BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Thousands of sportsmen and officials saw off former Iraqi national soccer coach Ammo Baba on Friday before burying him near al-Shaab international stadium in Baghdad.
Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdulmahdi and a number of sports officials took part in the funeral near the football school, supervised by Ammo Baba.
Aswat al-Iraq news agency correspondent said that the ceremony was attended also by several lawmakers, members of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, defense ministry’s officials and Iraqi players and coaches.
The Iraqi football community is in mourning with the news that the former national team player and coach, Ammo Baba, passed away on Wednesday evening (May 27) at the age of 74 after complications with his health. The legendary figure had been suffering from diabetes for many years and was earlier this year diagnosed with prostate cancer after he fell ill at the Gulf Cup in Muscat.His health took a turn for the worst on Wednesday and he subsequently died.Emmanuel Baba Dawud was born on November 27, 1934, on the RAF base in Hinaidi, Baghdad, where his father was employed by the British.His family moved to the city of Habbaniya in 1937 and it was there that the young Ammo first encountered the game of football, watching British soldiers playing matches on the dusty fields of the RAF base. As there were no balls to kick around at home, he would stuff pieces of fabric into a sock to substitute as a ball.
Ammo became Iraq’s most successful national coach, winning the Gulf Cup on three occasions in 1979, 1984 and 1988, the 1988 Arab Cup and leading team to the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.
Ammo Baba was one of the greatest Iraqi footballers, if not the greatest Iraqi sportsmen, of all time. It is only when you combine the careers of Bobby Charlton and Alf Ramsey into one that you can grasp the magnitude of what Ammo Baba achieved for his country.
30 May 2009
AFP News Article: Iraq-born teen cracks maths puzzle
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a maths puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported on Thursday.
In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.
Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.
"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.
He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, to ask them to check his work.
After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.
But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.
"I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences," he told the Falu Kuriren.
In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.
Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.
"When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked," Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.
He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, to ask them to check his work.
After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.
But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.
"I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences," he told the Falu Kuriren.
29 May 2009
BBC News Article: Funeral held for Iraq football legend
Iraq's legendary football player and coach Emmanuel Baba Dawud has been buried at the country's biggest stadium in the capital Baghdad.
Dawud, better known as Ammo (uncle) Baba, died on Wednesday after suffering complications from diabetes. He was 74.
He scored Iraq's first goal in an international match in 1957, and was admired for his attacking flair.
After his retirement in 1970, he led the national football team to the Olympics in 1984 and 1988.
The coffin draped in an Iraqi national flag was lowered into a grave at Baghdad's al-Shaab football stadium compound - as Dawud had requested before his death.
"We loved Ammo Baba from our heart, as a player, trainer and a teacher," Iraqi Vice-President Abel Abdel Mahdi was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
"We loved him and bid him farewell with our hearts, and he will always be in the Iraqi people's hearts."
Dawud, better known as Ammo (uncle) Baba, died on Wednesday after suffering complications from diabetes. He was 74.
He scored Iraq's first goal in an international match in 1957, and was admired for his attacking flair.
After his retirement in 1970, he led the national football team to the Olympics in 1984 and 1988.
The coffin draped in an Iraqi national flag was lowered into a grave at Baghdad's al-Shaab football stadium compound - as Dawud had requested before his death.
"We loved Ammo Baba from our heart, as a player, trainer and a teacher," Iraqi Vice-President Abel Abdel Mahdi was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
"We loved him and bid him farewell with our hearts, and he will always be in the Iraqi people's hearts."
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