SADDAM HUSSEIN was convicted and sentenced yesterday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shi’ite town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted “God is great”.

SUNNI Arab leaders demanded yesterday that US and Iraqi troops suspend military operations in heavily Sunni areas, accusing the Shiite-led government of trying to divide the nation ahead of next month's legislative elections.