NPR 2011-04-12

A Pakistani American is getting 23 years in prison for attempting to bomb subway stations in Washington DC. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports Farooque Ahmed was convicted as result of a sting operation.

Prosecutors 1 say Farooque Ahmed thought he was helping 2 al-Qaeda test the security of subway stops near the nation's capital. He took pictures in areas with high traffic and he recommended that the bombers 3 put devices in suitcases on wheels. Investigators 4 say the public wasn't ever in any danger. That's because Ahmed was working with undercover agents. Ahmed pleaded guilty to two charges: attempting to support a terrorist group and gathering 5 information to help a terror attack. A judge sentenced him to nearly a quarter century in prison and 50 years of supervised release.

Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

No word yet on who was behind a deadly subway blast in the capital of Belarus today. At least 11 people were killed and scores more were wounded when an explosion tore through a major subway station in Minsk during the busy evening commute 6.

Ivory Coast's renegade leader Laurent Gbagbo is under arrest. Gbagbo called for an end to fighting within hours of surrendering today in Abidjan to forces loyal to political rival Alassane Ouattara. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports today's capture is a pivotal moment for Ouattara, the democratically elected president of November's election.

This would be not only good for him but especially for the people of Ivory Coast and civilians 7. They have borne the brunt of now weeks of fighting here in the commercial capital Abidjan. Hundreds are dead and civilians trapped in their homes with no foods, no water, no security, absolutely terrified by the fighting that has been going on.

NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton.

The Libyan opposition 8 is rejecting the African Union's conditions for a ceasefire, saying that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi must leave Libya before any dialog can take place. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi that anti-Gaddafi fighters just don't trust the AU.

The delegation 9 of African leaders arrived from Tripoli minus South Africa's Jacob Zuma, who said he had a schedule conflict. In contrast to the warm welcome the delegation received in Tripoli, in rebel-controlled Benghazi many suspect the African Union of siding with Gaddafi. Following an afternoon of meetings at a Benghazi hotel, the African leaders left without making any comment. The leader of the rebel's Transitional National Council Mustafa Abdul Jalil said the ceasefire and dialog proposal was over a month old and had been surpassed by events. Specifically, he said any proposal that does not include the departure of Gaddafi and his family could not be accepted by the rebels. He also said that Gaddafi should leave Libya voluntarily before "the march of the people is on his doorstep."

Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Benghazi.

US stocks mixed, Dow was up one at 12,381.

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In a setback 10 for Arizona's Republican governor, an appeals court has refused to lift a stay blocking vital parts of Arizona's law targeting illegal immigration from taking effect. The Justice Department says the disputed section of that law, requiring police to verify the status of a detainee who's suspected of being undocumented, violates the Constitution because immigration enforcement is a federal issue. Yet no comment today though from either the Justice Department or Governor Jan Brewer 11.

Jury deliberations are under way in San Francisco at the Barry Bonds perjury 12 trial. From San Francisco, NPR's Tom Goldman reports Bonds is charged with lying to a grand jury when he said he never knowingly took banned performance-enhancing drugs.

One of the perjury count against Barry Bonds alleged 13 he lied when he told a grand jury in 2003 that he had never been injected by anyone other than his doctors. Today, the jury reheard testimony 14 that went directly to that count. A court reporter read the testimony of Kathy Hoskins. She used to be Bonds' personal clothes shopper. She said in 2002 she witnessed Bonds' former personal trainer Greg Anderson injected Bonds in the belly 15 button with an unknown substance. Hoskins testified Bonds said at the time about the substance, "They can't detect it. They can't catch it." Bonds' defense 16 team says Hoskins told the story about the injection just before her brother Steve. He was a business partner of Bonds' before the two had an acrimonious 17 falling-out. Tom Goldman, NPR News, San Francisco.

Gas prices are edging closer to $4 a gallon across the US and people apparently 18 are driving less. MasterCard SpendingPulse finds gas sales are down for a fifth week in a row.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.