Reuters: Iran will continue preparing raw “yellowcake” uranium for enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear weapons, until the end of February, despite a recent pledge to freeze all such activity, diplomats said. “The Iranians have decided to continue UF4 (uranium tetrafluoride) production
AFP: A year after an earthquake killed 31,000 people in the southern Iranian city of Bam, thousands still need psychological help, the International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies said Monday. The impact of the quake continues to manifest itself through “sleeping disorders, the inability to complete routine tasks, explosive behavior, domestic violence and a dramatic increase in drug dependence,” said the IFRC. 
The Norway Post: Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen has condemned the planned execution of the mentally retarded 19 year-old Leila M in Iran. Among other things, the girl has been accused of prostitution. Norway has sent a formal protest to Iran about the matter. A representative from the Iranian embassy in Oslo was on Monday summoned to the Foreign Office to receive the Norwegian protest. 
United Press International: The U.N. General Assembly Monday expressed concern at continuing human rights violations in Iran on the reported eve of an execution by stoning. Non-governmental organizations said it was the 52nd time a body of the world organization condemned Tehran’s human rights record. 
Daily Telegraph: Iraqi officials fear that the big winner from next month’s historic election will be its powerful neighbour and former enemy, Iran. The countries share a 1,000-mile border, stretching from the flat desert wastes and marshes of the
Reuters: The U.N. General Assembly has criticised Iran for public executions, torture, arbitrary sentencing, flogging, stoning and systematic discrimination against women. Sponsored by Canada, the human rights resolution was adopted on Monday by a vote of 71 in favour, 54 against with
AFP: President George W. Bush on Monday cautioned Iran and Syria not to interfere in Iraq’s internal politics, saying the United States had a variety of ways to retaliate if the two countries failed to heed his warning. The message is the second within
Amnesty International: An Iranian woman charged with adultery faces death by stoning, reportedly by tomorrow (21 Dec) after her death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court last month. Her unnamed co-defendant is at risk of imminent execution by hanging. Amnesty International members are now faxing urgent appeals to the Iranian authorities, calling for the execution to be stopped. According to reports, Hajieh Esmailvand was sentenced to five years imprisonment, to be followed by execution by stoning, for adultery with an unnamed man who at the time was a 17 year old minor. 
Bloomberg: U.S. efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear weapons program through economic sanctions are being stymied by China’s increasing reliance on the Islamic nation for oil. The U.S. has tried for more than a year to get the United Nations Security Council to impose restrictions that might deter Iran from building an atomic bomb; China, which holds one of five vetoes on the council, is threatening to block those attempts. At the same time, a decades-long U.S. economic embargo of Iran is being undermined by a growing China-Iran trade … 
Iran Focus: 