Iran’s Guard simulates capture of mosque
TEHRAN, Iran – Paramilitary forces from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard have held a war game simulating the capture of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque from Israeli control, state media reported Saturday.
It said forces stormed and “liberated” a replica of the mosque in the exercise. They say thousands of members of the Basij, the paramilitary unit of the Guard, participated in Friday’s exercise outside the holy city of Qom in central Iran.
The hilltop compound, which is holy to Jews and Muslims, has been at the heart of weeks of unrest between Israel and the Palestinians.
Kenya minister quits amid allegations
NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s planning minister said Saturday she is resigning for health reasons after allegations of corruption surfaced.
Anne Waiguru said her doctor had advised her to ask to be relieved of her duties at the Devolution and Planning Ministry, which is being investigated for squandering funds.
Waiguru admitted that $7,750,000 was lost to dubious contracts. Two top officials in the ministry have been charged with attempting to convince another official not to report the loss of the money.
Suicide bomb kills 9 in Cameroon town
YAOUNDE, Cameroon – A local official in northern Cameroon says at least nine people were killed and dozens injured when suspected Boko Haram militants carried out a suicide attack on a town bordering Nigeria.
Fotokol was targeted multiple times this year, most recently on Nov. 9 when a teenage female suicide bomber hit a mosque during afternoon prayers, killing four and wounding dozens.
Cameroon is contributing troops to a regional force to fight Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left an estimated 20,000 people dead, according to Amnesty International.
Former South Korean president dies at 87
SEOUL, South Korea – Former President Kim Young-sam, who formally ended decades of military rule in South Korea, died Sunday. He was 87.
The chief of Seoul National University Hospital, Oh Byung-Hee, said Kim died there early Sunday. He said Kim is believed to have suffered from a severe blood infection and acute heart failure before he died.
Kim was an important figure in South Korea’s pro-democracy movement and opposed the country’s military dictators for decades. As president, Kim laid the foundation for a peaceful power transfer in a country that had been marked by military coups.
Associated Press
