Briefly

UNITED STATES

Plea deal with 9/11 mastermind reached

The man accused of masterminding the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two of his accomplices, held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have agreed to plead guilty, the Pentagon said on Wednesday without elaborating. The New York Times reported that Mohammed, along with Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, had agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy in exchange for a life sentence instead of a trial, which could lead to the death penalty. Such a proposal was detailed by prosecutors last year but divided the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, with some still wanting the defendants to face the ultimate penalty.

NIGERIA

Bomb attack in teahouse kills 19

A bomb exploded in a teahouse in northeastern Nigeria, killing 19 people and wounding 27 in the second major attack in a few weeks, security sources said on Thursday. The blast in Kawuri village in Borno state on Wednesday evening was one of the deadliest in recent years in northeastern Nigeria, where violence from a grinding jihadist conflict has been on the decline. The latest blast came just weeks after multiple suicide attackers killed 32 people in Borno state's Gwoza area when they targeted a wedding, a hospital and a funeral.

UNITED KINGDOM

Stabbing suspect named in court

A 17-year-old boy charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder for a knife attack at a dance class in England was named in court on Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, as he made his first court appearance. Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said that despite not being an adult, the boy can be named because he will turn 18 next week. The court appearance came after the shocking crime left three girls dead and sparked two nights of violent unrest across England.

Agencies Via Xinhua