A small clock appeared on the screen to show Iraqis that they should turn their timepieces forward an hour at midnight to 1:00 am. The country is now four hours ahead of GMT.

Television broadcasts continued in the country despite a total blackout since about 8:30 pm, and news that US forces had captured part of Saddam International Airport, just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from central Baghdad.

Neither television nor radio reports made mention of the fact that coalition troops were now near the gates of the capital.

Instead, late-night programming featured an old Egyptian film about the secret battles between Egypt and Israel before their 1973 war.

SPACE.WIRE