TAREQ AZIZ, the international face of the brutal regime of hanged Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, was back in the dock yesterday on charges of crimes against humanity — but without any lawyers to defend him.

An Iraqi court has resumed hearing the case against Tariq Aziz and seven other former regime officials who face charges in the 1992 execution of dozens of merchants.

Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz went on trial today accused of involvement in the murders of dozens of food suppliers.

US presidential hopeful John McCain arrived in Baghdad today for an unexpected visit with Iraqi and US diplomatic and military officials.

The Iraqi government is refusing to execute Saddam Hussein’s henchman and cousin known as “Chemical Ali” unless the executions of two other associates are also approved.

Iraq’s presidency endorsed the execution of Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” who was sentenced to death for his role in the 1980s scorched-earth campaign against Kurds, a government adviser said today.

The Iraqi president today raised objections to the planned execution of Saddam Hussein’s former defence minister, who is due to be hanged with two other former regime officials for their roles in a massacre of Kurds.

TWO former Saddam Hussein aides were removed from a Baghdad courtroom for unruly behaviour yesterday on the second day of a trial over the brutal crushing of a 1991 rebellion in Iraq by Shi’ite Muslims.

Two former Saddam Hussein aides were ejected from a Baghdad courtroom for unruly behaviour today on the second day of a trial over the brutal crushing of a 1991 rebellion in Iraq by Shiite Muslims.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin, known as “Chemical Ali” and 14 others went on trial today on charges of crimes against humanity related to the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.

Iraq’s prime minister called a crisis conference in a bid to reach open a dialogue tomorrow among Iraq’s divided factions, to shore up his shaky government and unstick the stalled political process.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and 14 other defendants will face charges over the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War next week when Iraq’s third trial against former regime officials gets under way.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and two other former regime officials were today sentenced to hang for their roles in a 1980s scorched-earth campaign that led to the deaths of 180,000 Kurds.

The wife and daughter of the brother of “Chemical Ali” al-Majid, one of the most notorious figures of the former regime, were found slain today at their home in this northern city, police said.

Saddam Hussein's cousin and four other former regime officials deserve the death penalty for crimes against humanity during a 1980s crackdown on Kurds, an Iraqi prosecutor said today.

Traffic stopped and people stood still in the streets despite rain for a period of silence today as Kurds in northern Iraq commemorated the anniversary of a 1988 chemical weapons attack that killed an estimated 5,600 people.

Six former officials in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq regime today denied crimes against humanity for a crackdown on Kurds in the 1980s.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin today told Iraq’s High Tribunal that it had no right to try him for war crimes because US forces were immune from prosecution for their alleged wrongdoings in Iraq.

A court in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein heard harrowing accounts today that the former Iraqi leader’s forces beheaded a mentally-ill Kurdish man and pushed three other Kurds out of a helicopter in mid-air during a crackdown 20 years ago.

Kurdish victims found in three mass graves included more than 230 women and children along with dozens of adult men, who were lined up and gunned down by troops and buried where they fell, an American forensic expert testified today in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein.

THE chief judge threw Saddam Hussein and his six co-defendants out of court yesterday after the ex-president shouted during his trial in Baghdad on charges of genocide against the Kurds.

A survivor testified today at the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein that Iraqi warplanes bombarded a Kurdish village with chemical weapons in 1987 and helicopters pursued those who fled into the hills and bombed them.

A Kurdish woman described huddling with her children in a cave as warplanes bombarded her village with chemical weapons in testimony today at the Baghdad genocide trial of Saddam Hussein.

Defendants in the new trial of Saddam Hussein today insisted that the military was attacking only Iranian troops and Kurdish rebels when it launched the Anfal campaign in the 1980s in which tens of thousands of Kurds were killed.

A DEFIANT Saddam Hussein shouted at prosecutors and refused to enter a plea yesterday at the opening of his second trial, in which he faces charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against the Kurds nearly two decades ago.

Saddam Hussein opened his second Baghdad trial with a show of defiance today, refusing to enter a plea on charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago.

The second trial of Saddam Hussein began today, opening a new legal chapter for the ousted Iraqi leader, who is charged with genocide and war crimes from his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago.

Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is set to face a second trial tomorrow - this time on charges of genocide and war crimes related to his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds two decades ago.

An Iraqi tribunal is incapable of fairly and effectively trying Saddam Hussein and six others on genocide charges for their role in the killing of an estimated 100,000 Kurds in the 1980s, a major human rights group said today.

TARIQ Aziz, Saddam Hussein’s former deputy prime minister, has appeared before Iraq’s special tribunal as it steps up the process of questioning former regime loyalists about war crimes.

Saddam Hussein’s notorious cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali,” was one of eight former regime officials to be shown today on a tape released by the Iraqi Special tribunal.

A DUTCH businessman accused of complicity in war crimes and genocide for selling chemicals to Iraq knew Saddam Hussein would use them for poison gas attacks, prosecutors said yesterday.

Recent information links one of Saddam Hussein’s most notorious former generals to the massacres of Shiites in southern Iraq, a human rights group said today.

Tariq Aziz, the international face of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime, will not testify against the former dictator, his lawyer said today.

Ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein urged his compatriots to remain united against the US occupation and warned of the potential dangers of the upcoming elections, his lawyers said today.

Iraqi judges have started interrogating Saddam Hussein’s former defence minister and the notorious general known as Chemical Ali, who is accused of gassing thousands of Kurds in the 1980s, the head judge in charge of investigating detained former regime leaders said today.

INSURGENTS attacked a car carrying at least three Westerners in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul yesterday, killing them and their Iraqi driver and cutting off the head of one of the victims, local witnesses said.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein met a defence lawyer for the first time since his capture a year ago, days before several of his top aides are due to appear in court for war crimes hearings.

Iraq will bring top figures of Saddam Hussein’s ousted regime to court next week for the first time since they appeared before a judge five months ago, and formal indictments could be issued next month.

Saddam Hussein appears depressed and demoralised in solitary confinement, spending his time writing poetry, tending a garden and reading the Quran, it was claimed today.

Thousands of Iraqi Kurds demonstrated today to demand the death sentence for Saddam Hussein and one of his key lieutenants – Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali – be put to death for the gas attack that killed 5,000 people in 1988.

IRAQ'S new authorities took legal control of Saddam Hussein and 11 others in Baghdad yesterday, setting the stage for a court appearance for the former Iraqi dictator to face war crimes charges on his 24 years in power.

Iraq’s new authorities took legal control of Saddam Hussein and 11 others in Baghdad today, setting the stage for a court appearance to face war crimes charges on his 24 years in power.

Legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 others was transferred to the Iraqis today, an international official said in Baghdad.