10 things you need to know today: May 20, 2012

The Lockerbie bomber dies, a powerful earthquake hits northern Italy — and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was found guilty of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, was released from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009 because he was said to have just months to live.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Abdel Magid Al Fergany, File)

1. LOCKERBIE BOMBER AL-MEGRAHI DIES

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, 60, the only person convicted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people above Scotland, has died at home in Libya, his brother has told news agencies. Megrahi was convicted by a special court in the Netherlands in 2001. In 2009, he was released from prison on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from cancer and was said to have only months to live. Shortly before being freed, Megrahi dropped his second appeal against his conviction. His release sparked the fury of many of the relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie disaster. [BBC]

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