Cambodian sites of Khmer Rouge brutality added to UNESCO heritage list
The three locations were inscribed to the list by the United Nations cultural agency Friday during the 47th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris.
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Winnipeg Free Press
17 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A court called off a key 9/11 suspect's plea deal. Here's where the case stands
NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' long legal case against accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed remains in limbo after an appeals court this week scrapped a plea deal that the government had negotiated but had later withdrawn. Essentially, the ruling leaves the case on track for trial before a military commission. It is unclear when that might happen. Here's what to know about the case and how it got here: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused mastermind of 9/11 Mohammed is accused of developing and directing al-Qaida's plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Another of the hijacked planes flew into a field in Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States. Mohammed was arrested in 2003 in Pakistan and eventually taken to the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. At the time, it was where the U.S. held hundreds of men captured in President George W. Bush's 'war on terror.' Military prosecutors filed charges in 2008 against Mohammed and some co-defendants. After an Obama-era plan to try them in a civilian court in New York collapsed, the case remained with the military commission. The case dragged on through years of legal and logistical challenges. A major point of contention has been how much the evidence and case have been tainted by the men's torture while in CIA custody during the first years after their capture. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times. The plea deal called for life in prison Military prosecutors and defense lawyers began plea talks several years ago. Last year, Mohammed and two others agreed to plead guilty, under an agreement that would have led to life in prison instead of a potential death penalty. The deal also would have required the men to answer questions posed by Sept. 11 victims' relatives. Military prosecutors called the arrangement 'the best path to finality and justice.' Some 9/11 families also saw the deal as the best hope for bringing the painful case to a conclusion and getting some answers from the defendants. But other victims' relatives said a trial was the right way to get justice and information, and some saw the plea deal as capitulation. Republican lawmakers also criticized the agreement, negotiated during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration. Defense secretary withdrew the plea deal Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin soon rescinded the deal, saying that victims' relatives, U.S. troops and the American public ' deserve the opportunity ' to see military commission trials play out. Defense attorneys and the government wrangled in various courts over whether Austin was legally able to scrap the deal. It was on-again, off-again for months. A panel of appeals judges put it on hold in January and then, on Friday, issued 2-1 ruling saying that Austin had the authority to rescind the agreement. The order bars the military judge from taking any guilty pleas under the now-undone deal. The case could be headed to pretrial stage It is not clear whether defense lawyers plan to appeal. A message seeking comment was sent Saturday to Mohammed's attorneys. Without a plea deal, the case would once again be back in the pretrial stage within the military commission system, with the legal and logistical complications that it has faced. Questions about whether the men's torture would prevent the use of evidence, including statements they made, are yet to be resolved.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
More than 40 arrested at London protest in support of banned group Palestine Action
LONDON (AP) — More than 40 people were arrested Saturday at a protest in central London against the Palestine Action group being proscribed a terrorist organization by the government following a break-in and vandalism at a Royal Air Force base. The Metropolitan Police said 42 people had been arrested by late afternoon. All but one of the arrests were for showing support for a proscribed organization, which police have said includes chanting, wearing clothing or displaying articles such as flags, signs or logos. Another person was arrested for common assault. It was the second straight week protesters gathered to support the pro-Palestinian activist group. Its outlawing has meant support for the organization is deemed a criminal offense. Police arrested 29 people at a similar protest last weekend. Two groups gathered underneath both the statues of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa's first postapartheid president, Nelson Mandela, in Parliament Square. Signs with the wording 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,' were held aloft in silence as the protesters were surrounded by police officers and members of the media. Some demonstrators could be seen lying on top of each other on the ground as police searched their bags and took away signs. Officers could then be seen carrying away a number of protesters who were lying down, lifting them off the ground and into waiting police vans parked around the square. Other demonstrations were also planned across the U.K. on Saturday, including in Manchester, Cardiff and Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The official designation earlier this month of Palestine Action as a proscribed group under the Terrorism Act 2000 means that membership in the group and support for its actions are punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Some 81 organizations are already proscribed under the U.K. act, including the militant groups Hamas and al-Qaida. The government moved to ban Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England, on June 20, damaging two planes using red paint and crowbars in protest at the British government's ongoing military support for Israel in its war in Gaza. Police said that the incident caused around 7 million pounds' ($9.4 million) worth of damage. Four people between 22 and 35 years old were charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the U.K. The four are scheduled to appear on July 18 at the Central Criminal Court.
Toronto Sun
4 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Furor over Epstein files sparks clash between Bondi and Bongino at the Justice Department
Published Jul 12, 2025 • 4 minute read Daniel Bongino speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, June 10, 2020, in Washington. Photo by Michael Reynolds / AP WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout from this week's decision to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which rankled influential far-right media personalities and supporters of President Donald Trump. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never actually existed, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House this week. The spat threatened to shatter relations between them and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department. The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to disclose additional, much-hyped records from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence. Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called 'deep state,' Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tensions that simmered for months boiled over on Monday when the Justice Department and FBI issued a two-page statement saying that they had concluded that Epstein did not possess a 'client list,' even though Bondi had intimated in February that such a document was sitting on her desk, and had decided against releasing any additional records from the investigation. The department did disclose a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself in jail, but even that raised the eyebrows of conspiracy theorists because of a missing minute in the recording. It was hardly the first time that Trump administration officials have failed to fulfill their pledge to deliver the evidence that supporters had come to expect. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In February, conservative influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' and 'Declassified.' But the binders contained information that had largely already been in the public domain. Afterward, Bondi said an FBI 'source' informed her of the existence of thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents and ordered the bureau to provide the 'full and complete Epstein files.' She later said officials were poring over a 'truckload' of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI. RECOMMENDED VIDEO But after a months-long review of evidence in the government's possession, the Justice Department determined in the memo Monday that no 'further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims, and 'only a fraction' of it 'would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Trump administration had hoped that that statement would be the final word on the saga, with Trump chiding a reporter who asked Bondi about the Epstein case at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. But Bondi and Bongino had a tense exchange the following day at the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation. Part of the clash centered on a story from the news organization NewsNation that cited a 'source close to the White House' as saying the FBI would have released the Epstein files months ago if it could have done so on its own. The story included statements from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel refuting the premise, but not Bongino. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The news publication Axios was first to describe the conversation. Blanche sought to stem the fallout Friday with a social media post in which he said he had worked closely with Patel and Bongino on the Epstein matter and the joint memo. 'All of us signed off on the contents of the memo and the conclusions stated in the memo. The suggestion by anyone that there was any daylight between the FBI and DOJ leadership on this memo's composition and release is patently false,' he wrote on X. Also Friday, far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, posted on X that she was told that Bongino was 'seriously thinking about resigning' and had taken the day off to contemplate his future. Bongino is normally an active presence on social media but has been silent since Wednesday. The FBI did not respond to a request seeking comment, and the White House sought in a statement to minimize any tensions. 'President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,' said spokesman Harrison Fields. 'This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.' Columnists World Editorial Cartoons Relationships Toronto & GTA
