Three British Muslims admit bid to bomb Heathrow and Commons with liquid explosives
Three British Muslims accused of plotting to blow up transatlantic planes flying out of Heathrow with liquid bombs admitted today attempting to cause explosions.
Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, and Tanvir Hussain, 27, admitted the offence at Woolwich Crown Court, in South-East London.
But they still deny that their bombs were part of a wave of suicide attacks on US-bound passenger jets using homemade devices made of hydrogen peroxide smuggled on board in Lucozade and Oasis soft drinks bottles.
Instead they claim they were only planning to set off small devices around London in protest at UK foreign policy and had no intention to kill or cause injuries.
The three men listed potential targets as the Houses of Parliament, Heathrow Terminal Three, other ‘iconic’ buildings or sites such as oil refineries.
The jury must now decide whether they – and five other defendants – are guilty of conspiracy to murder.
The three men also admitted conspiring to cause public nuisance by distributing videos threatening suicide bomb attacks in Britain.
Dalai Lama defends Islam as a peaceful religion
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Dalai Lama says it’s both wrong and unfair to call Islam a violent religion.
The Tibetan spiritual leader, appearing at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, offered a defence of Islam in response to a question about the rise of violent religious fundamentalism.
He added that he has made a point of reaching out to Muslims since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Dalai Lama arrived at Lehigh on Thursday for a series of talks on a 600-year-old Buddhist text.
He took a break Sunday to lecture on “Generating a Good Heart,” and afterward took questions from Lehigh President Alice Gast that had been submitted in advance by the public.
Asked why so many Americans are depressed and anxious, he joked: “I’m the wrong person to ask. You should ask Americans.”
Then he answered that U.S. society is too competitive and that people always want “something more, something more, something more.”
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