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Saddam's end: tormented as he waited for death Hands tied behind his back, feet bound, Saddam Hussein shuffled on to the red-painted metal gallows for his execution yesterday. A shadow of his arrogant former self, he looked bemused, beaten. His executioners had let him wear his long black overcoat, but made him take off his woolly hat and denied him a tie. Before they led him into the room, he was asked if he wanted to say anything. "No,'' the old dictator replied. "Come on. Just do it.''	Tortured screams ring out as Iraqis take over Abu Ghraib THE NOTORIOUS Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad is at the centre of fresh abuse allegations just a week after it was handed over to Iraqi authorities, with claims that inmates are being tortured by their new captors. An independent witness who went into Abu Ghraib this week told The Sunday Telegraph that screams were coming from the cell blocks housing the terrorist suspects.	Iraqi teachers are sacked in exam marking scandal Sunnis and Shias fail pupils from rival sects Iran claims to have confessions from seized British Marines Petrol is rationed to two tanks a month in oil-rich Iran Teheran uses courts to keep reformers out of elections Buoyant Teheran warns of further kidnappings Peacekeeping Kurds accused of siding with the Sunnis Intelligence chiefs were told of Iranian reprisal threat US navy clash exposed rise of Iran's hardliners
Gulf states load up on weapons of war Leaders of Sunni Arab states are embarking on a military spending spree in an attempt to contain the growing threat from Iran. Alarmed by the progress of Iran's nuclear programme and the prospect of a military clash between its Shia regime and the United States, Gulf leaders intend to use billions of dollars of oil revenue to purchase a huge array of military hardware.	Hands up if you've lost the plot... First, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad alienated the rest of the world with his religious extremism, nuclear ambitions and global grandstanding. Now, due to domestic failures and economic incompetence, he is doing the same to ordinary Iranians.
I no longer have power to save Iraq from civil war, warns Shia leader THE MOST influential moderate Shia leader in Iraq has abandoned attempts to restrain his followers, admitting that there is nothing he can do to prevent the country sliding towards civil war. Aides say Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is angry and disappointed that Shias are ignoring his calls for calm and are switching their allegiance in their thousands to more militant groups which promise protection from Sunni violence and revenge for attacks.	Clerics in hot water over the good life THE AYATOLLAH Khomenei brought millions on to the streets of Iran to overthrow the decadence of the Shah. Now the late leader's grandsons and other Iranian clerics face a backlash over their families' fondness for fast cars, big houses and hot tubs.

Audio-visual	Iraq in pictures

Selection
Red hackles rise as the Black Watch stride out Tam o'shanter on his head, pistol in his belt, the commanding officer of the Black Watch is striding ahead through the crowded market place in the centre of the town of Az Zubayr.	In this cat-and-mouse war, the sniper is king Mark Harvey was the first of the snipers to react, dropping to his knee and fixing the man carrying the RPG in his sights, one shot, a moving target, the man dropping like a stone, dead before he hit the ground.
NAME OF AL-SADR HANGS OVER UNEASY SOUTH ODAY al-Dibaj clasps the bars of his prison cell, his hair cropped close to his head, his beard neatly trimmed. He speaks fast, and passionately. The people love Muqtada al-Sadr, Dibaj says, because Sadr loves his country and supports all the good people in Iraq. Around him, the 20 or so other men with whom he shares his filthy cell in Basra's main prison press forward, agreeing with him, talking over him. Behind them, in between the slogans painted on black sheets, a picture of Sadr dominates the rear wall.	They poured out of their Warriors and let fly with grenades, guns, everything It was just after dawn yesterday morning when the Warrior crashed through the wall of the house tucked away down a side road in the Iraqi town of Al Zubayr.
Caught in the middle as Amarah explodes "I want this moving now, now, now," he screamed, and there was another burst of gunfire overhead. Then they were there, the Warriors, with their 30mm cannon and chain guns, appearing over the crest of the bridge, just as the cavalry should.	Resistance crumbles as British troops make a decisive push Inside the bunker, the militia had only a few seconds left. The sound of a dull explosion rolled across the city. Over the radio, the Challenger crew reported the kill. "The target was engaged and the job was done
Home thoughts that hurt as the black snow falls When they awoke it was everywhere, the oily cinders coating every surface, falling like tiny flakes of black snow. On their sleeping bags, on their skin, in their hair, breathing it in, impossible to brush off, melting into diesel-dark streaks, seeping into their pores.	Iraqis put freedom before fear and vote in their million The ballot boxes were full almost to overflowing, and still people queued up to get in to the polling stations. They turned out in their hundreds of thousands, walking in family groups, couples with their children, talking excitedly about what for the majority was their first chance to cast a vote in an election for anyone other than Saddam Hussein.
EU millions: Was aid handed to terror gangs? Arafat at heart of rights abuse: report Abuse photographs destroy good work of British soldiers

Copyright ©2006 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved.