Libya nuke trial nears end

Stuttgart - A German engineer has acknowledged that he helped procure parts for a centrifuge system that authorities say was meant for Libya's now-abandoned nuclear weapons programme, a court said on Thursday. Gotthard Lerch went on trial in June, accused of supplying Libya with sensitive technology in the knowledge that the country was seeking atomic weapons. Prosecutors have accused him of playing a key role in the network led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. Lerch faces charges that he broke German export and weapons laws by helping supply uranium-enriching equipment to Libya between 1999 and 2003. The Stuttgart state court on Thursday said Lerch "admitted having supported the production of ... piping systems for a gas ultra centrifuge facility in South Africa." It added in a statement that the International... [read full story]