Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' executed: spokesman

Dozens of Iraqis gathered at the grave of "Chemical Ali" in northern Iraq on Wednesday to praise the cousin and notorious henchman of Saddam Hussein who was executed for gassing thousands of Kurds in 1988."He was one of Ouja's most remarkable men," said Abu Shehab, a 45-year-old man who insisted that Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known by his macabre nickname, had been hanged to appease Iran and the United States."The execution of Majid was done to satisfy the American and Iranian governments, but he will always be one of the icons of Iraq," Shehab told AFP.

Michael Johnston submits:On Monday, news of coordinated bomb attacks in Baghdad made headlines around the world, highlighting the ongoing violence that continues to grip Iraq. Also on Monday, the government reported that the man known as “Chemical Ali,” one of the most ruthless allies of Saddam Hussein, was executed for crimes against humanity.

The Iraqi government said on Friday that the more than 500 candidates disqualified from a March general election for alleged links to Saddam Hussein must denounce his ousted regime and its crimes.Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said in a statement that such a disavowal of the executed dictator and his now outlawed Baath party would enable the candidates' reintegration into Iraqi society, but he did not specifically offer reinstatement on the ballot papers.

Iraq's High Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced to death three Saddam Hussein-era spies who assassinated the father of a sitting Iraqi lawmaker in Beirut in April 1994."The court sentences to death Hadi Hassuni, Abdul Hassan al-Majid and Farukh Hijazi, who were agents of the intelligence services," tribunal spokesman Mohammed Abdul Saheb told AFP.Two other men, military intelligence chief Saber Duri and Saddam's secretary Abdul Hamid Mahmoud, were sentenced to life imprisonment at the conclusion of the trial, which began in October 2009.

Iraq on Sunday branded as illegal an influential committee's recommendation that hundreds of military officers said to be loyal to executed dictator Saddam Hussein be fired."The serving officers and civilians were employed entirely legally, in respect of the law," said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, referring to the Justice and Accountability Committee's (JAC) declaration that 450 officers be removed on account of their links to Saddam's outlawed Baath Party.

BALI, Indonesia — An Indonesian court upheld the death sentence against a British woman convicted of smuggling $2.5 million worth of cocaine into the resort island of Bali, a court official said Monday.

UN investigator Carla Del Ponte said that there is strong evidence that the rebels used chemical weapons, but that there is not evidence that the government used such weapons:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday accepted the resignation of his besieged electricity minister, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told AFP."It is correct that Electricity Minister Karim Wahid's resignation has been accepted," Dabbagh said.Wahid's decision to quit came after a fiery demonstration in the southern city of Basra at the weekend against power rationing in which a man was killed amid chaotic scenes that saw protesters smash up a government building.