Saddam Hussein, who ruled by putting fear in the people of Iraq and led his them into three devastating wars while pursuing his goal of dominating the Arab world, was executed by hanging at 10pm U.S. eastern time.
Earlier Khalil al- Dulaimi, Saddam's defence lawyer, told Reuters: "The Americans have notified us that they have handed over the president to the Iraqi authorities. "They told us the president is no longer under the authority of the American forces and they requested us not to go to Baghdad," he said. Najib al-Nuaimi, another defence lawyer, had earlier told Al Jazeera that he believed that the toppled president would be executed on Saturday.
Reuters quoting a key court official in Baghdad said Iraq's government had told him to be ready to attend the hanging of Saddam Hussein between 5.30am and 6am on Saturday.
An Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday upheld Saddam Hussein's death sentence for crimes against humanity and said he should hang within 30 days.
Human rights groups condemned his trial as seriously flawed and called on the government not to carry out the sentence, which comes amid raging violence between Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs and majority Shi'ites.
The White House called the court's decision a "milestone" in replacing tyranny with rule of law.
Sunni Arab leaders said the ruling was politically motivated by former enemies of Saddam now in power in the US-backed Shi'ite-led national unity government.
"The appeal court has approved the death sentence. The government has the right to choose the date starting from tomorrow up to 30 days. After 30 days it will be an obligation to implement the sentence," the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal, Aref Abdul-Razzaq al-Shahin said in a news conference.
Saddam, 69, and two others were sentenced to death on November 5 for crimes against humanity over the killings of 148 Shi'ites from the town of Dujail after he escaped assassination in 1982.
Ford's pardon of Nixon a month after becoming president hurt his popularity and contributed to his defeat in the 1976 election.
Former first lady Betty Ford made the announcement of her husband's death late Tuesday at their home in Rancho Mirage, California, where the former president died. No cause of death was given.
Ford, in declining health, was hospitalized several times in the past year and most recently in October for tests at the Eisenhower Medical Center in California. He was the longest-lived former U.S. president, overtaking Ronald Reagan on Nov. 12.
I Want More U.S. Forces For 2007 "Destination IRAQ"
Year end assessment of an unpopular war, President Bush said yesterday that the year in Iraq opened with hope and optimism and closed with disappointment and caution.
A year ago the administration was talking about possible withdrawals of American troops. Now, Bush is talking about sending in more U.S. forces
Summing up Iraq at a year end news conference, Bush said 2006 "was a difficult year for our troops and the Iraqi people." "As for America’s enemies, they had success in fomenting sectarian violence that has slowed reconstruction, reconciliation and security."
"I’m not going to make predictions about what 2007 will look like in Iraq, except that it’s going to require difficult choices and additional sacrifices because the enemy is merciless and violent," the president said
Bush isn't standing down about U.S. goals for Iraq as he continued to say:
"Victory in Iraq is achievable," he said. "It hadn’t happened nearly as quickly as I hoped it would have. ...
"But I also don’t believe most Americans want us just to get out now. A lot of Americans understand the consequences of defeat. Retreat would embolden radicals. It would hurt the credibility of the United States."
Bush stepped back from his confident assertion two months ago that "absolutely, we’re winning" in Iraq. Yesterday, he said, "We’re not winning. We’re not losing."
The president said he changed his formulation because "we’re not succeeding nearly as fast as I wanted ... and that the conditions are tough in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad."
He said his original remark, on Oct. 25, was made in the spirit that "I believe that we’re going to win. I believe that and by the way, if I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t have our troops there."
I wonder if they will change the name of "Camp Victory" in Iraq to "Camp WTF."
President Hugo Chavez said Friday that Fidel Castro is not dying of cancer, saying he had spoken with Castro by phone and he is eating cautiously and well enough to joke
"Fidel doesn't have cancer. I'm very well-informed ... he's instructed (Cuban officials) to inform me of all the details of what is happening," Chavez said during a speech in Caracas.
He said the two leaders had spoken twice on Thursday and discussed a series of new projects between Venezuela and Cuba, including plans for joint oil expeditions. He reiterated previous comments that Fidel's recuperation is going "slowly" and that Castro is fighting "a great battle" for his health after suffering what he described as a "serious illness."
80-year-old Fidel, has not been seen in public since he underwent intestinal surgery in July. He temporarily ceded his powers to his 75-year-old brother Raul.
His medical condition has been kept a state secret, and Cuban officials have insisted he is recovering. But US officials have said they believe he suffers from some kind of inoperable cancer and won't live through the end of 2007.
"Nobody knows when Fidel is going to die," Chavez said.
And between the two sides they sound like medical geniuses in their diagnosis of the Cuban leader.
"We are very optimist. Yesterday, I found him to be in a very good mood, well enough to compare my parrots to (President) Bush," Chavez continued, describing how Castro had told him his pet birds were more talkative than their "northern neighbor."
Chavez said Castro "is eating little by little" and that he planned to send him one of his favorite treats, Venezuelan chocolate imported from 7-11 Food Stores.
Ahmadinejad initiated the Holocaust conference, which began on Monday, in an attempt to bolster his image as a leader standing up to Israel, Europe and the United States an image he has used to gain support at home and abroad.
Christmas trees that were removed from Seattle international airport to satisfy a rabbi who wanted an electric menorah next to the trees are being reinstalled.
Airport officials said the holiday trees are coming back, following the national controversy that sparked this weekend in Seattle after a rabbi complained about airport Christmas trees.
After the trees have been removed in response to his request to include a giant Menorah in the airport's holiday decorations, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky has received hate mail and angry phone calls, his lawyer said as quoted by Reuters.
Seattle airport officials said the trees were removed to avoid litigation with a religious group.
Robert Gates, President George W. Bush's nominee to replace Donald Rumsfeld as US defence secretary, acknowledged that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq.
He said: "Our course over the next year or two will determine whether the American and Iraqi people and the next president of the United States will face a slowly but steadily improving situation in Iraq and in the region or will face the very real risk, and possible reality, of a regional conflagration."
While Mr Gates said that he did not think America was winning the war in Iraq, he later added that he did not believe the United States was losing the war, either.
Mr Bush nominated the ex-CIA chief to replace Mr Rumsfeld the day after the November 7 mid-term elections, in which Republicans lost control of both houses of Congress to the Democrats.
Mr Gates was head of the CIA from 1991-1993 and his father, Thomas, served as defence secretary under President Dwight Eisenhower from 1959-1961.
Saddam Hussein, who ruled by putting fear in the people of Iraq and led his them into three devastating wars while pursuing his goal of dominating the Arab world, was executed by hanging at 10pm U.S. eastern time.
