'Chemical Ali' may receive death penalty
BAGHDAD, April 2 (UPI) -- Prosecutors have asked for the death penalty for former Iraqi official Ali Hassan al-Majid, nicknamed "Chemical Ali," and four other defendants.
The cousin of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Majid and the others are being tried for attacks on Iraq's Kurdish population during the late 1980s, the BBC said. All are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Majid is also charged with genocide.
Human rights officials allege that during the 1987-88 campaign at least 100,000 Kurds were killed in Iraq by the Iraqi army and by the use of chemical weapons.
During closing remarks Monday, chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said he would seek the death penalty for Majid and four other defendants but recommended to the court that Taher Tawfiq al-Ani, the former governor of the Iraqi city of Mosul, should be freed due to a lack of evidence.
Faroon accused Majid, and co-defendants Sultan Hashem Ahmed, Saber Abdel Aziz, Hussein Rashid and Farhan Jubouri of committing "awful crimes and they never had mercy for a woman or a child."
The BBC said that the trial is set resume on April 16, when the defendants' lawyers will be given time to conclude their case.
Zurich retains best city title
SINGAPORE, April 2 (UPI) -- Zurich retained its designation as the world's top city for living conditions, a survey of 215 cities worldwide published Monday said.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Singapore used 39 determinants, including social, economic, environmental and personal safety factors to produce its annual report, and New York is used as the base city with a base score of 100.
Zurich rated 108.1, just ahead of Geneva with a score of 108. Vancouver and Vienna tied for third place with scores of 107.7.
Five Canadian cities ranked higher than any of the U.S. cities surveyed.
The rankings for cities in Asia Pacific remain relatively unchanged from 2006. Singapore remains one position ahead of Tokyo and 36 positions ahead of Hong Kong, which slipped from 68th position to 70th position.
The survey noted the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai continue to improve much faster than some other cities in the country based on improvements in public transport, telecommunication and airports.
Further information can be seen at imercer.com/qolpr.
Poll results: Ease up on Cuba travel
MIAMI, April 2 (UPI) -- More and more Cuban Americans in southern Florida want to see travel restrictions lifted and relations with Cuba normalized, a poll released Monday showed.
The Florida International University survey showed 55.2 percent of those asked favor "unrestricted" travel to Cuba while support for the U.S. embargo was the lowest since polling began in 1991, The Miami Herald reported. However, among respondents registered to vote, more than half opposed lifting travel restrictions and favored a U.S. invasion of Cuba.
The poll was financed by Washington's Cuba Study Group and the university's Cuban Research Institute. A total of 1,000 people were polled with a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.
"People are seeing and recognizing the need to take a new path," said Carlos Pascual of The Brookings Institution, which helped organize the poll.
However, Ana Carbonell, chief of staff of U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said other surveys show a majority only support lifting sanctions if Havana meets some minimal conditions, including free elections and freeing political prisoners.
"This is another one of those annual push polls' done by those who want to unilaterally ease sanctions to benefit the Castro regime, with a business interest," she said to the Herald.
Tumultuous run-up to French election
PARIS, April 2 (UPI) -- The run-up to this month's national election in France is fractious, with ministers shifting allegiances and Muslims supporting an anti-immigration candidate.
So far, polls show right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and his socialist opponent Segolene Royal leading, although centrist Francois Bayrou became a surprise third entry in the campaign, the Financial Times reported from Paris Monday.
Bayrou's campaign suffered a blow on Sunday when one of his party's ministers announced he was supporting Sarkozy, as Bayrou wouldn't be specific about his leadership plans.
Elsewhere, a correspondent for The Telegraph said a small but growing number of Muslims intend to vote for Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-Right National Front leader known for his opposition to immigration.
Sophia Chikirou, a member of the Socialist Party's National Council said she believes Le Pen has become less extreme and now even features a black person in one of his campaign posters.
Unknown British WWII soldier identified
LONDON, April 2 (UPI) -- A British soldier slain in World War II has been identified after more than 60 years of being referred to as "The Unknown Englishman."
Capt. John Armstrong was one of 14 prisoners killed by German forces in Rome in 1944, The Times of London reported Monday. The Gestapo killed the prisoners when it became apparent that they were slowing their escape, the newspaper said.
Plaques on the site of the massacre listed the names of the dead. Included on the marker was "L'Inglese Sconosciuto" -- The Unknown Englishman.
Col. Tom Huggan, a retired British army officer and a historical consultant at the British Embassy in Rome, said evidence amassed by researchers indicated "with reasonable certainty" that Armstrong had been an intelligence officer working with anti-Fascist Resistance in Italy.
"At last we can put a name to the British officer who was held at the infamous Gestapo prison at Via Tasso in Rome but brutally murdered just as our lads arrived to liberate Rome," said Harry Shindler, spokesman for the Italy Star Association, which represents World War II veterans who fought in Italy.
Local authorities have agreed to change "The Unknown Englishman" plaque to "Captain John Armstrong."
