Underwear bomber gets a life sentence

A Nigerian who tried to blow up an international flight near Detroit on behalf of al-Qaida has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The mandatory punishment for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was never in doubt after he pleaded guilty in October.

The 25-year-old said that the bomb in his underwear was a “blessed weapon”, to avenge poorly-treated Muslims worldwide.