'CHEMICAL' ALI'S EXECUTION DELAYED BY IRAQ

Iraq has stayed announced it will miss the legal deadline for executing Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," while the government seeks a stay for the holy month of Ramadan. An appeals court last month upheld Majid's sentence of death by hanging for war crimes. By law the sentence must be carried out within 30 days, a time limit which expires on October 4, 2007. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his government would defer to religious sensibilities by postponing the hanging until Ramadan ends late next week. But political sources in Baghdad said Majid's execution was caught up in an intense battle between Iraqi factions over the fate of former defence minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, who was simultaneously sentenced to hang alongside Majid. Two of Iraq's three member presidency - President Jalal Talabani and Vice-President Tareq al-Hashimi - oppose Ahmad's execution. Since it is unclear if Iraqi law gives the collective presidency the right to pardon the condemned or merely to establish the date of execution, a ruling from Iraq's highest court is being sought.