Scotland
New Lockerbie probe to be opened in Libya
The governments of Libya, Britain and the United States marked the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing by opening a new chapter in solving the mystery. In a joint statement late Saturday, the three countries said that British and U.S. investigators would arrive in Libya "in the near future" to discuss "sharing of information and documents and access to witnesses." The announcement came at the end of a day filled with memorial ceremonies for the family and friends of the 270 people killed in Scotland.
Somalia
Parliament approves new prime minister
The Somali Parliament approved the appointment of the new prime minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed, who is expected to lead the government for the next three years. Somali President Hassan Sheik Mohamud nominated Ahmed, a Somali-Canadian, after lawmakers forced out the former prime minister in a no-confidence vote. Mohamud said he's confident that the new prime minister can strengthen Somalia's political institutions and lay the groundwork for elections by 2016.
Washington, D.C.
More NSA documents are declassified
The director of national intelligence declassified more documents that outline how the National Security Agency was first authorized to start collecting bulk phone and Internet records in the hunt for Al-Qaida terrorists and how a court eventually gained oversight of the program. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper explained that President George W. Bush first authorized the spying in October 2001, as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program, just after the Sept. 11 attacks.
California
Bay Area transit union standoff resolved
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit officials and labor union leaders announced a new deal, saying the final unresolved issue in their ongoing dispute has been resolved. The transit system and its two largest unions have been involved in monthslong negotiations that stalled recently over paid medical leave time for employees. BART officials and labor leaders had approved a deal in October after six months of talks and two strikes; that deal fell apart last month when BART officials said a provision giving workers six weeks of paid annual leave to care for sick family members had been mistakenly included.
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