Man faces life term in subway bomb plot

NEW YORK -- A Pakistani immigrant was convicted yesterday of charges he plotted to blow up one of Manhattan's busiest subway stations in retaliation for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. A federal jury in Brooklyn deliberated two days before convicting Shahawar Matin Siraj of conspiracy and other charges. He faces up to life in prison. Siraj and another man suspected in the plot, James Elshafay, were arrested on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention carrying crude diagrams of their target -- the subway station in Herald Square, a dense shopping district that includes Macy's flagship department store. (AP)

Washington, D.C.

Could you locate the Cambrian Mountains on a map? Twelve-year-old Bonny Jain could, and his knowledge made him the winner yesterday of the 2006 National Geographic Bee. The eighth-grader from Moline, Ill., won a $25,000 college scholarship by correctly naming the mountains that extend across much of Wales, from the Irish Sea to the Bristol Channel. Neeraj Sirdeshmukh, 14, of Nashua , came in second and won a $15,000 college scholarship. Yeshwanth Kandimalla, 13, of Marietta, Ga., took third place and won a $10,000 college scholarship. (AP)

The number of military members discharged under the Pentagon's ``don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals rose by 11 percent last year, the first increase since 2001, officials said yesterday. A Pentagon spokeswoman said 726 service members were discharged under the policy during the 2005 budget year, which ended last Sept. 30. That compares with 653 discharges the year before. She released the figures after a gay rights advocacy group said it had obtained the statistics on its own. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has represented military members who were forced out for being gay, says the Pentagon's policy deprives the military of qualified and experienced personnel at a time when the Army and Marine Corps have struggled to meet their recruiting goals. Discharges under the policy peaked at 1,227 in 2001, then fell to 885 the following year, and to 770 in 2003. (AP)