Bonus translation exercise 10 -- translate any one bold-faced paragragh into Chinese (海珊的最後一日)

Saddam Hussein was contemplating the final hours of his life last night after the signing of his execution warrant.

Munir Haddad, an Iraqi judge authorised to attend the hanging, said: "All the measures have been done. There is no reason for delay."

Confusion surrounded the process yesterday, with members of the Iraqi government contradicting each other about the timing of the former dictator's execution. But the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, swept aside political wrangling to sign his death warrant after he was handed over by the Americans.

Saddam was convicted in November along with his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and Awad Ahmed al-Bandar al-Sadun, a former chief judge of the revolutionary court, of slaughtering 148 Shia Muslims in Dujail in 1982.

The death sentences were confirmed on Boxing Day when appeals were rejected.

The execution of Saddam, 69, is regarded as a landmark in Iraq's turbulent recent history. After becoming president in 1979, he was toppled by the US-led invasion of Iraq in April 2003 and captured hiding in a hole eight months later.