Saddam Hanged

Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on Saturday, 30th December 2006 for crimes against humanity after Iraq's prime minister rushed through an execution few believed would help stem the sectarian violence tearing the country apart. The former president, toppled by the U.S. invasion four years ago, was shown on state television going calmly to his death on the scaffold. He was to be buried within hours near his home city of Tikrit.

He and two co-defendants were sentenced to death by an Iraqi court in November after a trial over the 1982 killings of 148 Shias in the town of Dujail. People receive extra editions of a newspaper reporting the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Iraq, at Tokyo's Ginza shopping district December 30, 2006. It was very quick. He died right away," an official witness said, adding that the body was left to hang for 10 minutes and he was pronounced dead at 6:10 a.m. (0310 GMT). The bearded Saddam, still robust at 69, refused a hood and declined to have a cleric present, but said a brief prayer on the gallows once used by his own secret police. Grainy video later showed his body in a white shroud, the neck twisted and blood on a cheek. It was taken to Awja, his native village near Tikrit, and his family said later he would be buried in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi.

"After the family received the will of the martyred president from lawyers who last met him where he asked to be buried either in Awja or Ramadi...it was decided to bury him in the city of Ramadi," a family statement received by Reuters said. Three decades after Saddam established his personal rule by force, the execution closed a chapter in Iraq's history marked by war with Iran and a 1990 invasion of Kuwait that turned him from ally to enemy of the United States and impoverished his oil-rich nation.

However, as U.S. President George W. Bush said in a statement, sectarian violence pushing Iraq towards civil war had not ended.

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Taxi Driver mistaken for IT Expert on BBC

A computer expert has described his astonishment at seeing the BBC's 24-hour news channel interview supposed taxi driver Guy Goma in the mistaken belief it was him. Guy Kewney, a white, bearded technology expert was astonished to see himself appear on screen as a black man with an apparent French accent. He was even more shocked to see himself unable to answer basic questions about the legal battle between the Beatles' Apple Corps and Apple Computer over the use of an apple symbol. Mr Kewney, an IT journalist, watched as Mr Goma, whose identity remained a mystery until it was revealed on Monday night by the BBC, gamely attempted to answer questions fired at him by BBC consumer affairs correspondent Karen Bowerman.

Mr Goma, a graduate from the Congo, described his surprise interview ordeal as "very stressful". He found himself being ushered into a studio and fitted with a microphone after raising his hand when a producer called out the name Guy Kewney. On his website, the real Mr Kewney, said that the man "seemed as baffled as I felt" when asked about the consequences of the lawsuit live on BBC News 24. It is unclear why Mr Goma identified himself when Mr Kewney's named was called. Only when Ms Bowerman announced live on air the name and title of the man who should have been there and asked the first question did the driver realise there had been a mix-up.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately we did make a mistake and the wrong person was interviewed briefly on air before we cut to our reporter. "We apologise to viewers for any confusion."
Read the transcript of the interview below...

The interview
Karen Bowerman: Guy Kewney is editor of the technology website Newswireless.
Face of horror
KB: Hello, good morning to you.
Mr Goma: Good morning.
KB: Were you surprised by this verdict today.
Mr Goma: I am very surprised to see... this verdict to come on me because I was not expecting that. When I came they told me somehting else and I am coming. So a big surprise anyway.
KB: A big surprise, yeah, yes.
Mr Goma: Exactly.
KB: With regards to the costs involved do you think now more people will be downloading online?
Mr Goma: Actually If you can walk everywhere you are going to see a lot of people downloading the internet and the website and everything they want. But I think eh It is much better for development and eh to inform people what they want and to get the easy way and so faster if they are looking for.
KB: It does really seem the way the music industry's progressing now that people want to go onto the website and download music.
Mr Goma: Exactly you can go everywhere on the cyber cafe and you can take, you can go easy. It is going to be an easy way for everyone to get something to the internet
KB: Thank you. Thanks very much indeed.

Video: Watch the interview here

Godfather of Soul, James Brown dies at 73

James Brown, the self-styled "Godfather of Soul", has died in hospital aged 73. Brown was taken to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US, on Sunday suffering from pneumonia and died early on Christmas Day morning, it was reported. The agency quoted Brown's agent, Frank Copsidas, as confirming the news. It is understood Brown died at around 1.45am on Monday, 25th December with his close friend Charles Bobbit at his bedside. The cause of death was heart failure, according to his agent. James was quoted saying "I'm going away tonight" sometime before he passed away
Internationally acclaimed for his passionate stage performances and groundbreaking musical style, he recorded countless hits including (Get Up I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine and Out Of Sight. Brown turned professional as a musician in 1953 and achieved popular success in the late 1950s. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he dominated the musical scene with his innovative new style of rhythm and blues.
He was known by a host of titles, often self-bestowed, which included Soul Brother Number One, Mr Dynamite, the Hardest-Working Man in Showbusiness, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, and Mr Please Please Please. His fast-footed dancing, unique vocal style and creativity in combining musical genres earned him a place in rock history. He described himself as the inventor of soul, a claim challenged by fans of his contemporaries such as Ray Charles and Sam Cooke.

Personal Life

Brown was married four times. He and his last wife, Tommie Raye Hynie, were married in 2002, but the marriage was later annulled. They remarried in 2004 and had one child together. Brown also had two children by his first wife, Velma Warren, and three more by his second, Deidre Jenkins.Brown's personal life was marked by several brushes with the law. At the age of 16, was arrested for theft and served 3 years in prison. Adrienne Rodriegues, his third wife, had him arrested four times on charges of assault between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s.

Brown also served 2 years of a 6 year jail sentence after he led police on a car chase across the Georgia, South Carolina border in 1988. He was convicted of carrying an unlicensed pistol and assaulting a police officer, along with various drug-related and driving offenses.

Brown holds the record for the artist who has charted the most singles on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever hitting number one on that chart and he had his natural eyebrows replaced with tattooed ones in 1991

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Tunde Baiyewu

Tunde Baiyewu (born November 25, 1958) is a vocalist who gained fame as part of the Easy Listening duo Lighthouse Family. In 2004, he embarked on a solo career, releasing the album Tunde. He was born in London, but moved to Nigeria at the age of five after the death of his father. He went to secondary school with Femi Kuti, the son of the legendary Fela Kuti. They hung around ‘The Shrine’ together smoking weed and learning from the intellectuals , musicians and political dissidents who would come to discuss the burning issues of the day, dance, and get extremely stoned.

Ten years later he moved back to England, going to university in Newcastle upon Tyne, and obtained a degree in accounting. He saw posters advertising for a singer and subsequently met Paul Tucker. Their partnership began quickly and they formed the Lighthouse Family. In 2005, he appeared on the one-off special, Strictly African Dancing.In 12 November 2006, Tunde appeared in an ITV documentary called Faith in Music. This documentary charted the life and music of Tunde, from his roots in Africa, through the Lighthouse Family and into his current solo reincarnation. It also showed Tunde performing an acoustic set featuring tracks from his latest album.
In January 2007, Tunde will hold his first concert for the first time in over four years (the last time being with the Lighthouse Family). He will be doing four concerts from 13th-16th January 2007 in Edinburgh, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London respectively. He will be combining his solo material with Lighthouse Family hits.

His mother went on to marry Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo but passed away 4years ago.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Kim Porter Deliver Twin Girls

Music and clothing mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and girlfriend Kim Porter received early Christmas presents, as Porter has given birth to two healthy twin girls.Porter, 36, gave birth to the twins at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York around at 7:56 am. Combs was filming the television version of A Raisin In The Sun in Toronto, Canada, when he learned Porter was going into labour.
According to representatives for Combs, the 37-year-old mogul flew in from Toronto and made it just in time to witness the delivery of the twin girls. The couple announced the news of Porter's pregnancy in August and revealed that she was expecting twins. Combs and Porter already have a son, 8-year-old Christian. Combs has another son, Justin, 12, with fashion stylist Misa Hylton-Brim and Porter has another son, Quincy, from a previous relationship with Al B. Sure.

AC, nine parties adopt Atiku for President

VICE President Atiku Abubakar yesterday took another step towards becoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He, as widely speculated, was anointed as the presidential flagbearer on the banner of the Action Congress (AC) for the 2007 elections, at a colourful National Convention held in Lagos. Interestingly, the Vice President was also adopted by nine other political parties in the country, among which are Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), the Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN), the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), the Peoples Solidarity Party (PSP), the Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), Better Nigerian Peoples Party (BNPP), United Democratic Party (UDP) and National Masses Movement of Nigeria (NMMN).
The development came on a day that a Federal High Court, Abuja restrained the Federal Government from trying Abubakar for as long as he remains Nigeria's Vice President.
In his acceptance speech, Abubakar, who said that he would name his running mate soon, noted that the coalition that attended the AC convention were the brave Nigerian leaders who fought military dictatorship and restored democracy to the nation. The Vice President said that there was no other political party in the country other than the AC, adding that he was honoured to be the party's flagbearer for the coming general election. He said: "It is with a sense of responsibility that I accept my adoption as the presidential candidate of the AC. It is a great honour to me and a tribute to the principles and ideals that I stand for."He listed the principles as including respect for rule of law and due process as well as accountability in government.
The Vice President, who was disallowed from contesting for the office by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recognised the presence of some eminent Nigerians who successfully fought military dictatorship and were with the AC.These, he noted, include Chief Solomon Lar, Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Oyo State Governor Lam Adesina, and the AC national chairman, Chief Adebisi Akande. His words: "We are determined to stop the hypocritical, dishonest and selfish clique that persecutes political enemies, destroys our hard-earned democracy and corners our natural resources. Our reforms will be genuine, to create jobs and truly alleviate poverty." Abubakar said that he had faced a series of harassment, intimidation and persecution for expressing his wish to contest for the office of president.
He said that his families, friends and aides also came under "fire" from the top echelon of the ruling party, saying: "I have witnessed unprecedented attacks on my person, family, aides and associates."
He urged Nigerians to support the AC so that "we will reclaim our country from those who want to destroy democracy."The Vice President said that the danger facing Nigerians now "is that of surrendering our country to a clique that is bent on cornering our resources for personal use." To tackle that challenge, he said, Nigeria needs a "committed leadership; a leadership that is committed to change; a leadership that is committed to reforms - reforms that will benefit all the people rather than a few." The Vice President said that Nigerians needed a change for the observance of the rule of law and freedom for the citizenry. He said: "I am the candidate for that change," adding that by adopting him, the coalition had demonstrated its commitment to that change.

419ers

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