Italy agrees to pay $5b for occupation

BENGHAZI - Italy agreed yesterday to pay Libya $5 billion as compensation for its 30-year occupation of the country, which ended in 1943. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Libyan leader, Moammar Khadafy, signed the deal providing funds for construction projects, student grants, and pensions for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians in World War II. In return, Libya will crack down on illegal migrants who turn up in Italy. (AP)

HARARE - Zimbabwean power-sharing talks being held in South Africa have hit a snag over a proposal for President Robert Mugabe and his opposition rival to chair the Cabinet jointly, state media reported yesterday. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change made the new proposal when negotiators met separately with President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa on Friday. The ruling ZANU-PF party called the plan unworkable. (Reuters)

COLOMBO - A bomb blast blamed on separatist Tamil Tigers wounded 45 in Sri Lanka's capital yesterday, while renewed fighting in the north killed 19 rebels and six soldiers, the military said. The small bomb exploded in a commercial area shortly after noon, tearing through a crowd of shoppers. The military has captured rebel bases and large chunks of territory in recent months. If carried out by the rebels, the attack would show their ability to strike deep in government territory. (AP)