A roundup of today's other world news in brief
Two guilty of plot to bomb Kennedy airport
NEW YORK – Two Islamist militants were found guilty yesterday by a federal jury in New York of plotting to bomb the citys John F Kennedy International Airport.
Russell Defreitas (67), a US citizen born in Guyana, and Abdul Kadir (58), of Guyana, conspired to blow up buildings, fuel tanks and pipelines at the airport in the borough of Queens. They were arrested in June 2007.
Defreitas, a former airport employee, provided knowledge of its layout, prosecutors said, while Kadir, an engineer, helped with technical aspects such as how to blow up fuel pipelines. They each face up to life in prison. – (Reuters)
15 killed in plane crash in Siberia
MOSCOW – A Russian AN-25 passenger plane crashed in Siberia yesterday, killing all 15 people on board, state-run news agencies reported. – (Reuters)
Ducks and humans on longest journey
BERLIN – Two Germans set out on an unusual summer holiday yesterday, beginning a 500km swim down a river from Kassel in central Germany to the North Sea with seven pet ducks.
Pia Marie Witt and Wilfried Arnold will swim down the Fulda and Weser rivers, hoping to reach Bremerhaven by mid-September. The pair says the journey is about self-fulfillment.
Witt and Arnold plan to swim up to 15km a day, but this would be too much for the ducks, who will be carried by car or boat when they become tired. – (Reuters)
Policeman found guilty of assault
LONDON – A special constable was found guilty yesterday of assault after he was caught on CCTV pushing a man’s head into the ground and hitting him with a police helmet during his arrest.
The police watchdog said the force used by Special Constable Peter Lightfoot (40) during the incident in Wigan in July last year was “violent, excessive and unjustified”. – (Reuters)