BBC News with Kathy Clugston
A judge in the US has sentenced a Nigerian man to life imprisonment for attempting to blow up a passenger plane on Christmas Day in 2009. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
smuggled
an explosive device on board in his underwear. Adam Brookes reports from Washington.
In 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded an airliner in the Netherlands
bound for
Detroit. On Christmas Day, as the plane approached its destination, he attempted to
set off
a bomb secreted in his underwear. It didn't
go off
properly. Abdulmutallab was badly burnt, but the passengers and plane were unharmed. At his trial last year, he
pleaded guilty
. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims to have trained and equipped him. During his sentencing, Abdulmutallab told the court that he was trying to avenge attacks on Muslims by the United States. He will go to prison for life.
The United Nations General Assembly is meeting to vote on a Syria resolution similar to the one recently vetoed by Russia and China in the Security Council. Russia is unlikely to back the latest resolution, which is non-binding, and China is sending a top
envoy
to Damascus. Barbara Plett is at the United Nations.
The resolution condemns violence by the Syrian government. It also backs an Arab League plan for a political transition, which calls on President Assad to transfer power to his deputy. It's modelled on the Security Council resolution vetoed by Russia and China, and they are expected to vote no again. There isn't any veto in the General Assembly, but neither does it have the legal authority of the council. However, its 193 members do reflect world opinion, so a strong yes vote would give political and