20 years on from 9/11 a trial like no other begins at Guantanamo Bay
By Aleem Maqbool
BBC News
This grim anniversary has meant renewed focus on the 5 suspects in detention accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
The men, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, have all appeared in court in Guantanamo Bay this week after an 18 month hiatus in pre-trial hearings caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Behind the glass in the viewing gallery have been a small number of relatives of victims of the attacks, some members of non-profit organisations and a handful of journalists, all there to observe proceedings.
US drone strike mistakenly targeted Afghan aid worker, investigation finds
Zemari Ahmadi, who died alongside nine others had no connection to terrorism, a New York Times investigation suggested
The US mistakenly targeted and killed an innocent aid worker for an American company in a drone strike in Afghanistan, the New York Times suggested in an investigation into the country’s final military action of the recently concluded 20-year war.
The victim, the newspaper said, was 43-year-old Zemari Ahmadi, who died with nine members of his family, including seven children, when a missile from a US air force Reaper drone struck his car as he arrived home from work in a residential neighborhood of Kabul.
US military officials have insisted the targets of the 29 August operation were Islamic State suicide bombers plotting an attack on Kabul airport similar to that which killed 13 American troops helping with evacuations, and more than 170 others three days earlier.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo sets sights on Élysée Palace with bid for 2022 Socialist nomination
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is slated to throw her hat in the ring for France's 2022 presidential election on Sunday in Rouen. Her announcement will bring an end to months of speculation that she would seek the Socialist nomination – and to years of assurances from Hidalgo herself that Paris City Hall wouldn't serve as a springboard for the country's top job.
The 62-year-old Hidalgo, who won re-election to a second term as Paris mayor last year, has been both applauded and vilified for her eco-minded administration of the French capital, pushing the envelope as she has pushed motorists out of the city centre in favour of cycling lanes and green spaces.
Execs accused of illegally exporting bioweapon equipment sue gov't
Executives of a Japanese company arrested last year on suspicion of illegally exporting items capable of producing biological weapons are suing the Tokyo metropolitan government and state, seeking damages totaling 560 million yen after the case against them was dropped.
In the lawsuit filed with the Tokyo District Court, 72-year-old Masaaki Okawara, the president of Yokohama-based machinery maker Ohkawara Kakohki Co, and Junji Shimada, 68, one of its former directors, are seeking compensation for the alleged illegal investigation by Tokyo metropolitan police and prosecutors.
The plaintiffs also include the family of another former company executive whose indictment was rescinded due to his death.
America's response to 9/11 was as damaging as the attack. It's not too late to change course
Updated 1408 GMT (2208 HKT) September 11, 2021
On that ghastly day, September 11, 2001, I never saw what happened in real time. I was on assignment in West Africa, in the midst of Sierra Leone's civil war. But I recall vividly as I was interviewing the hacked-up victims of the Revolutionary United Front guerrilla army -- their lips, ears, limbs macheted off, their stories too awful to imagine -- something big was happening on the other side of the world.
9/11 AND THE SAUDI CONNECTION
Mounting evidence supports allegations that Saudi Arabia helped fund the 9/11 attacks.
NONE OF THE issues still lingering 20 years after the 9/11 attacks have been as persistent — or as emotionally wrenching for the families of the victims — as the question of whether Saudi Arabia provided funding and other assistance for the worst terrorist attack in American history.
Of the 19 Al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked four U.S. commercial airliners on the morning of September 11, 2001, 15 were citizens of Saudi Arabia — and of course, Osama bin Laden was a member of one of Saudi Arabia’s wealthiest families.
Immediately after the attacks, the Bush administration downplayed the Saudi connection and suppressed evidence that might link powerful Saudis to the funding of Islamic extremism and terrorism. The Bush White House didn’t want to upset its relationship with one of the world’s largest oil-producing nations, which was also an American ally with enormous political influence in Washington, and much of what the FBI discovered about possible Saudi links to the attacks remains secret even today.
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