Hours before Saddam Hussein’s execution, the ousted Iraqi leader asked his lawyers not to appeal for his life and accused the United States and Iran of collaborating to hang him, according to a copy of his will.

VIRTUALLY levelled in a devastating earthquake, the historic heart of Bam was one of the wonders of Iran’s cultural heritage, boasting a 2,000-year-old citadel that was the largest mud-brick structure in the world.