WORLD IN BRIEF : AUSTRIA : Holocaust Survivors to Get Reparations

The government of Austria agreed to pay about $25 million in reparations to Jewish survivors of the World War II Holocaust. The money will be invested in projects aimed at helping the survivors. The announcement of the payments marked a sharp shift for Austria, which has traditionally argued that the country itself was a victim of Nazi aggression. Some Austrian Jews theorized that the change of heart stems from the international uproar over the 1986 election of President Kurt Waldheim, who served in the German army but has denied any complicity in war crimes.