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World reacts to execution of Saddam Hussein The execution of Saddam Hussein has unleashed a wave of criticism from both governmental and non governmental quarters in the days following. While the United States, Australia, Iran, and Poland all came out in support of the move, not all governments have agreed with endorsements like those from U.S. president George W. Bush, who called Saddam's execution a "milestone" on the way to a democratic Iraq. Iraqi government to investigate Saddam video The Iraqi government has vowed to investigate and hold the individuals responsible to who taunted Saddam before execution and those who leaked the confidential video.

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CNN typo mixes up U.S. Senator with terrorist CNN mixed up U.S. Senator Barak Obama and Osama bin laden by mistake Monday, leading into a segment on Osama bin laden with the title, "Where's Obama?" on The Situation Room, a show hosted by pundit Wolf Blitzer. CNN called it a "bad typographical error."

Wikipedia Current Events
Palestinian factional violence: clashes between Hamas, Fatah result in abductions from both sides. Four Fatah loyalists, woman, are killed in gunbattles. A prison guard is arrested in Baghdad under suspicion of secretly filming the execution of Saddam Hussein using a mobile phone and publishing the video on the Internet. The North Korean Korean Central News Agency reports that Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun has died, without describing the cause of death. Fourteen year old Michael Perham becomes the youngest person to ever sail single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean, when he completes a six-week voyage from Gibraltar by docking in Antigua. Former United States President Gerald Ford is buried in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. NASA announces Nature article, Cassini found methane lakes on Titan, a moon of Saturn.

CNN typo mixes up U.S. Senator with terrorist
It's a joke that's been made countless times: substituting Obama for Osama.

U.S. Senator Barak Obama's last name is very similar to the first name of the world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden. Instead of the S in Osama, CNN put a B making it Obama.

The mistake which CNN called a "bad typographical error" was first reported by online blogs.

But according to prominent left-wing blog Daily Kos, CNN mixed the two up by mistake on Monday, leading into a segment on the terrorist with the title, "Where's Obama?" on The Situation Room, a show hosted by pundit Wolf Blitzer. The blog posted a photo of the mistake. The author of the blog called it "character defamation."

Soledad O'Brien and Blitzer apologised separately during CNN's American Morning on Tuesday.

"We want to apologise for that bad typo," Blitzer said. "We also want to apologise personally to Senator Barack Obama. I'm going to be making a call to him later this morning to offer my personal apology."

Obama's press secretary said the apology was accepted. He also added that he appreciated the online blogs who brought the error to light.

"Though I'd note that the 's' and 'b' keys aren't all that close to each other, I assume it was just an unfortunate mistake, and don't think there was any truly malicious intent," said Tommy Vietor, Obama's press secretary.

Saddam's co-defendants to hang Thursday
Two co-defendants who were scheduled to hang with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will instead be executed Thursday, according to an Iraqi government official.

Details still need to be worked out with the American military, but the two are expected at the gallows after Islam's Eid al-Adha holiday, which ends today.

Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim, a former intelligence chief, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were sentenced to death for their roles in the killing of 148 Shiite Muslims in the Iraqi town of Dujail in 1982, following a failed assassination on the then-dictator.

Saddam was hanged before dawn Saturday, before Eid, for the same crimes.

Since then, Saddam loyalists and Sunni Muslims have expressed outrage at the way in which he was killed. A three-minute video shot on a cellphone and leaked to the Internet shows witnesses and the executioners taunting Saddam before his death.

The Iraqi government launched an investigation into the video and on Wednesday arrested one of the guards believed to have shot it.

Reaction to the hanging has been mixed around the world. Even in the U.S., the State Department has condemned the taunting, while President George W. Bush hailed Saddam's death "a milestone."

Broncos player Williams shot to death, police looking for suspect
Police are still looking for the suspect that killed Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, 24, in a drive by shooting January 1. Williams was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck.

Police say there was a disagreement at a nightclub birthday party for Kenyon Martin, a forward with the Denver Nuggets National Basketball Association team, and Williams and his two friends left. His two friends, a man and a woman, were hit along with him.

The suspect was in a white 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe. Police said earlier they where looking for a Tahoe or Suburban with dark-tinted windows.

Williams teamates honoured him at a memorial service today.

"We'll have a memorial service on Wednesday with our players and coaches and Darrent's family," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said at a press conference on Tuesday. "I don't think he had a guy that wasn't his friend," added Shanahan. "That's the way he lived life. He always had a smile on his face."

"He just went through a tragic experience," Shanahan said. "A lot of times when somebody has that happen to them, they wonder why it (wasn't them). That's just human nature and obviously the counselors are talking with him about that. It's a process. It takes some time."

The entire Denver Broncos will attend the funeral service for Williams on Saturday in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, according to Shanahan.

The investigation remains ongoing.

U.S. superbug expected to emerge in Canada
A infectious superbug spreading in the United States is to "emerge in force" in Canada, doctors say. The bacteria have been reported popping up in day care centers and locker rooms across the U.S. Usually elderly or very ill hospital patients get the disease.

More than 2 million U.S. residents are infected every year, the Centers for Disease Control estimates.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) said Tuesday that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are "spreading with alarming rapidity." The bacteria can cause boils, pimples, or in extreme cases, flesh-eating disease, and more.

"The resistant bacteria is an old foe with new fangs: a pathogen combining virulence, resistance and an ability to disseminate at large," wrote Dr. John Conly, medical professor and an infectious disease specialist at the University of Calgary.

British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario are the provinces which already have had MRSA in hospitals.

A 30-year-old Calgary, Alberta man died last year of lung abscesses associated with the infection, as well as a three-month old toddler in Toronto, Ontario.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios, last summer, suffered from a staph infection in his leg. Pitcher Ty Taubenheim had a similar infection on his foot.

Doctors are currently investigating some Calgary residents, who could be one of the first Canadian reports of MRSA outside of a hospital setting.

Experts say that Canadian residents should do the following to prevent the disease:

Basic hand washing techniques using soap or alcohol gels

The use of disposable aprons and gloves by hospital staff, reducing skin-to-skin contact

Covering sneezes and coughs to prevent respiratory spread.

Miami Dolphins coach going to Alabama
Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban is moving to the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. He will be the 27th coach of the team. He had a 15-17 record with the Dolphins in two seasons.

Insurgents now control Iraqi city
The city of Baqubah, just northeast of Baghdad, seems to have collapsed under insurgent control. Government offices and schools are closed. Assassinations take life and power from mayors, tribal chiefs and policemen. Residents fear to leave their homes.

The majority Sunni-Muslim city was once full of promise for Americans. Six months ago, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed near here. In October, U.S. forces in the area began to pull back, handing security largely over to Iraqi forces.

Now, The Los Angeles Times reports the capital city of the Diyala province has become one of Iraq's most-troubled areas.

The militants are abusive and neglectful, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials. Insurgents have been seen on video pulling Shiite families from their homes, killing them, U.S. officials said.

A farmer in the area, Saad Adnan, told a reporter with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting last month: “Baqubah is a symbol of resistance and Americans will be kicked out by the honorable mujahedin...We are with the mujahedin. They are heroes and history will remember Baqubah’s fight against the occupation.”

A masked, armed militant told the same reporter: “Thank God, we are forging ahead with our goals. We fight the occupation and kill every Iraqi policeman or soldier that protects the Americans. If it was not for them, the Americans would have been terminated and kicked out.”

U.S. military commanders have decided to step up their counterinsurgency efforts in the city. They will add more troops and work toward reconstruction. Late last month, combined American and Iraqi forces raided what the U.S. Army called "a suspected terrorist training camp." The Army said it captured 13 suspected insurgents during the raid.

Already, the U.S. has spent more than $220 million in the Diyala province. But the road ahead appears long; Iraqi contractors are refusing to enter the area and much-needed food and petroleum shipments have dropped off considerably.

New Zealand holiday road toll at 26-year low
The New Zealand Christmas holiday road toll has been the lowest it has ever been with nine deaths in 26-years, 1981.

The annual road toll is also the lowest it has ever been since 1963, with 387 deaths for the whole of 2006.

The Chirstmas holiday period starts at 4:00 p.m. (UTC+13) on Christmas Eve and runs until 6:00 a.m. January 3, 2007.

John McLelland, national road policing inspector, said: "I'd like to think that people are taking more care when travelling and hopefully with the advertising...people are more aware of the consequences of poor decision making if they are involved in a crash." Mr McLelland is starting to think that drivers are concentrating more but still believes that drivers are speeding, not wearing compulsory seat-belts and drinking and driving. He is also urging drivers to take care of both themselves and the other road users. "...we need to think about our driving and how we go about it on the road."

Mr McLelland, said: "Drivers aged 25 to 60 made up the majority of road crash fatalities. And that's also probably got something to do with the aging population as well."

Even though the holiday period is over, Mr McLelland is still asking drivers to be cautious as many people will be returning home from their holidays.

In 2006 the holiday road toll was 22, and in 2005 the toll was at 11.

Georgia Aquarium beluga whale euthanized
The Georgia Aquarium announced that the beloved beluga whale, Gasper, was humanely euthanized today. Gasper had suffered from osteomyelitis.

Calgary bars resist smoking ban
Calgary, Alberta and the southern Alberta city of Lethbridge became the eighth and ninth cities in Canada to ban smoking in bars and restaurants.

On October 18, 2006, Calgary City Council approved of the bylaw that bans smoking in public areas.

Exemptions were put in place for bingos, casinos, and establishments with smoking rooms until January 1, 2008. First time offenders will pay $200 in fines. A city bylaw boss said people who deliberately go against the law could pay $3,500 or more.

"Obviously, I am ecstatic about it," said Robyn Hauck back in October, who is an anti-smoking activist. "For us to be going smoke free Jan. 1, with a few exceptions, I couldn't be happier."

However, the smoking ban which came into effect on New Years Day didn't have much effect on some smokers.

"I don't ever tell anyone else how to live so they [the politicians] shouldn't tell me how to live," said resident Doug Baum, who was surprised that he could still light up at the local pub. "Pubs like this one are the last places you can still go to have a smoke and enjoy yourself."

Another bar allowed customers to smoke.

"Absolutely we'll keep smoking because it's not fair the exemptions make it discriminatory," said Chris Daskas, who owns Filo's Restaurant.

United Airlines employees spot UFO at Chicago's O'Hare Airport
A group of United Airlines employees said they saw a mysterious, elliptical-shaped (saucer-shaped) UFO hovering over a terminal at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The employees said that the UFO did not have any lights, and that after hovering over the airport's terminal, it went into the clouds and disappeared. The employees said they were frustrated that their bosses, the United Airlines, and the FAA were not taking their report seriously.

Iraqi government to investigate Saddam video
A phone video has surfaced in various Arab media outlets and also on video sharing websites such as YouTube that shows Saddam's hanging uncensored. The video contained audio of some witnesses taunting Saddam with chants of "Muqtada" and of the former leader responding that his tormentors were being unmanly.

The taunts referred to Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric who is a main backer of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Shiite leader who pushed for a quick execution of Saddam. The prime minister on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the conduct of Saddam Hussein’s execution in a bid to learn who among the witnesses taunted the former Iraqi leader in the last minutes of his life and leaked a cell phone video.

Sadiq al-Rikabi told Al-Hurra television that he does not know who leaked the video and that such an act “is wrong and should be investigated, and I agree that cellular telephones were taken from witnesses before they boarded the helicopter” to the execution site.

“I am full of hope that the results of the investigation will be announced, and the person who did this act should pay a price,” he said.

Munqith al-Faroon, a witness to Saddam's execution said: "two top officials ... had their mobile phones with them” and also that “I am certain that the chanting at the moment of the execution was not organized, and that those chanting were not being ordered to do so. The guards made a decision to do so by themselves. This is the truth. I shouted at them and ordered them to keep silent, my voice is very clear in the recording.”

In the leaked video one voice called: “Allah, bless those who pray for Muhammad and his descendants. Allah, pray for Muhammad and his descendants and may they bring us their help soon and curse their enemies and back their son Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada.”

Saddam then asked, “Is this manly?”

A voice responded, “To hell.”

Another voice called out, “Long live Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr” — a reference to the Dawa Party founder and Shiite cleric who was executed along with his sister by Saddam in 1980.

Then, a voice purportedly belonging to al-Faroon said: “Please no, this man is being executed, please no, I beg you no.”

Sunni Muslims have taken to the streets in mainly peaceful demonstrations in Sunni enclaves across the country. They are outraged by the video and do not think that Saddam should have been taunted by the guards.

Today in History
1698 - Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, was destroyed by fire.

1884 - The Fabian Society, a socialist intellectual movement, was founded in London.

1936 - Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade.

1948 - Thakin Nu of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League presided over the independence of Burma (now Myanmar) from the British Empire.

2004 - The NASA Mars Rover Spirit landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.

Quote of the Day

Men learn little from others' experience. But in the life of one man, never the same time returns. ~ T.S. Eliot, in Murder in the Cathedral

Word of the Day

calligram; n

A word, phrase, or longer text in which the typeface or the layout has some special significance.

A signature made from interwoven Arabic words.

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