Atlanta jury convicts man of aiding terror groups

Atlanta jury convicts man of aiding terror groups

ATLANTA — A 23-year-old Georgia man was convicted Wednesday of aiding terrorist groups by sending videotapes of U.S. landmarks overseas and plotting to support “violent jihad” after a federal jury rejected his arguments that it was empty talk.

The jury found Ehsanul Islam Sadequee guilty of all four charges he faced after about five hours of deliberations. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison and his sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.

Authorities say Sadequee never posed an imminent threat to the U.S, but he took concrete steps to bolster terrorists when he sent the videos overseas and tried to aid a Pakistani-based terror group while on a trip to Bangladesh.

Sadequee, who stared silently as the verdict was read, is the second Georgia terror suspect to be convicted in the last two months. A judge convicted Sadequee’s friend, Syed Haris Ahmed, in June on one count of conspiring to support terrorism in the U.S. and abroad.

Ship reports mystery attack, later disappears

LONDON — First the ship reported it had been attacked in waters off Sweden. Then it sailed with no apparent problems through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. And then it disappeared.

The Arctic Sea, a Maltese-flagged cargo ship, was supposed to make port in Algeria with its cargo of timber on Aug. 4. More than a week later, there’s no sign of the ship or its Russian crew.

Piracy has exploded off the coast of lawless Somalia — but could this be an almost unheard of case of sea banditry in European waters?

“If this is a criminal act, it appears to be following a new business model,” Marine intelligence expert Graeme Gibbon-Brooks told Sky News on Wednesday.

Killer says he wants to help find victim’s body

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Death-row inmate Chadrick Fulks insists he wants to help a slain West Virginia college student’s family find solace by leading investigators to her body.

It wouldn’t be the first time he’s made that claim. State and federal authorities spent six years on wild goose chases prompted by tips from Fulks before one of his clues actually led searchers to another victim of his 2,300-mile crime spree, which left two women dead and several people injured in 2002.

“I will fight until my last breath to make sure that Samantha is recovered as well,” Fulks, 32, wrote in a recent letter to The Associated Press from the federal death row in Terre Haute, Ind.

‘Burquini’ wearer banned

PARIS — A Muslim woman garbed in a head-to-toe swimsuit — dubbed a “burquini” — may have opened a new chapter in France’s tussle between religious practices and its stern secular code.

Officials insisted Wednesday they banned the woman’s use of the Islam-friendly suit at a local pool because of France’s pool hygiene standards — not out of hostility to overtly Muslim garb.

Under the policy, swimmers are not allowed in pools with baggy clothing, including surfer-style shorts. Only figure-hugging suits are permitted.

Nonetheless the woman, a 35-year-old convert to Islam identified only as Carole, complained of religious discrimination after trying to go swimming in a “burquini,” a full-body swimsuit, in the town of Emerainville, southeast of Paris.

23 Filipino soldiers killed

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine general says 23 soldiers have been killed in fierce clashes that also left at least 20 al-Qaida-linked militants dead in the country’s restive south.

Regional military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino says about 400 army, marines and police commandos launched simultaneous, pre-dawn attacks Wednesday on two Abu Sayyaf extremist group encampments on Basilan Island, sparking fierce fighting that continued to rage late in the day.

Dolorfino said Thursday that 20 marines and 3 army men, including two officers were killed in the clashes.

6.5 quake hits near Japan

TOKYO — A magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit off Japan’s eastern coast early Thursday, the country’s Meteorological Agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The agency said there was no danger of damage from a tsunami.

The quake hit at 7:49 a.m. off the coast of Hachijo, a small island about 170 miles south of Tokyo, at a depth of 25 miles.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, and experts believe Tokyo has a 90 percent chance of being hit by a major quake over the next 50 years.

Associated Press