DUBAI: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein wrote and published a romantic novel in 2000, and its available on Amazon.
The novel, entitled “Zabiba and the King,” is a love story based on a king and a simple, yet beautiful, commoner named Zabiba, who is married to a cruel and unloving husband who forces himself upon her against her will, according to the book’s selling page on Amazon.
But according to the description, the story is a metaphor for the American-led invasion on Iraq, the king being Saddam, Zabiba represents the Iraqi people and the cruel husband – the US.
The book was apparently translated into English by an American businessman who wanted to “satisfy his own curiosity,” the website description adds.
The book, priced at $13.41, has received a 2.6 score out of a possible five star rating on Amazon, with reviewers calling it “Saddam’s inner world” and claiming its a “butchered” version of American novelist Margaret Landon’s 1944 book “Anna and the King of Siam.”
And another critiqued the book describing it as typical of a first novel.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein wrote a love story that’s available on Amazon
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein wrote a love story that’s available on Amazon
Christmas Eve winner in Arkansas lands a $1.817 billion Powerball lottery jackpot
- The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19
- The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said
ARKANSAS, USA: A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA in Cabot, lottery officials in Arkansas said Thursday. No one answered the phone Thursday at the location, which was closed for Christmas. The community of roughly 27,000 people is 26 miles (42 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previous expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million.
“Congratulations to the newest Powerball jackpot winner! This is truly an extraordinary, life-changing prize,” Matt Strawn, Powerball Product Group Chair and Iowa Lottery CEO, was quoted as saying by the website. “We also want to thank all the players who joined in this jackpot streak — every ticket purchased helps support public programs and services across the country.”
The prize followed 46 consecutive drawings in which no one matched all six numbers.
The last drawing with a jackpot winner was Sept. 6, when players in Missouri and Texas won $1.787 billion.
Organizers said it is the second time the Powerball jackpot has been won by a ticket sold in Arkansas. It first happened in 2010.
The last time someone won a Powerball jackpot on Christmas Eve was in 2011, Powerball said. The company added that the sweepstakes also has been won on Christmas Day four times, most recently in 2013.
Powerball’s odds of 1 in 292.2 million are designed to generate big jackpots, with prizes growing as they roll over when no one wins. Lottery officials note that the odds are far better for the game’s many smaller prizes.
“With the prize so high, I just bought one kind of impulsively. Why not?” Indianapolis glass artist Chris Winters said Wednesday.
Tickets cost $2, and the game is offered in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
