UN approves resolution to lift Iraq sanctions

IN a victory for the United States, the UN Security Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution yesterday empowering the United States and Britain to govern Iraq and use its oil wealth to rebuild the country.

The resolution passed by a 14-0 vote, with Syria the only Arab nation on the council absent.

John Negroponte, the US ambassador, said that after more than a decade of being frozen out of the world economy by sanctions against Saddam Hussein's regime, "it is time for the Iraqi people to benefit from their natural resources," a reference to the country's vast oil wealth.