Libya makes $1.5 billion payment

WASHINGTON – Libya has paid $1.5 billion into a fund to compensate the families of American victims of Libyan-linked terror attacks in the 1980s, clearing the last hurdle in full normalization of ties between Washington and Tripoli.

In exchange, under a deal worked out earlier this year, President Bush on Friday signed an executive order restoring the Libyan government’s immunity from terror-related lawsuits and dismissing pending compensation cases.