11:15 AM - By JAMES PALMER
The Lockerbie judgement
One of two Libyan defendants was convicted of the Lockerbie bombing yesterday, the British dailies report, putting an end to 12 years of grief and doubt. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was found guilty of planning and carrying out the explosion on PanAm flight 103 over the Scottish village which killed 270 people, and was sentenced to life in prison.
But many questions remain unanswered, The Independent, says, quoting Tam Dalyell, MP for Lithgow, as saying: "It stretches the imagination that Megrahi alone devised a scheme which led to the biggest murder of Western civilians since 1945".
The US has called from compensation from Libya for the families of the victims, the papers say, while a rift is developing between the UK and US over whether the UN should lift sanctions on Libya. The Guardian says the US is likely to use its power of veto in the event of a UN resolution to lift sanctions.
Libya denies it had anything to do with the bombing, The Independent says, but hinted it may pay the victims. Robert Fisk, The Independent's correspondent in Beirut, suggests that Iranians seeking revenge for the shooting-down of an Air Iran flight in 1998 by an American warship may have been responsible for the bombing, and that "there was a sigh of relief" in some Middle Eastern countries that Libya had taken the blame.
Magnus Linklater says in The Times that yesterday's verdict gives only a glimpse of the truth behind the bombing, calling Megrahi "the final link in the chain."
The New York Times and the Washington Post say that seeking justice through a criminal trial was fated to let those truly responsible get away with murder.
Without homes, or aid
The Independent turns its coverage of the Indian earthquake to the towns and villages in the interior, where relief has yet to arrive. "Nobody has come to help us, not even the army," the villagers are quoted as saying.
The Guardian moves to the village of Dinara, where it says villagers have waited since last Friday for help to arrive and none has come.
The Times, in Bhacau, tells the story of a hostel for the blind and how all but 12 of its 116 residents survived the quake because they were praying in a solidly built community hall. The paper pinpoints one man who may one day be investigated for his part in the tragedy, Ram Bhai Patre, the contractor who built a school which collapsed killing 39 children while the buildings around it withstood the tremors.
The International Herald Tribune makes the same point, citing a document submitted by an Indian group of experts in 1998 which warned, "Disasters don't kill people, buildings do," and "the number of unsafe buildings is increasing everyday."
Cattle 'holocaust'
Germany has caved into EU pressure and ordered the destruction of 400,000 cattle, The Independent reports. Every carcass will be tested for BSE and incinerated no matter what the outcome, the paper says, in what Marcus Vogt of the Catholic Bishop's Conference has called "a real cattle holocaust".
His comments provoked outrage from the Jewish community, and he was forced to apologise, the paper says.
Sharon on course for victory
The Independent says Likud leader Ariel Sharon is on course for a landslide victory in the Israeli elections. A survey in the Jerusalem Post put him 22 points ahead.
The Telegraph says Ehud Barak's supporters have resorted to scare tactics - sending fake call-up letters to army reservists - in order to portray Sharon as a warmonger.
The Financial Times says Barak is considering standing down to let the elder statesman Shimon Peres run for the Labour party in his place. The Prime Minister, however, is reported to say that voters will "wake up" and "come to their senses" next Tuesday, polling day.
Turkish MP dies after brawl
A member of the Turkish parliament dropped dead after getting embroiled in a fist-fight in the debating chamber, The Times and The Telegraph report. Fevzi Sihanlioglu ,55, died of a heart attack soon after receiving blows to the head, the papers say.
Estrada won't go quietly
Joseph Estrada is not leaving the political stage in the Philippines quietly, The Independent reports, still claiming the presidency as his own. He will use all legal recourse available to him to get back in office, the paper says. He called the State presided over by Gloria Arroyo "a banana
republic".
The Financial Times says he is still surrounded by thousands of his faithful.
Mussolini in TV cat-fight
The granddaughter of Il Duce got into a slanging match with a communist minister during an Italian TV debate, which reportedly resulted in a microphone being thrown, The Times reports. The show airs in Italy tonight.
Falun Gong assault moves to HK
The Financial Times reports that the Chinese government's bid to stamp out the banned Falun Gong movement has moved to Hong Kong. A local liaison office in Hong Kong warned sect members that any attempt to turn Hong Kong into a centre for Falun Gong activities would not tolerated.
- INDEPENDENT
World news monitor
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