BRITAIN
3 convicted in ’06 plane bomb plot
Plan to take down flights to North America with liquid explosives prompted limits on carry-on fluids
LONDON — Three young Britons were declared guilty Monday of planning to blow up trans-Atlantic planes in a terrorist plot inspired by al-Qaida that could have killed thousands of people and that sparked worldwide changes in airport security.
A jury in London’s Woolwich Crown Court convicted Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28; Tanvir Hussain, 28; and Assad Sarwar, 29, of conspiring to murder by setting off liquid bombs smuggled aboard North America-bound airliners in sports-drink bottles. Police have said the plot was possibly days away from fruition when the men were arrested in August 2006 amid the biggest counterterrorism investigation in British history.
“This case reaffirms that we face a real and serious threat from terrorism,” British Home Secretary Alan Johnson said. “This was a particularly complex and daring plot which would have led to a terrible attack resulting in major loss of life.”
The case has shocked the public here not only because of the audacity and scale of the plan but also because its orchestrators were Muslims born and raised in Britain but seduced by violent Islamic radicalism.
Revelation of the plot also threw the international airline industry into chaos. A limit on carry-on liquid items remains in force at many airports.
Prosecutors drew on 26,000 exhibits to detail a plot to bring down seven airliners in one day. The organizers allegedly picked out flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to cities such as San Francisco, New York, Washington and Toronto.
The high death toll hoped for and the targeting of airliners were al-Qaida hallmarks, as was the involvement of a Pakistan-based explosives expert who masterminded the July 7, 2005, attack on London’s transport system, anti-terrorism officials say. Those bombings killed 52 people.
— Henry Chu, Tribune Newspapers
MEXICO
Heavy rains, but not enough for drought-stricken Mexico City
A couple on Monday surveys the damage caused by heavy rains in Tlanepantla, Mexico, where a water drain broke, sending cars floating down the street in water 5 feet deep. Officials say the downpour briefly closed Mexico City’s airport and swamped four subway stations. Drought-plagued Mexico City received up to 3.5 inches Sunday, but it was not enough to allow an end to water rationing, officials said.
ILLINOIS
Woman defends hiding boy
MARION — A southern Illinois grandmother said Monday that she hid her 6-year-old grandson and his mother in a crawl space in her home for two years during a custody dispute with the boy’s father to keep the youngster safe.
Diane Dobbs, 51, spoke to “Good Morning America.”
Dobbs is accused of helping to hide her grandson, Richard “Ricky” Chekevdia. Police found Ricky and his mother, Shannon Wilfong, 30, hiding Friday in a small crawl space in Dobbs’ home. Wilfong is charged with felony child abduction.
Dobbs said Monday that authorities have not fully investigated allegations that Ricky’s father, Mike Chekevdia, sexually abused him. Mike Chekevdia, 48, has denied any wrongdoing.
IRAN
Nuclear demands rejected
TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that Iran will neither halt uranium enrichment nor negotiate over its nuclear rights but is ready to sit and talk with world powers over “global challenges.”
His statements came as the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog warned of a “stalemate” over Iran’s nuclear program. Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency began meetings in Vienna that could set the stage for a toughening of sanctions against Iran.
Ahmadinejad also said Iran will present a package of proposals for talks to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany but rejected any deadline for such talks.
TAIWAN
Premier quits over storm
TAIPEI — Taiwan’s premier resigned Monday amid strong criticism of the government’s slow response to the most devastating storm to hit the island in 50 years, and the president immediately named a senior official from the ruling party to replace him.
Liu Chao-shiuan said he was leaving office because his Cabinet had completed the initial stage of rehabilitation work after Typhoon Morakot slammed into the island Aug. 8-9 and left an estimated 670 people dead.
“I have completed my duties at this phase,” said Liu, who has held his post since Ma Ying-jeou became president in 2008.
Nationalist Party Secretary General Wu Den-yih, 61, was named to replace Liu.
IRAQ
Bombings kill at least 17
BAGHDAD — Suicide attackers struck near a Shiite mosque north of Baghdad and a checkpoint west of the capital Monday as bombings killed at least 17 people nationwide.
The deadliest attack was by a suicide car bomber who struck a line of vehicles waiting to be inspected near Ramadi, police said.
The blast set half a dozen vehicles ablaze, killing three policemen and five civilians, and wounding 16 others, police and hospital officials said.
IRELAND
British to back IRA victims
DUBLIN — Britain’s sudden decision to support a lawsuit against Libya by Irish Republican Army victims raised hopes Monday that thousands maimed or bereaved by IRA bombs might one day receive compensation.
Libya admits it shipped hundreds of tons of weaponry to the IRA in the mid-1980s. Lawyers say they expect the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi to pay $16 million to each person.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has endured scathing criticism since Scotland’s Aug. 20 release of the only person convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. He suffered renewed attacks Sunday, then reversed his government’s hands-off policy toward the lawsuit.
