US makes first Lockerbie payouts

The US has handed over more than $500m (£320m) in Libyan compensation money to American families of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.

The money is part of the $1.5bn Libya paid into a US bank account in October.

Under a deal reached with the US in August, Libya agreed to compensate the victims but did not accept responsibility for the attacks.

The US has agreed to pay $300m in compensation to families of victims of retaliatory US air strikes in Libya.

The agreement between the US and Libya was seen as part of Tripoli's attempts to improve its diplomatic relations following decades of isolation.

The US state department said that further payouts were expected "within days".

These include more than $280m to the families of the US victims of a bomb attack in Germany in 1986 that killed three and wounded more than 200.