Syria

Syria prevented a World Food Program (WFP) vessel carrying rice for Iraqi refugees from unloading at the country's main port on Nov. 11 because, the government said, its cargo failed tests. The order comes at a time of heightened tension between Syria and Iraq in the wake of a US raid on Syria from Iraqi territory that killed at least eight people. Iraqi refugees - reliant on food aid distributed jointly by the WFP and the UNHCR - said they have stopped receiving rice, the main part of their rations. A UN official in the Syrian capital confirmed that distribution of rice has stopped, but declined to say why. (Reuters)