Libya and the US settled all outstanding lawsuits by US victims of terrorism yesterday, clearing the way for the full restoration of diplomatic relations.
The top US diplomat for the Middle East, David Welch, signed the deal with Ahmed al-Fatouri, head of the Libyan foreign ministry US affairs department in a ceremony before reporters and members of both delegations.
There were 26 pending lawsuits filed by US citizens against Libya for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, and other attacks, said a senior Libyan government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said there were also three outstanding lawsuits filed by Libyan citizens, including for US air strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986 that reportedly killed 41 people, including Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s adopted daughter.
The agreement paves the way for a full restoration of relations, including the opening of a US embassy in Tripoli, the confirmation of an ambassador, direct US aid and a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before the end of the year.
It also gives the Libyan government immunity from any further terror-related lawsuits, the government official said.
Thursday’s signing completes a nearly five-year effort to rebuild ties between the two countries.
The US had no diplomatic relations with Libya from 1980 until late 2003, when leader Qaddafi pledged to abandon his weapons of mass destruction programs, stop exporting terrorism and compensate the families of victims of the Lockerbie bombing and other attacks.
After that, the country that was once a global pariah was given a reprieve from UN, US and European sanctions and allowed a seat on the UN Security Council.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS