World highlights

¤ Iraq began to lift a curfew imposed to quell any insurgent backlash against the death sentence passed on Saddam Hussein, amid a wave of jubilation among his former victims and fury among diehard supporters.

¤ In a bitter fight for the US Congress, Republicans and Democrats hammered each other over Iraq's future as candidates launched a frantic late push for votes and polls showed some races tightening. In a campaign dominated by debate over Iraq, Republicans accused Democrats of pushing a prescription for failure there. Democrats said voters favoured a new approach and would reject President George W. Bush's Iraq policies today.

¤ An Italian court sentenced an Egyptian accused of being one of the masterminds of the 2004 Madrid train bombings to 10 years in prison for terrorist association. Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, also known as Mohamed the Egyptian, was arrested in Milan three months after the March 11, 2004 blasts that killed 191 people and wounded 2,000 others.

¤ A suspected al Qaeda operative watched impassively in a British court as prosecutors played shaky hand-held video of the New York Stock Exchange and other US financial targets he has admitted planning to bomb. Briton Dhiren Barot, 34, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to murder in connection with planned attacks in the US and Britain - the latter including the use of a "dirty bomb" laced with radiological material.