Wikinews:Briefs/January 16, 2007

The time is 16:30 (UTC) on Tuesday January 16, 2007, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.

Saddam's co-defendant decapitated while being hanged
In Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's half brother and former chief of the Iraqi secret police, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, along with the former chief judge of the revolutionary court, Awad Hamad al-Bandar were hanged yesterday at approximately 3:00 a.m. local time for their role in the 1982 killing of 148 Shiite Muslims in the village of Dujail.

Although efforts were taken to prevent a repeat of the controversy surrounding the perceived impropriety that followed the cellphone video of last week's execution of Saddam Hussein, including confiscation of reporters' cellphones and requiring all individuals present to sign a statement that they would not engage in Shiite chants and taunting, outrage is already being heard from many quarters over an apparent miscalculation by the executioner resulting in al-Tikriti's decapitation by the noose.

Hydrofoil collides with cargo ship near Sicily
A hydrofoil and a cargo ship have entered into collision last evening, at around 18:15 Italian local time (17:15 UTC) near the harbor of Messina, Sicily, Italy. The number of people dead or injured is not currently established, but during the night the number of fatalities rose to 4.

Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan engaged
In Mumbai, legendary Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has confirmed that his son Abhishek and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai were engaged last evening at a private ceremony at the Bachchans' residence.

Arnold Schwarzenegger to visit Canada
Govenor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, best known for his role in The Terminator, has been invited by the Prime Minister's Office of Canada to visit the country. Schwarzenegger is reported to have higher expectations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions than Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Internet pirates want their own nation
The Pirate Bay, a file-sharing website situated in Sweden, looks forward to purchasing Sealand, which is a former British sea platform situated in the North Sea. This way, the website wants to escape international copyright laws. The platform claims to be independent and outside of any country's jurisdiction.

Closing statements
We invite you to visit wikinews.org for more details on these and other news reports. This has been Audio Wikinews Newsbriefs. Thank you for listening, and enjoy the rest of your day.

This recording has been released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.