Saddam Hussein will be executed before 6am Saturday Baghdad time (3am Irish Time), a senior Iraqi government official said tonight.

Saddam Hussein will be executed by tomorrow, an Iraqi judge said today.

Iraqi gunmen kidnapped three Lebanese in Iraq and killed one of them, Lebanese Foreign Ministry officials confirmed today.

ISRAELI President Moshe Katsav invited Syrian leader Syrian Bashar Assad to peace talks yesterday, an overture that put him at odds with prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Israeli President Moshe Katsav invited Syrian leader Syrian Bashar Assad to peace talks today – an overture that put him at odds with prime minister Ariel Sharon.