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Members of Iraq's U.S.-appointed governing council are resisting plans to establish an interim government that would supplant the council when sovereignty is transferred in Iraq at the end of June. Some members of the council are sharply critical of U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who has been given the lead role in setting up the interim government. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

A huge explosion partially destroys a building in Baghdad, moments after U.S. soldiers entered it in an apparent search for chemical weapons. Officials say two soldiers died in the blast and five others were wounded. Elsewhere in Iraq, fighting broke out in Fallujah and Najaf. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Four U.S. soldiers are killed and six are wounded as insurgents fire on a base north of Baghdad. Dozens of Iraqis are killed in rocket attacks, roadside bombings and fighting with U.S.-led troops around the country. An the oil terminal off the southern city of Basra comes under attack, apparently by suicide bombers. Hear NPR's Cheryl Corley and NPR's Philip Reeves.

He made the pop charts over and over again during the 1970s and early '80s with his love ballads like Mandy, Looks Like We Made It, I Write the Songs and Copacabana (At the Copa). Before becoming a singer, he was Bette Midler's accompanist and arranger. He has a new CD Barry Manilow: 2 Nights Live and a DVD Ultimate Manilow (Rebroadcast from March 21, 2002).

American occupation authorities will lift restrictions on tens of thousands of members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, who lost their jobs in government and the armed forces following the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Chief administrator Paul Bremer says lifting the restrictions will speed the process of rebuilding the war-torn nation. NPR's Philip Reeves reports from Baghdad.

A wave of suicide car bombings in the southern Iraqi city of Basra leaves 68 dead and more than 100 wounded. At least 17 children are among the dead, caught on the way to school by the attacks, which occurred near three police stations. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Insurgents launch mortars at an Iraqi prison, killing 22 prisoners and injuring an estimated 92 others. U.S.-led forces in Iraq are using the Abu Ghraib prison to hold suspected Saddam Hussein sympathizers and insurgents. It's unclear why the prison was targeted. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Philip Reeves.

Reconstruction efforts in Iraq are being hampered by the soaring cost of construction materials. Lack of security on the highways has driven up the cost of transporting the supplies. In addition, the U.S. occupation has brought higher prices from American commanders buy up bricks to fortify their bases. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Foreign aid workers, contractors and journalists are increasingly becoming targets of kidnappings across Iraq. The Al-Jazeera news network broadcast a video of a captured American soldier who identifies himself as 20-year-old Pfc. Keith Maupin. An American and a Danish citizen were seized Friday in separate incidents, and dozens have been kidnapped over the past two weeks. Many have been released fairly quickly -- but one, an Italian, was murdered by his captors. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Some 2,500 U.S. troops remain deployed on the outskirts of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, where radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is holed up. Iraqi and Iranian officials are meeting with Sadr in hopes of averting a full-scale assault on Najaf. NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Philip Reeves.