EARLY XMAS IN IRAQ

BAGHDAD. The Christmas Eve Mass for Baghdad's small and beleaguered Christian community started before dusk Wednesday instead of at the traditional midnight, a reflection of continued security concerns in the Iraqi capital. About 50 people attended the Mar Yusif Chaldean Catholic Church's service, which started in the late afternoon — as on the previous five Christmas Eves — even though the overall number of attacks in the city has plummeted this year.