The trial of Saddam Hussein is to continue in his absence.
The former Iraqi dictator and his defence team walked out of court in Baghdad today after his half-brother was expelled from the room.
Chief Judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahman, who took charge of the trial this morning, appointed four new defence lawyers but two other defendants said they would not accept the new legal team and walked out.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, has rejected suggestions that Mr Hussein cannot get a fair trial in Iraq.
When the trial resumed this morning, newly-appointed Judge Rahman immediately attempted to stamp his authority on proceedings.
He ordered Mr Hussein's half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikrit, to be removed from the court after he stood up and began delivering a statement.
The previous judge had been accused of tolerating outbursts and allowing courtroom tirades to dominate proceedings.
Following an angry confrontation Saddam Hussein's defence team and two co-defendants also walked out of the court.
After further verbal exchanges, Saddam accused the court of being 'an American court' before being escorted out by bailiffs.
The former Iraqi leader and his co-accused deny charges of crimes against humanity.
The court has sat for only seven days since it opened in October, and last month the presiding judge, Rizgar Amin, resigned following accusations that he was too lenient.
Human rights groups have said Mr Amin's resignation has cast doubt on the fairness of the whole trial, which has also seen two defence lawyers murdered.
The reshuffle of the judges also means that a significant proportion of the five-judge panel will not have been present for the previous 15 witnesses' testimony.
Surge in attacks as trial resumes
At least 19 Iraqis were killed in rebel attacks and bombings today, including six coordinated car bombs set off near churches, while a roadside bombing wounded a US television news anchor and his cameraman.
Before the trial of Saddam Hussein resumed, at least 16 Iraqis had been killed in a series of rebel attacks which were followed by the bombings by churches in Baghdad and Kirkuk.
In central Iraq, Bob Woodruff, news anchor with US television network ABC, and his cameraman Doug Vogt were seriously wounded when the vehicle they were in hit a roadside bomb near Taji, north of Baghdad.
A statement from ABC News president David Westin said the two were in serious condition and being treated at a US military hospital.
Earlier in Tikrit, Mahamud Daham Bidewi, an assistant to
the city's chief of staff during Saddam's regime, was killed when rebels fired a rocket at his home.
In another attack gunmen killed a police captain in the northern oil refinery town of Baiji, police said.
Elsewhere, ten Iraqis were killed and two wounded by a roadside bomb in Eskandiriyah town, 65km south of Baghdad.
A suicide car bomber blew himself up by an Iraqi army patrol, killing four Iraqi soldiers, near Saddam's native village of Ojah, located 180km north of Baghdad.
Later, six co-ordinated car bombs and a roadside bomb went off near churches across the Iraqi capital and in Kirkuk, police and interior ministry officials said.
Three people died and 11 were wounded in the two Kirkuk car bombs. Six more were wounded by the Baghdad car bombs, four of which went off near four churches in Baghdad's Karada area.
