October 24, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 27, 1424

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23: The UN General Assembly on Thursday elected Algeria, Benin, Brazil, the Philippines and Romania to highly coveted seats on the Security Council.

The five were unopposed for the five vacancies to open up on the 15-nation council on Jan. 1.

Poland and Argentina got one vote each in the 191-nation General Assembly even though they were not candidates.

The Security Council is responsible for international peace and security, and its decisions can be legally binding on all 191 UN members.

Candidates are elected for two-year terms and are often unopposed as they are selected in advance.—Reuters