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☆ Sept. 11 Trial Plea Negotiations Still Underway at Guantánamo Bay
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | More About Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Prosecutors and defense lawyers are still negotiating toward a plea agreement for the men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks despite the Biden administration’s refusal to endorse certain proposed conditions, the lead prosecutor said in court on Wednesday at Guantánamo Bay. “This is all whirling around us,” said Clayton G. Trivett Jr., the prosecutor, discussing key details of the negotiations in open court for the first time. He added that “around the edges we have agreed to do things” and that “the positions that we took at the time are still available.”In mostly secret negotiations in 2022 and 2003, prosecutors offered to drop the death penalty from the case in exchange for detailed admissions by the accused architect, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and four other men who are charged as his accomplices in the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people. Since then, one of the five men has been ruled not mentally competent to stand trial. The occasion of the briefing was a legal filing by lawyers for Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the defendants and Mr. Mohammed’s nephew, asking the judge to dismiss the case or at least the possibility of a death penalty because of real or apparent political interference by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and other members of Congress last summer.

Persons: Biden, ”, Clayton G, Trivett Jr, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ammar al, Mohammed’s, Ted Cruz Organizations: Republican Locations: Guantánamo, Texas

☆ West Bank hospital raid: Undercover Israeli troops kill three militants, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Abeer Salman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jerusalem CNN —Israeli special forces, dressed as civilians and medical staff, infiltrated the Ibn Sina hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday and killed three Palestinian men, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas said the men were Jenin Brigades fighters, an umbrella group of armed Palestinian factions in the West Bank city. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were terrorists linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and an Israeli government minister praised the operation. The disguised special forces “infiltrated the hospital individually, headed to the third floor, and assassinated the young men,” Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported, citing sources from inside the hospital. International law provides general and special protection for civilian sites, including hospitals,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Persons: Ibn Sina, “, WAFA, Mohammed Jalamneh, “ Mohammed Al, Mohammed’s, Raneen Sawafta, Reuters Israel’s, Itamar Ben Gvir, ” Ben Gvir, Ibn, Mohammed, Basil Ayman Al, ”, Basil Al, Ghazawi Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, West, Jenin Brigades, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Sina, Basel Al, Reuters, National, IDF, Al, Brigades, Ibn Sina, Palestinian Ministry, Health, UN, Assembly Locations: Jerusalem, West Bank, Jenin, ”, hijabs

☆ AFCON: Egypt reaches knockout stages after wild finale as Ghana crumbles
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Egypt reached the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stages thanks to a 2-2 draw against Cape Verde in a stunning finale to Group B, as Ghana threw away a 2-0 lead to move to the brink of an early tournament exit. Going into the final round of matches, Cape Verde had already secured top spot but Egypt, Ghana and Mozambique all had a chance of reaching the last 16. Their disappointment, however, would be short lived and they were quickly informed that Ghana had squandered its 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mozambique in the 91st and 94th minute. Relief will certainly be the overriding emotion for an Egypt team that has struggled to make much of an impression at the tournament so far. Ghana blew a 2-0 lead in injury time to move to the brink of elimination from AFCON.

Persons: Cape Verde’s Gilson Benchimol Tavares, Egypt’s Trézéguet, Mostafa Mohamed, Bryan Silva Teixeira Jr, Mo Salah, Issouf Sanogo, ”, Ramy Abbas Issa, @RamyCol, Salah, Chris Hughton, hasn’t Organizations: CNN, Africa, Nations, Cape, Getty, Brighton, Nottingham Forest Locations: Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mozambique, AFP, England, Morocco

Israeli strikes hit near hospitals in Gaza City as the military pushed deeper into dense urban neighborhoods in its battle with Hamas militants. The number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen to over 10,800, including more than 4,400 children, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said. In the occupied West Bank, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. Basel Zalabani, Mohammed’s father, said that Israeli forces had arrested him and his other 18-year-old son Yazan ahead of the demolition. Since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, at least five Romanian citizens have been confirmed killed.

Persons: Gaza’s, Marine Le, JERUSALEM, Mohammed’s, Yazan, ”, Australia — Francesca Albanese, Israel, ” Albanese, “, they'll, ” CloudFlare, NETANYAHU, ISRAEL, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “ Writers Bloc ” Organizations: Hamas, Nations, Ministry, West Bank, —, United States Office, Palestinian Affairs, Bank, Basel, UN, won’t, Romania — Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United Arab Emirates, UNITED, . Development, Social Commission, West, Fox News, The New York Times, “ Writers Bloc, New York Times, The Associated Press, of Liberty and Grand Locations: Gaza City, Gaza’s, Israel, Gaza, Hungary, israel, ISRAEL, Jerusalem, West, Jenin, ADELAIDE, Australia, Adelaide, GAZA BUCHAREST, Romania, Egypt, Rafah, Cairo, Bucharest, YEMEN, DUBAI, United Arab, Yemen, YemenNet, Saudi, Red City, Hodeida, Syria, Ukraine, West Asia, Palestinian, GAZA Israeli, deradicalized, Manhattan, New York

For the international bankers, executives and officials who had gathered in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to make deals, the war raging in Gaza and Israel felt like a distant backdrop. Instead, when speakers took the stage, they praised Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to remake Saudi Arabia and focused on the future: artificial intelligence, longevity science, renewable energy. Israel has laid siege to the Gaza Strip and unleashed a fierce bombardment. That has prompted protests across the region, reinvigorating vocal Arab support for the Palestinian cause — including among many Saudi citizens. Yet Saudi officials have made it clear that they are determined to prevent all of that from casting a pall over Prince Mohammed’s plans for the kingdom, which include reshaping the economy to reduce dependence on oil and turning the country into a global hub for business and tourism.

Persons: —, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s, ”, Yasir al, Prince Mohammed’s Organizations: Future Investment, Hamas, Gaza, Saudi Locations: Saudi, Riyadh, Gaza, Israel, Saudi Arabia, East

Some executives are worried about the optics, pointing to an initial statement from Riyadh about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that appeared to blame Israel. The diplomatic normalization talks with Israel appear to be on hold, and the crown prince has reportedly begun talks with the Iranian government about preventing the conflict from metastasizing. Meanwhile, Riyadh has been cool to U.S. efforts to restore calm and preserve progress made in the Saudi-Israeli talks. Prince Mohammed reportedly made Secretary of State Antony Blinken wait hours before meeting, and then called for a halt in the “current escalation” of the conflict. Some have suggested that attending would help encourage Saudi Arabia in its modernization push.

Persons: Israel, Prince Mohammed, Antony Blinken, ” Ayham Kamel, DealBook, Jamal Khashoggi, Prince Mohammed’s Organizations: Reuters Locations: Riyadh, U.S, Saudi, Eurasia, East, North Africa, Israel, Saudi Arabia

CNN —Authorities in Lebanon moved to ban the “Barbie” movie from cinemas on Wednesday, saying it promotes homosexuality and violates the nation’s values. The minister said the movie also “promotes sexual deviance and transsexuality,” by Lebanese state-run media on Wednesday. “Sexual deviance” is a term commonly used in the Middle East to refer to homosexuals. The ban comes amid heightened anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by some politicians and government officials in Lebanon and the wider Middle East. He referred to homosexuality as “sexual perversion” and identified same-sex relations as a “threat” to Lebanon.

Persons: Barbie, Mohammad Mortada, ”, Hassan Nasrallah, Hussain bin Ali, Prophet Mohammed’s, Nasrallah, “ Barbie ” Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Rights Watch Locations: Lebanon, ”, Lebanese, East, Kuwait, Iraq, Denmark, Sweden, Vietnam, South China

☆ She Attacked Israel and the N.Y.P.D. It Made Her Law School a Target.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Each year, the law school graduates elect a member of their class to deliver a speech, and this year they chose Ms. Mohammed, an activist devoted to the Palestinian cause. Although her remarks would later be presented as a lightning bolt of antisemitism, she began uncontroversially, talking about the pain and loss of Covid and how it shaped her cohort’s first semesters in law school. “Let us remember that Gaza, just this week, has been bombed with the world watching,” she said at one point. But it was the fierceness she brought to her denunciation of “Israeli settler colonialism” and CUNY’s collaboration with “the fascist N.Y.P.D.” that especially inflamed the political class, even if her own audience, including the law school dean, seemed receptive. (“Imagine being so crazed by hatred for Israel as a Jewish State that you make it the subject of your commencement speech,” Mr. Torres wrote on Twitter last week.

Persons: Mohammed, ”, “, —, Mohammed’s, “ Stark, Ritchie Torres, Ted Cruz, Mr, Torres, Israel derangement Organizations: CUNY, New York Post, Fox, Democratic, Bronx, Republican, Jewish, Twitter Locations: Gaza, Rikers, Israel, Jewish State

As the Covid-19 pandemic sent global markets swooning in early 2020, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, sensing opportunity, pressed the country’s sovereign-wealth fund to go on an international stock-buying spree. The board of the Public Investment Fund, or PIF, resisted the move as too risky, but soon found itself overruled by an even higher authority, Prince Mohammed’s father, King Salman, according to an October podcast by the PIF governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan.

☆ U.A.E. President Visits Qatar in Sign of Regional Thaw
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rory Jones | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI—United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Monday visited Qatar for the first time since launching a three-year boycott of its Gulf neighbor, a sign of thawing regional tensions as the FIFA World Cup is held there. spearheaded a yearslong effort economically and physically to isolate Qatar beginning in 2017 and ending last year. Sheikh Mohammed’s visit illustrates how the U.A.E. has pioneered a series of moves to mend ties across the region and chart a neutral foreign policy after mixed success intervening in regional conflicts.

☆ Biden Administration Says Saudi Crown Prince Has Immunity in Khashoggi Trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Biden administration told a U.S. court that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ’s status as a sitting head of government shields him from a civil lawsuit brought by the fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Mr. Khashoggi, a former royal insider who criticized Prince Mohammed’s policies in Washington Post columns, was killed in 2018 and his body dismembered by Saudi agents during a visit to the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate where he was seeking papers needed to marry Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish citizen.

☆ U.S. moves to shield Saudi crown prince in killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S. intelligence community concluded Saudi Arabia’s crown prince had approved the killing of the widely known and respected journalist, who had written critically of Prince Mohammed’s harsh ways of silencing of those he considered rivals or critics. The Biden administration statement Thursday noted visa restrictions and other penalties that it had meted out to lower-ranking Saudi officials in the death. Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, and DAWN sued the crown prince, his top aides and others in Washington federal court over their alleged roles in Khashoggi’s killing. Prince Mohammed serves as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler in the stead of his aged father, King Salman. The Saudi king in September also temporarily transferred his title of prime minister — a title normally held by the Saudi monarch — to Prince Mohammed.

☆ Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Named Prime Minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Summer Said | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is leading an economic overhaul to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil, while also punishing dissent and limiting free speech. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Tuesday named his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , as prime minister Tuesday, boosting the profile of the 37-year-old day-to-day ruler of the kingdom as he tries to end years of international isolation over a journalist’s killing. Prime minister, a title traditionally held by the Saudi monarch, will extend Prince Mohammed’s tight grip on power, as he already oversees the country’s most sensitive portfolios—the economy, defense and oil. King Salman also sees his son as a national figure who represents the kingdom’s restless younger generation.

☆ Protests in Iran over Mahsa Amini's death reflect the stiffling of all women
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Parnaz Foroutan | Parnaz Foroutan S Memoir | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

The year I spent in Iran, young and wild and hopeful, I lived in the shadow of fear. After the death last week of Mahsa Amini while in police custody for violating hijab laws, Brig. The Iranians risking their lives by taking to the streets are there to protest not only Amini’s death, but the threatened death all women face daily. The year I spent in Iran, young and wild and hopeful, I lived in the shadow of fear. A month before Amini’s death, Raisi issued an order to increase the restrictions on and enforcements of women’s hijab and chastity in Iran.

☆ Saudi Arabia Lures Executives to Neom With Million-Dollar Salaries, Zero Taxes
▼ + stars: | 2020-05-04 | by ( Rory Jones | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Saudi Arabia’s megadevelopment Neom is paying senior executives roughly $1.1 million each annually, according to an internal Neom document, showing how the kingdom is using large pay packages to lure global talent to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ’s national transformation plan. Neom is the most ambitious project in Saudi Arabia and one of dozens of real-estate developments and new companies set up to drive Prince Mohammed’s social and economic reforms. The kingdom is recruiting foreign executives to lead new industries—tourism, technology and entertainment—that were, until recently, largely nonexistent in the kingdom.

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