Power cut stalls UN answer on Lockerbie

A massive power outage that hit the East Coast of the Untied States and parts of Canada put world diplomacy on hold at the United…

A massive power outage that hit the East Coast of the Untied States and parts of Canada put world diplomacy on hold at the United Nations today after shutting down the building.

Emergency teams were on duty and the Security Council staff office remained open, using power from an emergency generator.

Power was expected to be restored to all of New York today, but a council official said nothing was anticipated for the day.

There was no word on a highly anticipated letter from Libya that was expected to accept responsibility for the 1988 mid-air bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, the council official said.

READ MORE

Libya had been expected to send the letter to the UN Security Council by the end of the week.

The expected delivery of the letter follows an agreement reached on Wednesday between Libya and families of the bombing victims to set up a $2.7 billion compensation account.

Libyan admission of guilt - long demanded by the United States and Britain - and the payment of the $2.7 billion are expected to be followed by a Security Council move to lift UN sanctions against Libya.