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Lockerbie bomber: I prayed to ‘see my parents before I die’

"I am praying every day that I will see my parents before I die," the Lockerbie bomber wrote in a plea to be set free from a Scottish jail, previously secret documents released Tuesday by the Scottish government show. The handwritten letter from Abdelbeset al Megrahi to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was published as the Scottish and British governments fight back against allegations al Megrahi was released as part of a deal involving Libyan oil. Al Megrahi was released last month on the grounds that he has terminal cancer.

Documents reveal fears over Lockerbie bomber deal

Scotland’s leaders feared that the warming of relations between Libya and the United Kingdom would force Scotland to hand over the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, documents released by the British government Tuesday indicate.

U.N. agency to investigate Indian massacre in Colombia

A United Nations human rights agency has agreed to help Colombia investigate the massacre of 12 Indians in the southwestern part of the country. UEFA disciplinary officials are reviewing the incident when the Croatia striker won a penalty against Celtic on Wednesday before deciding whether he will be charged.

UEFA to investigate Eduardo diving incident

Arsenal striker Eduardo could face a two-match Champions League ban if European football’s governing body UEFA decide to charge him with diving. UEFA disciplinary officials are reviewing the incident when the Croatia striker won a penalty against Celtic on Wednesday before deciding whether he will be charged. A UEFA spokesman told Press Association Sport: “We are reviewing the match to see whether a disciplinary investigation should be launched.” Under UEFA rules, if charged and found guilty Eduardo could face sanctions up to a two-match ban in European competition.

U.S. negotiating with Libya on Gadhafi’s New Jersey campout

The State Department said Wednesday it continues to talk to Libyan officials about next month’s visit to the New York area by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly continued to hold out the possibility of a compromise over Gadhafi’s reported plans to pitch his Bedouin tent on the grounds of a Libyan diplomatic residence in suburban New Jersey during his visit to participate in the annual United Nations General Assembly. Gadhafi last week permitted a large welcome for Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988

Brown angered by Lockerbie bomber welcome

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday he was outraged and "repulsed" by the celebratory welcome given to a man convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. “I have to tell you that I was both angry and I was repulsed by the reception that a convicted bomber, guilty of a huge terrorist crime, received on his return to Libya,” Brown said

Whisky boycott urged over Lockerbie bomber’s release

Americans are being urged to boycott Scottish products as continued outrage over last week’s release of the Lockerbie bomber prompted an emergency meeting of parliament. A Web site set up to vent anger at the decision to send Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi back to Libya calls on Americans to avoid travel to Scotland and cease buying Scottish products such as whisky

Blair denies Libyan claims of Lockerbie deal

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday no deals were ever made with Libya while he was in power to arrange the Lockerbie bomber’s release, a move that has caused outrage in the United States. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Blair denied claims — made Friday by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi — that he raised the case of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi every time he visited Libya as prime minister. “Let me make one thing absolutely clear,” Blair, who stepped down as PM in 2007, told CNN’s John Vause on Saturday in Guiyang, China.

Britain rejects claim that bomber release tied to UK trade deals

Britain on Friday rejected claims made by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi that the release of the Lockerbie bomber was linked to trade deals between Libya and Britain. Saif al-Islam Gadhafi made the comments in an interview with Libyan channel Al Mutawassit, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported

Papers: Bomber’s release ‘a betrayal of justice’

The release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi from prison in due to terminal illness was greeted with wideapread derision from newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic, with few having good words for Scottish authorities behind the decisions. Below are a selection of the opinions that have appeared in newspapers in Britain, which witnessed the 1988 atrocity, and America, where many of the families of victims live. In London, The Times says that the decision to release al Megrahi was taken with “consideration and compassion”.