DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Leigh Haussen: Umpire suspended after dressing up as Osama bin Laden at party
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Australian Rules umpire Leigh Haussen has been suspended after dressing up as Osama bin Laden at a party, the Australian Football League (AFL) said in a statement sent to CNN. According to the AFL, the theme of the party was “characters from the 2000s.”“Haussen dressed in a costume as Osama Bin Laden. AFL head of umpiring Stephen McBurney said that Haussen has owned up to his choice of costume. Leigh is a valued member of the umpiring group with an unblemished record both throughout his umpiring career and since his elevation to the AFL umpires list in 2017. “We will support Leigh to make his return to umpiring AFL football following this suspension.”

Persons: Leigh Haussen, Haussen, Al, ’, ”, Osama Bin Laden, “, Stephen McBurney, “ Leigh, ” McBurney, Leigh Organizations: CNN, Australian Football League, AFL Locations: Al Qaeda, Melbourne

☆ A million children in Pakistan miss polio vaccine shots as cases spike
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Lex Harvey | Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But it can be prevented with a vaccine: polio cases worldwide have been reduced by more than 99% since the 1980s thanks to immunization campaigns. A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in a downtown area of Lahore, Pakistan, on September 9, 2024. In September, armed militants killed a police officer protecting a polio vaccination site in the northwest city of Bannu, prompting protests. But in some cases, children have been incorrectly marked as having been vaccinated when they haven’t, Kakar said. The country is launching a new nationwide polio vaccination campaign on October 28 with the aim of inoculating 45 million children under age 5.

Persons: Ayesha Raza, Osama, Laden, Raza, ”, Aftab Kakar, “, they’ve, Kakar Organizations: Pakistan CNN, Polio, Pakistani, World Health Organization, WHO, United, International, CNN, Emergency, Health Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Afghanistan, United Nations, Gaza, Pakistani, Abbottabad, Lahore, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bannu, Bajaur

☆ Military leaders who served under Trump sound the alarm about him winning a second presidency
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-19 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

And it is senior military leaders who served under him that have most clearly sounded the alarm about Trump. When he became president, Trump staffed his cabinet with senior generals. Despite Trump’s bromance with the military, senior retired generals and admirals haven’t loved him back. We found that five times more flag officers, 255, were critical of Trump, while 54 supported the Trump administration. Given his longstanding loyalty to Trump, Kellogg will likely return to some senior role if Trump wins in November.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Mark Milley, Bob Woodward, “, Woodward, Jim Mattis, Milley, Trump, ” Trump, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, Mattis, John Kelly, Michael Flynn, Trump’s, haven’t, ”, Donald Trump, Kelly, CNN’s Jake Tapper, McMaster, …, Gen, Stanley McChrystal, Osama bin Laden, Kamala Harris, ” Unstated, McChrystal, Bill McRaven, —, Mike Mullen, George Floyd “, Keith Kellogg, Mike Pence, Kellogg, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Kellogg, didn’t, wouldn’t Organizations: CNN, Trump, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, McMaster, Trump White House, Operations Command, The New York Times, Washington Post, Joint Chiefs, Israeli, “, Fox News Locations: ”, New York, Vietnam, Washington , DC, Washington, New America

☆ SEAL Team 6 is said to be training for a fight with China over Taiwan. Here's what it could do if Beijing invades.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-19 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

SEAL Team 6 is reportedly readying for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. AdvertisementCould SEAL Team 6 special operators help Taiwan fend off a Chinese invasion? Related storiesThe Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), formerly known as SEAL Team 6, is the Navy's top-tier special operations outfit. SEAL Team 6 represents the cream of the crop of the SEAL community. And the direct support personnel serving with the unit will often have passed, depending on their role, Green Team, SEAL Team 6's physically and technically rigorous selection process.

Persons: —, DEVGRU, Richard Phillips, Osama bin Laden, Katie Cox Organizations: Service, Financial Times, Navy, Warfare Development, Army's Delta Force, DEVGRU, Maersk, U.S . Navy, Navy SEALs, 75th Ranger Regiment, Big Navy, Strategic, Navy SEAL, SEAL, Green Team Locations: Taiwan, Beijing, China, Maersk Alabama, Somali

Yahya Sinwar, the elusive Hamas leader widely credited with masterminding the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel, was confirmed dead Thursday, ending a yearlong manhunt for the militant chief. The Israel Defense Forces said Sinwar was killed by soldiers in an operation in southern Gaza on Wednesday. The only sighting of him before his death was in grainy footage taken on Oct. 10, 2023, three days after Hamas' assault, according to the Israeli military. It showed him fleeing with his family into a tunnel, one of a large network build by Hamas under Gaza, which the militant group used to smuggle weapons, hide out from Israeli attacks and keep Israeli hostages captive. They were displaced in what Palestinians call the Nakba, “catastrophe” in Arabic, of 1948, when around 700,000 people were forced from their homes in the founding of Israel.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, masterminding, Sinwar, Osama Bin Laden, ” Matthew Levitt, ” Sinwar, Khan Younis Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, Washington Institute for Near, Policy, NBC News Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iran, United States, Al, Palestinian, Ashkelon

☆ Jeddah Tower: Construction of world’s tallest skyscraper resumes
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Construction of Saudi Arabia’s kilometer-high Jeddah Tower, which will become the world’s tallest skyscraper upon completion, has resumed almost seven years after work ground to a halt amid a kingdom-wide anti-corruption purge. His family’s firm, which also owns a stake in the Jeddah Tower project, has been rehired to complete the construction work. Designed for extremesFormerly known as Kingdom Tower, the skyscraper broke ground in 2013 and was initially expected to be completed by 2020. The architect’s Chicago-based practice, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill, has said the tower’s shape “evokes a bundle of leaves shooting up from the ground.”Work halted on the unfinished Jeddah Tower in 2018. Jeddah Tower will be the crown jewel of a wider 57-million-square-foot, $20-billion development dubbed Jeddah Economic City.

Persons: Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s, JEC, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Alwaleed, “, Bakr, Laden, Osama bin Laden, Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill, Amel, ” Adrian Smith, JEC’s, Hisham Jomah, ”, Jomah Organizations: CNN, Jeddah Economic Company, Saudi, Kingdom Holding Company, ”, Kingdom Holding, Saudi Binladen Group, Newsweek, Maxar, Jeddah Economic Locations: Saudi, Jeddah, Saudi Prince, Dubai, Burj Khalifa, Chicago, Medina, Mecca, “

☆ Killing of Nasrallah is a key prize for Israel, but it’s too early to write off Hezbollah
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-29 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In 2008, Israel killed Hezbollah’s military leader, Imad Mughniyeh, in Damascus, Syria, yet the group only gathered strength in the years that followed. Four years earlier, Israel killed a founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, in an airstrike. The US has its own history of killing terrorist leaders in the hope that it will cripple its foes. ISIS also carried out devastating terrorist attacks in the West, for instance, in Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people. The UN estimates there are about four hundred members of al Qaeda living in Afghanistan today.

Persons: CNN — , Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, don’t, Imad Mughniyeh, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, masterminds, Mohammed Deif, Abu Musab al, Zarqawi, al, ”, Barack Obama, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, Donald Trump, Qasem Soleimani, Soleimani, Trump, “ Soleimani, Osama bin Laden, bin Laden, Bin Laden’s, Laden, Ayman al, Zawahiri, didn’t, Nasrallah, it’s Organizations: CNN, US, ISIS, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, Hamas, United, Taliban, Hezbollah, CIA, US Navy, UN, Israel Locations: Beirut, Israel, Damascus, Syria, Gaza, al Qaeda, Iraq, Qaeda, Portugal, Paris, Syrian Kurdish, Mosul, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Baghdad, Yemen, United States, Pakistan’s, New America, Abbottabad, Iran

☆ A Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden may be training Taiwanese forces to defeat a possible Chinese invasion, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewAn elite Navy SEAL unit may be preparing Taiwanese forces for reconnaissance operations and missions to repel a Chinese invasion, retired Navy officers said after a report said the unit had been training for such an eventuality for over a year. AdvertisementAccording to three retired Navy officers, the unit may be training Taiwanese soldiers to fight back against China should it invade Taiwan. One, he told BI, "is training Taiwanese forces in reconnaissance and perhaps direct attack, focusing on missions that might be required to defeat a Chinese invasion." "Naval reconnaissance forces would locate Chinese forces for long-range attacks," he said, adding: "They might also launch attacks against offshore ships or shipping in Chinese ports." Reports have already given clues as to how the US is preparing for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Persons: —, Osama bin Laden, Mark Cancian, Bradley Martin, Sam Tangredi, Graeme Thompson, Joe Biden, Samuel Paparo, Martin, Cancian, Daniel Ceng, Phil Davidson, Davidson, Feng Hao, Paparo, Frank Kendall, Kendall Organizations: Service, Navy SEAL, Financial Times, Business, Navy, Marine, Center for Strategic, International Studies, US Navy, Getty, Eurasia Group, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Pacific Command, Washington Post, Congressional Research Service, Senate Armed Services Committee, Theater Command, PLA, China Military, Anadolu, American Enterprise Institute, Institute for, Japan's Nikkei, RAND Corp, US Air Force, Air & Space Forces Association Locations: Virginia, Taiwan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Pakistan, China, People's Republic of China, Pingtung County, AFP, Washington ,, Australia, United States, Taichung, Anadolu, Pacific

☆ A Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden is busy preparing for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewA Navy SEAL unit that killed Osama bin Laden is busy preparing for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the preparations. SEAL Team 6, an elite military special missions unit, has spent more than a year planning and training for a potential Chinese invasion of the island at its Dam Neck base in Virginia Beach, per the FT. People familiar with its planning did not provide details to the FT about what specific missions it is preparing for. These include the rapid modernization of its armed forces over the past two decades, and drills around Taiwan. According to a June report from the American think tank RAND Corp, the US — if it decided to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion — may have to do it alone as several of its biggest allies are unlikely to commit troops.

Persons: —, Osama bin Laden, Osama bin, Phil Davidson, Adm, Samuel Paparo Organizations: Service, Navy SEAL, Financial Times, Business, Operations Command, Pentagon, Department of Defense, American Enterprise Institute, Institute for, Pacific, Japan's Nikkei, RAND Corp Locations: Taiwan, Virginia Beach, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Pakistan, China

☆ The long and complex political legacy of 9/11
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Trump and Harris — who had not met until Tuesday night at their fiery debate – even shook hands for the second time in less than 24 hours. 9/11 is now far enough in the past that it’s taking on a historic hue. The gathering of past, present and future US leaders Tuesday was a reminder of the still unfolding cascade of political consequences triggered by the attacks. And, underscoring the passage of time, some young voters born after 9/11 will this year vote in their second presidential election. But the world’s worst terror attack still has a powerful psychological and political half-life and is embedded deep in America’s soul, as we are reminded every September.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Harris —, Michael Bloomberg, JD Vance, George W, Bush, Trump, Harris, Barack Obama, Trump’s, Biden, there’d, Vance, Osama bin Laden Organizations: CNN, Trump, New, New York City, Republican, World Trade, Pentagon, al Locations: Manhattan, New York, al Qaeda, America, Trump, Afghanistan, Kabul, quagmires, Illinois, Iraq

☆ At the DNC, Harris and Democrats took back the American flag
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Alice Tecotzky | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Though Republicans have branded themselves as the party of capital-P patriotism since the Nixon years, Democrats sought to reclaim American pride this week. A striking number of this year's speakers focused on military might and distinctly American values, from Harris herself to Iraq war veterans. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. For the past decade, Loge said that Democrats have been "shy" or "embarrassed" about embracing classic American patriotism, but that Harris and Walz are attempting to reframe the association with the flag. "Democrats serve too," Kauffman told Business Insider.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Nixon, Harris, MAGA, Peter Loge, Obama, Loge, Trump, Peter Kauffman, Hillary Clinton, Tim Walz, Wes Moore, Trump's, Ronald Reagan, it's, Moore, I'm, Ruben Gallego, you'll, Gallego, Leon Panetta, Osama bin Laden, George Lt, Gov, Geoff Duncan, Walz, they're, Kauffman Organizations: Service, United Center, Republicans, Business, Democratic, School of Media, Public Affairs, George Washington University, America, Navy, Gov, US Army National Guard, National Guard, Maryland Gov, Senate, Army, Republican, DNC Locations: Iraq, America, Ruben Gallego of Arizona

☆ Israeli military says it killed Hamas armed wing leader Mohammed Deif in Gaza airstrike last month
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Israel's military on Thursday said it killed the chief of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July. "We can now confirm: Mohammed Deif was eliminated," the Israel Defense Forces posted on its official X account. The October attack set off the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, now in its tenth month, and the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza enclave that local authorities say has killed more than 39,000 people. The Israeli military said that the strike that killed Deif took place on July 13 and hit a compound on the outskirts of Khan Younis, near a tent encampment for displaced Palestinian people. Gallant added: "Israel's defense establishment will pursue Hamas terrorists — both the planners and the perpetrators of the 07.10 massacre.

Persons: Khan Yunis, Mohammed Deif, Khan Younis, Deif, Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Yoav Gallant, Osama Bin Laden, Gallant, — Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, CNBC, Israeli Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Khan, Tehran, Hamas, Iran

☆ Can Keir Starmer give Britain the change it desperately wants?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Barring a major shock, Labour leader Keir Starmer will be the person walking through the famous black door of 10 Downing Street in less than three weeks’ time. His parents were political, naming their eldest after the first Labour leader in parliament, Keir Hardie. “He’s the first Labour leader in a generation to talk about class and snobbery,” Tom Baldwin, author of “Keir Starmer: The Biography,” told CNN. Jeremy Corbyn, then the Labour leader, made Starmer his Brexit chief following the 2016 referendum. Starmer, left, and then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn talk to the media at the EU Commission headquarters on March 21, 2019 in Brussels, Belgium.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Conservative Party –, –, Keir Starmer, Starmer, John Stillwell, Keir Hardie, “, ” Tom Baldwin, “ Keir Starmer, ”, …, ” Baldwin, Jeremy Corbyn, Corbyn, Osama bin Laden, Thierry Monasse, Boris Johnson, James Schneider, Dominic Grieve, ” Grieve, Grieve, ” Starmer, Stefan Rousseau Organizations: CNN, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Labour, Downing, Great, Great British Energy, European Union, Public Prosecutions, Crown, Service of, Wales –, University of Leeds, University of Oxford, NATO, EU, Conservative, Conservatives Locations: Britain, Great British, Service of England, London, Brussels, Belgium, Lancing, West Sussex

☆ Opinion: The fanatical Hamas leader who calls the shots
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —In February, the Israeli Defense Forces released a grainy video showing the back of a man they identified as Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza. Since the video didn’t show Sinwar’s face, there was no independent confirmation that the shadowy figure was indeed the Hamas leader. Former Israeli dentist Yuval Bitton, who treated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli prison, speaks during an interview in his house in Kibbutz Shoval, Israel, February 5, 2024. While he was in prison, Sinwar admitted that he had killed several Palestinians who he believed were collaborating with the Israelis. While he was in prison, Sinwar became the leader of his fellow Hamas inmates, according to The Washington Post.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Osama bin Laden, CNN —, Yahya Sinwar, It’s, Sinwar, Ali Jadallah, Joe Biden, hasn’t, ” Sinwar, Yuval Bitton, Amir Cohen, Bitton, Peter Bergen Sinwar, Biden, Antony Blinken, “, Gilad Shalit Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Israeli Defense Forces, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Hamas, Wall Street, New York Times, Reuters, Israel Hayom, The Washington Post, Sinwar, Israel, Gaza Health Ministry Locations: New America, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, East, Kibbutz Shoval, Israeli

☆ A man tried to set up Pakistan's first gay club. He was put in a mental hospital.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewA man who tried to establish Pakistan's first gay club was detained in a mental hospital by local authorities, according to The Telegraph. The Telegraph reported that the application for the proposed club said it was going to be called "Lorenzo gay club," and there would be "no gay (or non-gay) sex (other than kissing"). His friends told The Telegraph that they had been barred from visiting him, and were concerned for his safety. AdvertisementBefore being detained, the applicant told the newspaper: "I talk about human rights, and I want everyone's human rights to be defended." He also told the newspaper that if authorities refused the application, he would take it to court.

Persons: —, Osama bin, Laden, Lorenzo Organizations: Service, The Telegraph, Business, Telegraph, Awami, British, Sarhad, Psychiatric Locations: Abbottabad, Pakistan, Peshawar

☆ Opinion: This deal can end the war in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —It’s taken more than half a year, but, finally, President Joe Biden has publicly unveiled an Israeli plan that could end the bloodshed in Gaza. But getting the two sides to actually agree to — and implement — the peace plan is far from a certainty. As the Gaza war continues, Israel’s dreams of normalization with the Arab world will steadily erode. Support for the Gaza war among Americans has dropped from 50% at the beginning of the war in November to 36% in March, according to Gallup. Evan Vucci/APNetanyahu also keeps fighting the Gaza war with no real plan for the “day after,” in short, without a strategy.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Osama bin Laden, CNN — It’s, Joe Biden, Yahya Sinwar, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Biden, Chuck Schumer, Schumer, “, ” Schumer, Harry Truman, Donald, Evan Vucci, Sun Tzu, Max, Tacitus, Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Maya Alleruzzo, — Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Hamas, Politico, Gaza Health Ministry, Gallup, US, Democrat, Israel, American, White, Biden, Israeli, Twitter, Facebook, UN Locations: New America, Gaza, United States, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Japan, Palestinian, Michigan, Israel, Washington, Tel Aviv, United, Qatar, Egypt

☆ 'Super Size Me' director Morgan Spurlock dead at 53
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewMorgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker who famously ate only McDonald's for a full month for his 2004 Oscar-nominated film "Super Size Me," has died at the age of 53 from complications related to cancer, his family announced on Friday. Related storiesSpurlock became an overnight sensation in the independent film world when "Super Size Me" was released. "Super Size Me." AdvertisementHe followed "Super Size Me" with documentaries like "Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?" Toronto International Film FestivalAfter getting the rights back to "Super Size Me 2," Spurlock released the doc in 2019, and it would mark his final movie.

Persons: —, Morgan Spurlock, Oscar, Morgan, Craig Spurlock, Spurlock, McDonald's, Osama, Laden, he'd, I'm, Phyllis Spurlock, Iris, Craig, Carolyn, Barry, Alexandra Jamieson, Sara Bernstein Organizations: Service, Business, Warrior, CNN, YouTube Locations: Manhattan

☆ Morgan Spurlock, Oscar-winning documentarian, dead at 53
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Tom Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker and former CNN series host whose McDonald’s documentary “Super Size Me” was nominated for an Academy Award, died of cancer complications Thursday, according to his family. Spurlock, who was 53, died in New York, surrounded by family and friends, his brother said in a statement. “It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” Craig Spurlock said. For several years, Spurlock served as host of a popular CNN Original series, “Morgan Spurlock Inside Man.”Born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the future filmmaker was raised in Beckley, where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. His film “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken” was released in 2019.

Persons: CNN — Morgan Spurlock, ”, Spurlock, Morgan, ” Craig Spurlock, “ Morgan, ” Spurlock’s, Osama bin Laden, Homer Simpson, “ Morgan Spurlock, Osama Bin Laden, “ I’ve Organizations: CNN, Woodrow Wilson High School, New York University, Sundance Film, Writers Guild of America, Hulu Locations: New York, McDonald’s, Parkersburg , West Virginia, Beckley, York

☆ Opinion | The End of Polio Is in Sight. What Have We Learned?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Richard Conniff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The fight to eradicate polio has been long and difficult. But polio continues to this day disabling or killing children in some harder to reach parts of the world. The good news is that we are now on the cusp of eradicating this terrible disease everywhere and forever. Having used this strategy to stop polio, people in developing nations are already looking to apply those same tools against other diseases, both familiar and emerging. Because the communities are poor, and because families can lose patience with repeated visits focused only on polio, the workers also bring nutritional supplements, health information and other resources.

Persons: It’s, Osama bin Laden Organizations: Initiative, Gates Foundation, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, Central Intelligence Agency Locations: United States, Afghanistan, Pakistan

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden on Saturday night will attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, giving the president a stage and primetime slot to needle the media and his rival former President Donald Trump. “I haven’t had a chance to watch the court proceedings because I’ve been campaigning,” Biden told supporters at a campaign reception in New York Thursday, according to pool reports. While Biden has delivered many of these speeches before, the stakes for what could be his last White House Correspondents’ Dinner are high. “He’s the entertainer.”Administration officials said Katzenberg led daily strategy sessions in the White House residence this week to tweak Biden’s comedy set drafted by longtime speechwriter Vinay Reddy. Biden administration officials said they sought to share that concern with Kelly O’Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and senior White House correspondent for NBC News, and with Jost’s team in NBC’s entertainment division as well.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Calvin Coolidge, Trump, “, I’ve, ” Biden, he’d, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Katzenberg, punchlines, Vinay Reddy, Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Anita Dunn, Karine Jean, Pierre, Annie Tomasini, Live’s Colin Jost, Kelly O’Donnell, ” O’Donnell, –, “ He’s, ”, Rob Flaherty, Dan Cluchey, Jon Macks, Jay Leno ”, Seth Meyers, – Biden, Barack Obama, Lil Jon, Gary Busey, ” Obama, Osama bin Laden Organizations: Washington CNN, White, Trump, Biden, Dreamworks, CNN, New York City –, Republican, ’ Association, White House, NBC News, Gridiron Locations: New York, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, White, New York City, Washington

☆ Opinion: What does Iran really want?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“A modern, strong, peaceful Iran could become a pillar of stability and progress in the region,” former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in 2006. Iran introduced into the Iraqi war zone highly effective roadside bombs known as EFPs – Explosively Formed Penetrators – that wounded and killed hundreds of American soldiers. The official US Army history of the Iraq War concluded that Iran was the only winner of that war. Iran’s ‘cookie-cutter approach’Norman Roule was the top US intelligence official on Iran from 2008 to 2017. The withdrawal of the US troops from neighboring Iraq is a key goal of Iran, which exerts considerable influence over some Iraqi politicians.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Shah, Henry Kissinger, Iran’s ayatollahs, Karim Sadjadpour, Sadjadpour, Reagan, bin Laden, bin, al, Saddam Hussein, –, Noam Chomsky, Iran’s, Norman Roule, Roule, propping, Bashar al, Assad, Christine Abizaid, ”, Trump, Obama, Donald Trump, ‘, Benjamin Netanyahu, hasn’t, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, hadn’t, Biden, Abizaid, Mohammed Shia Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Saturday, East, CIA, US Army, Israel, US National Counterterrorism Center, US Treasury Department, ‘ Deemed, United Nations, Israel’s, Hamas, Iran, White, ISIS Locations: New America, Israel, Iranian, Damascus, Iran, United States, Palestine, ”, Lebanon, Beirut, Saudi, al Qaeda, Iraqi, Saddam, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Red, Suez, Gaza, New York, Damascus ”, Jordan

☆ Opinion: ISIS is making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —If ISIS was indeed responsible for the attack Friday at a Moscow-area concert venue that killed at least 133 people, it would suggest that, unfortunately, the terror group is making something of a comeback. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack; a US official told CNN the US has no reason to doubt it. Through that attack, ISIS-K showed that the group, which is very anti-Shia, could target a hostile state like predominantly Shia Iran. In March alone, a Russian state news agency said the country had thwarted multiple ISIS-related incidents, including a plan to attack a synagogue in Moscow. As for capability, the ISIS-K attack in Iran earlier this year demonstrated that the group could carry out a large-scale attack outside of its home base in Afghanistan.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Biden, Qasem Soleimani, Vladimir Putin, ”, Bashar al Assad, Assad, Putin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, ISIS, US, Kabul Airport, Democratic, US National Security Council, Government Locations: New America, Moscow, Iraq, Syria, United Kingdom, Europe, Paris, Orlando , Florida, Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iran, Russian, Russia, ”, Ukraine, Syrian

☆ Should China Own TikTok?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

After Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack, TikTok flooded users with videos expressing extreme positions from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tilted toward the Palestinian side, a Wall Street Journal analysis found. On Monday, the top U.S. intelligence official released a report saying that the Chinese government had used TikTok to promote its propaganda to Americans and to influence the 2022 midterm elections. TikTok is also owned by a company, ByteDance, that’s based in a country that is America’s biggest rival for global power: China. ByteDance executives say that they operate separately from China’s government and that they regularly remove misleading content from TikTok. The most likely scenario, experts say, is that officials aligned with the Chinese government shape TikTok’s algorithm to influence what content Americans see.

Persons: Jeanna Smialek, Jim Tankersley, “, Sapna Maheshwari, China’s, Xi Jinping, Xi Organizations: Rutgers University, Rutgers, Communist Party, Soviet NBC Locations: U.S, Tibet, Hong Kong, United States, China, Soviet

☆ US Army Black Hawk helicopter hit by snowmobile, rider sues government for $9.5 million, says report
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A man is suing the government for $9.5 million after he crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter. AdvertisementA Massachusetts lawyer is suing the government for $9.5 million after he crashed into a Black Hawk helicopter while riding a snowmobile, The Associated Press reported. AdvertisementA Black Hawk helicopter. Michael CiagloThe Black Hawk helicopter is a multi-role aircraft designed to aid ground troops and armed escorts, according to the manufacturer Lockheed Martin's website. Black Hawk helicopters are perhaps most famous for their role in the mission that led to the killing of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

Persons: Jeff Smith, —, Smith, Douglas Desjardins, there's, Michael Ciaglo, Osama bin Laden Organizations: US Army, Service, Hawk, Associated Press, Army, AP, Black, Federal, snowmobilers, Lockheed Martin's Locations: Massachusetts, Al

FORMER PRIME MINISTER NAWAZ SHARIF, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUEBusiness mogul, multi-millionaire and three-time premier, Nawaz Sharif hails from one of the top two families that have dominated Pakistani politics for decades. He also has a personal stake in keeping imprisoned Imran Khan out of the picture. FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN, PAKISTAN TEHREEK-E-INSAF PARTYA former cricket star turned Islamist politician, Imran Khan triumphed on an anti-corruption, anti-establishment platform in the 2018 election to form a coalition government. FORMER PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUEShehbaz Sharif, 72, the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, succeeded Imran Khan as prime minister in April 2022. He won his first parliamentary seat in 2018 and became foreign minister after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister.

Persons: it's, NAWAZ SHARIF, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Imran Khan, Khan, ASIM MUNIR, Asim Munir, Munir, IMRAN KHAN, Osama bin Laden, ” —, SHEHBAZ SHARIF, BILAWAL BHUTTO, ZARDARI, Pakistan’s, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari Organizations: —, National Assembly, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE Business, Pakistan Muslim League, Supreme, Sharif, GEN, ARMY CHIEF, LEAGUE, International Monetary Fund Locations: ISLAMABAD, — Pakistan, PAKISTAN, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Iran, Tehran, Islamabad, United States, U.S, Washington, LEAGUE Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab, London, Sindh

Search resuls for: "Osama bin Laden"

25 mentions found