Lockerbie trial draws to a close

The defence at the Lockerbie bombing trial in the Netherlands is due to begin its final submissions later today Thursday.

Lawyers for the two Libyan defendants Abdel Basset al-Megrahi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fahima are expected to argue that the prosecution has failed to prove its case.

The prosecution has agreed that there were gaps in its knowledge about how exactly the bomb was planted, but says there's enough evidence to show the accused were involved in a successful plan to destroy an aircraft.

The defendants deny murdering two-hundred-and-seventy people by planting a bomb on a Pan-Am flight which exploded over Scotland in 1988.

Two lesser charges have been dropped.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service