Briefly

UNITED NATIONS

Iraq's requirement to pay victims ends

The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to end Iraq's requirement to compensate victims of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, with Baghdad having paid out more than $50 billion to 1.5 million claimants. Michael Gaffey, Ireland's ambassador to the UN in Geneva and president of the UN Compensation Commission's governing board, told the council after the vote that it was a "historic achievement for the United Nations and for effective multilateralism".

SYRIA

Israeli strikes on military sites reported

Israel fired missiles on multiple military sites in Syria's southern province of Quneitra on Wednesday, causing material damage only, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. The Israelis fired from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Syrian military sites in the adjacent Quneitra Province, said SANA, citing a military source. Last week, Israel carried out a similar missile strike targeting points south of the capital Damascus.

Agencies - Xinhua