The US military judge overseeing the trial of the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks should step down and the case should be scrapped because he effectively conspired with prosecutors to destroy evidence, defense lawyers said in a court filing. The motion said Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, and prosecutors had tainted the case against Pakistan-born Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by keeping defense lawyers from learning that the evidence had been destroyed. The motion was filed on May 10 and recently cleared for release. It raises a potential hurdle in the slow-moving capital case against Mohammed and four others charged in the hijacked airliner attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in which 3,000 people died. Pohl, along with prosecutors, "manipulated secret proceedings and the use of secret orders to mislead the defense and unfairly deprive Mr. Mohammed" of ways to keep the evidence from being destroyed, the motion said. Commissions spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Valerie Henderson referred questions to the prosecutor's response, which is expected to be made public in a few days.<br/>
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Airline chiefs from around the world have begun gathering for their annual meeting against a background of increasing concern about a slowdown in demand just as carriers pile on capacity to exploit low oil prices. Only a few months ago, this week’s IATA symposium in Dublin looked set to be dominated by talk of record profits and a rush to add new routes and aircraft. Now, evidence of ebbing demand is raising concerns within an airline industry committed to buying record numbers of new aircraft. The market for flights is being hurt even as cheaper jet fuel encourages carriers to offer some of the lowest fares in years. Manufacturers are also feeling the pinch, with Airbus Group SE’s acknowledging Tuesday that an order dearth so far this year may be part of a wider trend, though one it said was inevitable given the size of outstanding order books. IATA, which represents 260 airlines accounting for 83 of global air traffic, revealed Monday that global passenger traffic grew only 4.6% in April -- the slowest pace since January 2015. Capacity gained 4.9 percent, so that, on average, aircraft flew with more seats empty.<br/>The industry group said that while the March 22 terrorist attacks in Brussels, which closed the Belgian capital’s main airport, were partly to blame for the April numbers, a negative underlying trend may also be emerging. “There are some longer-term clouds over the pace of demand growth,” IATA CEO Tony Tyler said. “The stimulus from lower oil prices appears to be tapering off. And the global economic situation is subdued. Demand is still growing, but we may be shifting down a gear.” IATA will provide an update on its latest thinking Thursday.<br/>
Airbus sales chief John Leahy said Tuesday he was not worried about Boeing adopting a larger engine for its 737 MAX 9 jet, dubbing it "Mad MAX" because of the technical challenges it would face. Reuters reported on Sunday that Boeing was looking at modifying a larger 'LEAP' engine used on Airbus' hot-selling A321neo to make a 737 with more capacity and range. Boeing would probably go ahead with the upgrade rather than build a widely touted and costlier jet in the 'middle of the market,' where Boeing is studying a gap between short-haul and big wide-body jets, Leahy said. Boeing said it was in continuous dialogue with customers. Industry sources have drawn a distinction between Boeing's tactical defense of the 737 and longer-term discussions about a larger mid-market jet with about 220-260 seats, which could in turn prepare the ground for a full 737 replacement after 2030. While dismissing Boeing's plans to upgrade the 737 to compete with a larger Airbus model, Airbus said it remained in talks with airlines about adding to its own A350 family with a bigger version, sharpening competition at the top of the market. But conscious of the threat of drawing demand away from its existing A350 line-up, it said it did not expect the bulk of the airline business to be attracted to a 400-seat twinjet. It also dropped into its annual media briefings a new working name for the possible jet, the A350-2000.<br/>