World IN BRIEF : ITALY : Rewards Offered for Escaped Hijacker

Italy offered a reward for information leading to the capture of Youssef Magid Molki, a Palestinian hijacker of the Achille Lauro cruise ship whose escape Feb. 28 during prison leave angered Jews and the United States. Meanwhile, the U.S. also offered a reward of up to $2 million. A State Department spokesman said the offer was separate from the bounty offered by the Italian government, which did not specify an amount. Molki was sentenced to 30 years for the 1985 hijacking. He was found primarily responsible for the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled American Jew who was shot while in his wheelchair and dumped over the side of the Italian ship. Of four Palestinians originally convicted of the hijacking, only one remains in prison. One hijacker was paroled in 1991, and another disappeared the same year while he was on a prison leave.