Baghdad - Official news media yesterday praised President Saddam Hussein on his 61st birthday as a "blessing from God", brushing aside a UN decision to prolong punitive sanctions against Iraq.
Government newspapers were full of poems and articles recounting President Saddam's feats. Shabab television, run by his eldest son, Uday, changed its name to "Birthday TV" and broadcast special programmes.
Meanwhile the first airlift of humanitarian aid from an American disaster relief group since the 1991 Gulf War arrived in Baghdad yesterday. The cargo plane, which arrived within hours of the UN Security Council renewing sanctions, carried medical supplies to be distributed at 22 centres throughout Iraq, officials from the non-profit group AmeriCares said.
