Former Saddam frontman gravely ill

Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz may have only weeks to live, his lawyer said on Thursday after visiting the man who was once the public face of Saddam Hussein's Government overseas.

Aziz, a tough, eloquent and loyal spokesman for Saddam and now in his late sixties, was jailed after the 2003 invasion of Iraq but no formal charges have been brought against him.

"He is suffering from high blood pressure and he cannot walk properly. He is being given 13 pills a day for his blood pressure, diabetes and other illnesses to prevent strokes," his lawyer said.