Former Saddam officials sentenced to death

An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced Saddam Hussein's cousin known as "Chemical Ali" and two other former regime officials to death by hanging for their roles in a 1980s scorched-earth campaign that led to the deaths of 180,000 Kurds. Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam's cousin and the former head of the Baath Party's Northern Bureau Command, trembled and stood silently as the judge read the verdict. The judge, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, said al-Majid was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for ordering army and security services to use chemical weapons in a large-scale offensive that killed or mained thousands.