liberated’ by US Bombs
Arab News, April 1, 2003
Naseer Al-Nahr, Arab News War Correspondent  HILLA, Iraq, 2 April 2003 — Reports of US/UK forces killing dozens of Iraqi civilians yesterday stoked growing international anger at the US-led war, already high after seven women and children were shot dead at a US checkpoint in central Iraq.

New York, 1 April 2003 - Press encounter by the Secretary-General upon arrival at Headquarters
United Nations News, April 1, 2003

Annan Hopes UN Weapons Inspectors Will Return to Iraq
Palestine Chronicle, April 1, 2003
NEW YORK (UNITED NATIONS) - Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he hoped United Nations weapons inspectors would eventually return to Iraq, noting that their work had merely been suspended.

Attack Has Asia Muslim Govts on Tightrope
Arab News, April 1, 2003
JAKARTA, 2 April 2003 — The war against Iraq has three Muslim-majority countries in Asia tiptoeing down a tightrope to stay friends with Washington while scrambling to identify with popular opposition and prevent anger from boiling into violence.

Bangladeshis Want to Fight Against US in Iraq
Arab News, April 1, 2003
DHAKA, 2 April 2003 — Thousands of Bangladeshis are ready to join forces with the Iraqis to fight the US-led invasion, saying they want to join a jihad, or holy war, veterans said yesterday.

House GOP agrees on Bush war fund request
USA Today, April 1, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House and Senate Appropriations committees both approved packages on Tuesday of nearly $80 billion to begin paying for war with Iraq and meet other security needs.

Debates to abandon the Arab League
Arabic News, April 1, 2003
The call advocated by the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to lay executive mechanisms to found an advanced Arab collective security that copes with the "spirit of the age, coincides with an assertion made by an Arab diplomatic source, on the beginning of consultation to rebuild an entity that totally differs from the Arab League, and that will exclude certain states, according to "negatives of previous experience."

Mubarak: our relations with Syria cannot be shaken
Arabic News, April 1, 2003
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has described Egyptian- Syrian relations as historic and strategic that cannot be shaken.

On Iraq's war effect on political reform in Saudi Arabia
Arabic News, April 1, 2003
Saudi Arabia has been facing strong resistance for reforms from a religious pressure group, provoked by the war led by the US against Iraq.

Jordan 'foils hotel bomb plot'
BBC, April 1, 2003
Jordanian officials say four Iraqis have been arrested for trying to blow up a major hotel in Amman last week. The authorities are still giving few details of the attempted attack, but Western officials have confirmed there was a "worrying incident" at a hotel in the middle of last week.

Egyptian star scores anti-war hit
BBC, April 1, 2003
An Egyptian pop star is enjoying a regional hit with an anti-war song that attacks the US and Saddam Hussein.
The song Hitting Iraq has propelled sales of singer Shaaban Abdel-Rehim's album of the same name to 100,000, according to his producer Alaa Wahba.

Powell in Turkey to heal rift
BBC, April 1, 2003
Powell's visit was unexpected -- US Secretary of State Colin Powell has arrived in Turkey on the first foreign trip by a senior member of the Bush administration since the Iraq war started. He is expected to ask Turkey for more help in sustaining the US military operation in northern Iraq.

Baghdad fears impending firefight
BBC, April 1, 2003
Baghdad has suffered a pounding -- As the coalition forces press on towards Baghdad, military preparations here appear to be low key. As I drive around the city, I do not get any sense of enormous defensive positions, tanks out in the streets, or huge military encampments.

Truck smashes into UK's Iran embassy
BBC, April 1, 2003
A pick-up truck has crashed into a compound wall of the British embassy in Tehran, killing the driver. The vehicle, which was carrying two 50-gallon drums of petrol, instantly exploded in flames, according to witnesses.

Saddam courts Iraqi nationalism
BBC, April 1, 2003
Saddam Hussein presenting the conflict as a 'people's war'. Saddam Hussein presents himself as the champion of the Iraqi nation. But can he harness Iraqi nationalism or will it prove his undoing? And given the country's mosaic of different communities, does an Iraqi nation actually exist?

Pumping of Iraqi oil to Syria suspended
Arabic News, April 1, 2003
A source concerned with the Syrian oil industry said yesterday that Iraq has stopped its oil supplies to Syria for technical reasons in the first days of the US-led military campaign against Baghdad.

Egypt expels top Iraqi diplomat
Jerusalem Post, April 1, 2003   
Egypt has decided to expel a senior Iraqi diplomat, giving him a week to leave the country. An Arab diplomat who monitors Iraqi affairs in Cairo said the order was served Tuesday morning.

Al-Hakim expresses readiness to return back to Iraq
Arabic News, April 1, 2003
The chairman of the Higher Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Ayatullah Muhammad Baqer al-Hakim, who lives in exile in Iran expressed his readiness to return back to Iraq.

Reporters' Log: War in Iraq
BBC, April 1, 2003
The BBC's unrivalled team of correspondents is bringing you news from the Gulf and reaction from around the world. On this page BBC News Online logs their impressions and personal experiences as they watch events unfold.

Santa Rosa Doctor Documents Casualties
Common Dreams/San Francisco Chronicle, April 1, 2003  
Woman Sees Firsthand Effect of War on Iraqis -- BAGHDAD -- ...Dr. April Hurley, a family doctor for Kaiser Permanente in Santa Rosa, is spending much of her days and nights in the hospitals of Baghdad, where bleeding patients are cared for by harried Iraqi doctors and crowds of nervous relatives.

FBI Warns Of Al Qaeda Women
CBS News, April 1, 2003
(AP) Recent intelligence has the FBI worried that al Qaeda may be recruiting and training women to carry out terror attacks, trying to regain an element of surprise for a network thinned by arrests, officials say.

Analysis / The unholy triangle of a military occupation  
Haaretz, April 1, 2003
The coalition forces are now in the middle of the inevitable triangle - one side is the humanitarian aid, including distributing food and water to the civilian population, another side is suicide bombings against coalition forces, and the third side is jumpy, trigger-happy soldiers at checkpoints.

cartoon
What are you waiting for?
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
Cartoon: Steve Bell on the battle for Iraqi hearts and minds.

video
Women and children killed at checkpoint
The Guardian, April 1, 2003
Video: US Marine Corps Gen Peter Pace, vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, confirmed that seven Iraqi women and children were killed by US forces after failing to stop at a military checkpoint outside Basra.