Saudi battles Yemeni rebels for fifth day

Al-Khubah: Saudi forces battled Yemeni rebels for a fifth straight day on Saturday as medics said seven Saudis and an unknown number of rebels had been killed. Huge plumes of smoke could be seen rising above Jebel al-Dukhan, a 2,000-metre peak that marks the frontier near the border town of Al-Khubah, some 60 km from the Red Sea coast.

Four colleges in Australia shut down

Melbourne : Four international colleges in Australia have suddenly wound up, putting in jeopardy the future of 2,700 shell-shocked students including those from India, some of whom were about to graduate in two weeks. The students, who arrived at the college campuses on Friday, were shocked to hear that the institutions had been closed permanently.

Iran: 109 detained at Opposition rally

Tehran: Iranian police have detained 109 people for “disturbing public order” during an Opposition rally this week, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. Azizollah Rajabzadeh, a security spokesman, said 62 of those detained have been handed over to judicial authorities for trial and the rest have been released after questioning.

Afghanistan accuses UN of interference

KABUL: Afghanistan accused the UN on Saturday of intervening in the formation of President Hamid Karzai’s next cabinet, less than a week into his new term. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that comments made by the top UN envoy in Kabul at a news conference on Thursday had “exceeded international norms and his authority”.