Appeal in Lockerbie bombing case begins

The Libyan man jailed for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 was convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence, his lawyer told a Scottish court Tuesday.

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, 57, was not in court as his appeal got under way more than 20 years after the Dec. 21, 1988 bombing killed all 259 people aboard the London to New York flight and 11 people on the ground. But he was following the proceedings by a closed circuit television link between the court and Greenock Prison, near Glasgow.

"The trial court, on the basis of wholly circumstantial evidence, concluded beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant was involved in the commission of this …

American may woo Midway

Weakened by losses and a shrinking market value, Midway Airlinesapparently has become the target of competition-minded AMR Corp.,parent of American Airlines.

American is believed to be looking at Midway in order to expandits presence in Chicago, a goal that is virtually impossible atcrowded O'Hare Airport, where American has 38 gates and UnitedAirlines dominates with 55.

A Fort Worth newspaper had reported that Dallas-based AMR Corp.hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore the possibility of acquiring allor part of Midway. American and the investment banking firm wouldn'tcomment on the report, which also was carried in Crain's ChicagoBusiness. Midway spokeswoman …

Roddick says players may discuss tour issues

SHANGHAI (AP) — Andy Roddick says the top men's tennis players may still meet this week in Shanghai to discuss their grievances with the ATP tour, despite the absence of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Roddick has been among the most vocal proponents for a collective response to the top players' complaints about the tour, most …

Actor, comedian Andy Dick arrested in US

Actor and comedian Andy Dick has been charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse in West Virginia.

Dick was arraigned Saturday afternoon in Cabell County Magistrate Court. Court documents say he's accused of grabbing a bouncer's crotch and groping and kissing a male patron earlier in the morning at a bar in Huntington. Magistrate Patty Verbage Spence set bail at $60,000.

"Andy is …

Blacks would be naive to pick Martin

I want Republican senatorial candidate Lynn Martin to know thatthroughout August she had a corps of black supporters who reallyspoke up for her with courageous dedication.

I received at least three calls per week boosting her"accessibility to our people."

Of course she must know by now that "our people" means"African-American." It has that warm, personal, unifying sound incontrast with neutral identifications such as "black voters."

One "brother" called me twice last weekend and referred tocandidate Martin as "Sustah Lynn Martin." Just like down home.

But Martin has a real problem with being sold in blackprecincts. And that is not where she …

Pastors learn about relational boundaries

Marianne Mellinger led a pastoral training seminar entitled "Relational boundaries: Caring for self and others" in three locations this fall. Mellinger is part-time interim pastor at Preston Mennonite Church and has a private counselling practice.

Approximately 110 pastors attended the seminar, sponsored by Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada.

All MCEC pastors were encouraged to participate in this "preventative" program. The goals were to help pastors understand their need for approval and security, to become familiar with psychological concepts such as projection and transference, to understand power and authority, and to recognize vulnerabilities that may lead to a …

Australia beats Hungary 12-11 in bronze shootout

Australia's water polo team scored with eight seconds left to send the Olympic bronze medal water polo match against Hungary into overtime, then used the momentum to rally for a 12-11 victory in a shootout.

It was a hard-won medal for the team that finished fourth in Athens and was determined not to do so again.

"Obviously we were all down after the American game," said coach Greg McFadden, who tried to psyche the Australians by predicting a semifinal victory over the Americans. Instead, the U.S. pulled out a 9-8 win that nearly shattered Australia's confidence.

So McFadden called on former gold medal-winning hockey player Danielle …