The court trying Saddam Hussein cancelled the resumption of his trial today, delaying the session for five days. The postponement came amid a squabble among judges over a last-minute shake-up in the court, according to judges.

A SERIES of bombings rocked war-ravaged Iraq, a day before the trial of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein was set to resume before a new Kurdish judge.

A new judge will take charge temporarily of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants in the 1982 massacre of more than 140 Shiites, an Iraqi official said Monday.

A SHI’ITE lawyer is expected to take charge of Saddam Hussein’s trial for the 1982 massacre of over 140 Shiites, a court official said yesterday.

The chief judge who resigned from handling the Saddam Hussein trial is expected to be replaced by his deputy, the top Iraqi investigator in the case said today.

Iraqi officials repeatedly asked Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants if they had ever been beaten and they answered ’no’ every time, according to an investigative judge.

One of the five judges in the Saddam Hussein trial has stepped down after learning that one of the defendants may have been involved in the execution of his brother, a court official said today.

Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to kill the judge who prepared the indictment of Saddam Hussein, the day before the ousted leader’s trial for crimes against humanity resumes.

The courtroom will be the same but uncertainty surrounds nearly everything else as the trial of Saddam Hussein resumes today after a five-week recess.

Four aid workers, including two Canadians, have been kidnapped in Iraq, a Canadian official said tonight, while Iraqi police have arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge in the case against Saddam Hussein.

Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances when he goes on trial on Wednesday for a 1982 massacre of Shiites.

Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances when he goes on trial next week for a 1982 massacre of Shiites, a court official said today.

Saddam Hussein and three others will stand trial in the 1982 massacre of Shiite villagers north of Baghdad, a senior judge announced today.