Hundreds Defy Warning to Give Mohammed ElBaradei Hero's Welcome Home to Egypt
THE TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of Egyptian opposition supporters defied warnings to welcome home Nobel Peace laureate and former UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei amid hopes he will run for president.

Chanting the national anthem, the crowd was so large that it twice prevented Mr ElBaradei, 67, from exiting Cairo airport after he flew in from Vienna following 12 years at the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

About 1,500 people thronged the airport and wellwishers held up banners that read "Yes, ElBaradei president of Egypt" and "ElBaradei for presidency of Egypt 2011".

Others shouted "ElBaradei 100 per cent, he will bring to account the thieves" in reference to alleged corruption during the 29-year-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak. >>> | Saturday, February 20, 2010

US 'Warned Kenny MacAskill that Lockerbie Bomber Would Get Hero's Welcome'
TIMES ONLINE: Kenny MacAskill was warned by his US counterpart that the convicted Lockerbie bomber could get a hero’s welcome if he was returned home to Libya.

The message from Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, is contained in notes of a conversation he had with Mr MacAskill two months before the latter’s decision to free Abdel baset Ali al-megrahi [sic].

Theere was outrage in both the the US and in Britain last week when the freed terrorist was shown returning to Tripoli amid jubilant scenes with some in the crowd waving the Scottish flag.

The scenes came only hours after al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, had walked free from Greenock Prison in Scotland after Mr MacAskill had granted him compassionate release.

Mr Holder’s warning has been revealed by Frank Duggan, the president of a relatives group, Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, the aircraft that was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie on December 21 1888, with the loss of 270 lives.

Mr Duggan says a US Justice Department official read him notes that Mr Holder used during the conversation with Mr MacAskill. >>> Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Correspondent | Friday, August 28, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber: Libya Broke Promise over Hero's Welcome, Says Scottish Justice Minister
THE TELEGRAPH: Kenny MacAskill, Scotland's justice secretary, accused Libya of breaking a promise not to give a hero's welcome to the freed Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi.

He told an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament: "It is a matter of great regret that Mr Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner.

"It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie."

He went on: "Assurances had been given by the Libyan Government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion."

Mr MacAskill was speaking at a special session of the Scottish Parliament, recalled from its summer recess to allow MSPs to question him on his decision to free terminally-ill Megrahi.

The Justice Secretary defended his actions in freeing Megrahi on compassionate early release grounds, while turning down a request for him to be transferred to jail in Libya.

Earlier, Gordon Brown faced fresh criticism for commenting on England’s Ashes cricket victory, but remaining silent about what he thinks about the release of Abdulbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the Prime Minister’s continued refusal to comment on last week’s controversial release of Britain’s biggest mass murderer "absurd and damaging".

Downing Street maintained that the matter of Megrahi’s freedom was one for the Scottish administration, despite condemnation of the release by Barack Obama and the director of the FBI.

A spokesman for Downing Street, in response to repeated questions about the Prime Minister’s silence, repeatedly stated: “It was and it remains a decision for the Scottish Justice Secretary.”

However, Mr Brown has been more forthcoming about England’s Ashes victory – inviting criticism that he is happy to comment on frivolous matters, but not the release of a man who killed 270. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Monday, August 24, 2009

Lockerbie Bomber Arrives in Libya