Friday, August 21, 2009 CAIRO: The Arab League has welcomed the release of a terminally ill Libyan convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, it was reported today."The Arab League welcomes the Scottish court decision to release (Abdel Baset al-) Megrahi, taking into consideration his serious health condition," assistant secretary-general Ahdmed Bin Hilli was quoted as saying.He said the decision came after lengthy Libyan diplomatic efforts. Bin Hilli voiced hope the release "would constitute a new page in the Lockerbie crisis and that Libya would receive compensation for its suffering during the years of ongoing sanctions as a result of this crisis". In 2003, Libya agreed to pay $US2.7 billion in compensation to Lockerbie relatives, paving the way for a thawing of relations with the West. Megrahi, the only person ever convicted over the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people, arrived home today just hours after being freed on compassionate grounds. The Libyan has a highly aggressive form of prostate cancer and medical experts give him only months to live.
BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.
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