Italy to pay Libya for wartime occupation

Italy agreed today to pay Libya $5bn as compensation for its 30-year occupation of the country, which ended in 1943.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi signed a memorandum pledging a five billion US dollars compensation package involving construction projects, student grants and pensions for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians during World War II.