In Brief

WASHINGTON: A military judge threw a wrench yesterday into the Obama administration's plan to suspend legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, denying the government's request to delay the case of a detainee accused of planning the 2000 attack on the USS Cole. To halt proceedings for 120 days - as Obama wants in order to conduct a review - the Pentagon might now be forced to temporarily withdraw charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and possibly 20 other detainees facing trial in military commissions, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Nashiri, a Saudi citizen of Yemeni descent, is facing arraignment Feb. 9 on capital charges relating to the al-Qaida strike on the Cole in Yemen that killed 17 U.S. service members and injured 50 others in October 2000.

Sept. 11 memorial set for 10th anniversary

NEW YORK: The head of the agency that owns the World Trade Center site says the Sept. 11 memorial will open on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. But that doesn't mean the memorial will be completed by then. Executive Director Chris Ward says the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is still determining exactly how much public access will be allowed while the construction continues. Reflecting pools over the twin towers' footprints and parapets with the victims' names engraved on them will be built by Sept. 11, 2011. Ward spoke at a state Assembly committee hearing yesterday.

Iraq bars Blackwater from security in Iraq

BAGHDAD: Iraq said yesterday that it will bar Blackwater Worldwide from providing security protection for U.S. diplomats because its contractors used excessive force, sanctioning a company whose image was irrevocably tarnished by the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians. The move will deprive American diplomats of their main protection force in Iraq. Iraqis are bitter over the September 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. Five former Blackwater guards pleaded not guilty Jan. 6 in federal court in Washington to manslaughter and gun charges in that shooting. A sixth is cooperating with the government. The Iraqi government has labeled the guards "criminals" and is closely watching the case. But even before the shooting, Blackwater had a reputation for aggressive operations and using excessive force in protecting American officials, an allegation the company has disputed.