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The Journal
2 days ago
- The Journal
Russia takes over more villages in Ukraine as it continues efforts to break through front line
RUSSIA HAS DECLARED it has taken over more villages in the west of Ukraine's Donetsk region, as its troops advance towards the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Moscow's offensive on Ukraine has been intensifying this summer with US-led negotiations so far yielding no results to end the fighting. Its invasion of Ukraine has lasted for more than three years, but Vladimir Putin's army has been increasing its long-range barrages with a concerted Russian effort to break through parts of the roughly 620-mile front line , where Ukrainian troops are under severe pressure. Russia's defence ministry said Russian troops had captured the village of Myrne, calling the village by its Soviet name 'Karl Marx'. Advertisement It lies close to the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The ministry claimed forces had moved 'deep into the enemy's defence' to take the village. Myrne was one of two villages Moscow claimed on Sunday. Russia has for months refused a ceasefire proposed by the United States and Kyiv. Moscow launched its full-scale offensive against Ukraine in February 2022. – © AFP2025
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Terrorist mastermind of 9/11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed could be sentenced to DEATH at Guantanamo Bay trial
THE chief architect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks could be sentenced to death after a court tossed out a plea deal that would have saved his life. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of masterminding the attacks against the 7 - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 9/ 11 mastermind Credit: AP 7 The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, killed as many as 2,753 people Credit: Getty Images - Getty 7 Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011 in Pakistan Credit: AFP In 2003, the CIA captured him in Pakistan, after which he spent three years in secret prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006. He is said to have planned out the deadly attacks from "A to Z" -- and was also involved in a string of major plots against the US, where he attended university. Mohammed as well as two alleged accomplices -- Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi -- The deal would allow the trio to be spared from the death penalty and remain jailed on the southern portion of the American Naval base in The agreement has sparked outrage from family members of victims who died during the 9/11 attacks. But a US appeals court on Friday scrapped the agreement, saying that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial. Lloyd Austin , the Secretary of Defence under the Biden administration, by filing a motion to a military appeals court. In his brief, Austin cited the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks and argued that as defence secretary, he should decide on any plea agreements that would save the three men from the death penalty. Most read in The US Sun Austin "acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment," judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote in a ruling today. Congressional lawmakers have also slammed the plea deal, calling it a "national disgrace" and a "total miscarriage of justice." "The Biden-Harris Administration's weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds," said Senate Minority Leader "The plea deal with terrorists – including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks that killed thousands of Americans – is a revolting abdication of the government's responsibility to defend America and provide justice. "The only thing worse than negotiating with terrorists is negotiating with them after they are in custody." Mohammed and al-Hawsawi were captured on March 1, 2003, in a joint CIA and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence operation in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi. Walid bin Attash was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in April 2003. Mohammed was held in secret CIA prisons up until his transfer to Guantánamo Bay in September 2006. However, before he was moved to Guantánamo, government officials interrogated Mohammed and his accomplices for years, torturing them and keeping them isolated in undisclosed locations. Mohammed endured 183 rounds of waterboarding - a form of torture where a person experiences the sensation of drowning when water is poured over a cloth covering their face. 7 The latest picture of accused terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Guantánamo Bay in June 2024 Credit: Provided 7 Mustafa al-Hawsawi was captured on March 1, 2003, in Pakistan and was transferred to Guantánamo Bay 7 The events of 9/11 left 2,977 people dead Credit: AFP 7 The moment President Bush was told about the attacks while visiting a school Credit: AFP Key figures behind 9/11 Here are some of the key figures involved in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Hijackers on American Airlines Flight 11 Mohamed Atta Abdulaziz al-Omari Wail al-Shehri Waleed al-Shehri Satam al-Suqami Hijackers on United Airlines Flight 175 Marwan al-Shehhi Fayez Banihammad Mohand al-Shehri Hamza al-Ghamdi Ahmed al-Ghamdi Hijackers on American Airlines Flight 77 Hani Hanjour Khalid al-Mihdhar Majed Moqed Nawaf al-Hazmi Salem al-Hazmi Hijackers on United Airlines Flight 93 Ziad Jarrah Ahmed al-Haznawi Ahmed al-Nami Saeed al-Ghamdi Three suspects have also accepted a plea deal in the two decades since the attacks - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. The men, along with Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Ramzi Bin al Shibh, were jointly arraigned on June 5, 2008, and again on May 5, 2012. Al-Hawsawi was charged with helping the hijackers with their finances and travel arrangements. TERROR ATTACKS At least 2,753 people died at the site of the World Trade Center, where two planes crashed into the towers on September 11, 2001. A third plane hit the Pentagon, while a fourth, which was planned to strike The heinous attacks sparked the war on terror after President George W. Bush ordered the US military to invade The US government was warned by the CIA that the likely targets would be famous landmarks or symbols of US capitalism - but they did not know when or how. And none of them could have imagined the On May 1, 2011, the most classified operation of the last 25 years was launched to kill Osama Bin Laden. The Saudi-born terror chief became the world's most wanted man, hiding in plain sight in Pakistan for years before U.S. Navy SEALs took him out in a daring raid. Read more on the Irish Sun In the cover of night, Seal Team Six was sent to Abbottabad in Pakistan - where Bin Laden was hiding. Within minutes, the Seals were within the compound and shot and killed the world's most wanted terrorist. 9/11 timeline of events On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda operatives coordinated a terrorist attack against the United States, hijacking four commerical airplanes and crashing them into the Twin Towers and Pentagon. Timeline: 5:45 am : Two 7:59 am : American Airlines Flight 11 takes off. The plane is carrying 76 passengers, 11 crew members, and five hijackers. 8:15 am : United Airlines Flight 175, carrying 51 passengers, nine crew, and five hijackers, takes off from Boston to Los Angeles. 8:20 am : American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Washington DC Dulles to Los Angeles. The plane is carrying 53 passengers, six crew members, and five hijackers. 8:42 am : United Airlines Flight 93 takes off from Newark. The plane is carrying 33 passengers, seven crew members, and four hijackers. The flight was bound for San Francisco. 8:46 am : Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the 9:03 am : Flight 175 hits the South Tower of the World Trade Center. 9:36 am : Vice President Dick Cheney is evacuated by Secret Service agents to an undisclosed location. 9:37 am : Flight 77 hits the Pentagon building in Washington DC. 9:45 am : The US Capitol and White House are both evacuated. 9:59 am : The 10:03 am : United Airlines flight 93 crashes into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers and crew got together and stormed the cockpit of the hijacked plane. All on board are killed. 10:28 am : The 8:30 pm : President George W. Bush addresses the US from the White House regarding the attacks. Almost 3,000 Americans died in the terror attacks.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- RTÉ News
US appeals court scraps 9/11 mastermind's plea deal
A US appeals court has scrapped 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's plea agreement that would have taken the death penalty off the table. The decision brings to an end the long-running legal saga surrounding his case. The agreement had sparked anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, which saw former US defence secretary Lloyd Austin move to cancel it last year, saying that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial. Mr Austin "acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment," judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote. The plea deals with Mr Mohammed and two alleged accomplices - Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi - were announced in late July last year. The decision appeared to have moved their cases toward resolution after years of being bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. But Mr Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were announced, saying the decision should be up to him, given its significance. He subsequently told journalists that "the families of the victims, our service members and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case". A military judge ruled in November that the deals were valid and binding, but the government appealed that decision. Much of the legal jousting surrounding the 9/11 defendants' cases has focused on whether they could be tried fairly after having undergone torture at the hands of the CIA - a thorny issue that the plea agreements would have avoided. Mr Mohammed was regarded as one of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's most trusted lieutenants before his March 2003 capture in Pakistan. He then spent three years in secret CIA prisons before arriving at Guantanamo in 2006. The trained engineer - who has said he masterminded the 9/11 attacks "from A to Z" - was involved in a string of major plots against the United States, where he attended university. The United States used Guantanamo, an isolated naval base, to hold militants captured during the "War on Terror" that followed the 11 September attacks in a bid to keep the defendants from claiming rights under US law. The facility held roughly 800 prisoners at its peak, but they have since slowly been sent to other countries. A small fraction of that number remain.
