The defector whose claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction provided one of the main justifications for the 2003 US-led invasion has admitted to lying about the programme to lure foreign help in toppling Saddam Hussein, the Guardian reports.
Armen Georgian meets Hans Blix, Chair of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission and former head of the UN's weapons inspection team in Iraq. Dr Blix shares his thoughts on the legality of the 2003 Iraq invasion, and talks about the current global threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali", was executed on Monday, according to an Iraqi government spokesman. He had been sentenced to death for ordering the gassing of Kurds in the north-eastern Iraqi town of Halabja, killing 5,000 people.
In a report published Thursday, the Israeli government has, for the first time, admitted to using “munitions containing white phosphorus” during its December 2008-January 2009 military offensive in Gaza.
Israel said on Thursday that it is investigating 100 complaints of misconduct by its forces in the Gaza offensive and admitted that troops had used white phosphorous munitions, which cause serious burns, but not violated international law.
After US air strikes in Farah province in early May, the burns unit of Herat hospital is full of wounded children. Some suspect their burns may have been caused by white phosphorous, but the doctors there say there is no way to be sure.
Medics in Gaza say they have treated more than 50 people suffering from burns caused by controversial white phosphorus shells. The Israeli army says all weapons used in the Gaza assault are "in accordance with international law".
chemical weapons 
