Cross-border fire kills five soldiers

YEMEN: Five Saudi troops were killed on Sunday, the latest casualties of the kingdom’s intervention in the Yemeni civil war.

A Saudi armed forces statement claimed that the five were killed by fire from across the border in Saudi Arabia’s southern Najran district.

Elsewhere, a helicopter pilot was killed when his aircraft crashed during a training mission in the Taif area, near the holy city of Mecca.

Rouhani in Jewish new year greetings

IRAN: President Hassan Rouhani sent greetings to Jewish people yesterday to mark Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.

Mr Rouhani’s Twitter account posted the message: “May our shared Abrahamic roots deepen respect and bring peace and mutual understanding. L’Shanah Tovah.”

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has sent similar messages via Twitter in recent years.

Iran’s 20,000-strong Jewish community dates back nearly 3,000 years.

Ministers to meet after fatal crash

ISRAEL: Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu will convene an “emergency meeting” following a man’s death in a car crash after stones were thrown at his vehicle.

Mr Netanyahu will hold the consultations with top ministers tonight after the Jewish new year holiday of Rosh Hashanah ends.

Earlier yesterday, police and stone-throwing Palestinians clashed for the second day at the al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

Lavrov slams West’s hostility to Assad

SYRIA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said it is “absurd” for the West to exclude Syria’s armed forces from the fight against Islamic State (Isis).

In a TV interview shown on Sunday, Mr Lavrov also attacked Western powers for saying they would only welcome Russian help if it did not bolster President Bashar al-Assad’s position.

“Maybe they all want Russia, too, to announce it will carry out strikes on the terrorists in Syria, without asking the president of this country,” he said.

Taliban jailbreak releases 350

AFGHANISTAN: More than 350 inmates escaped a prison in Ghazni province following a co-ordinated attack by Taliban insurgents yesterday morning.

Insurgents wearing military uniforms launched a well-organised attack in the early morning, using a suicide bomber to breach the compound’s walls.

Four guards were killed and seven others were wounded, while three insurgents were also killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.

United Russia sweeps the board

RUSSIA: The ruling United Russia party swept the board in regional elections yesterday.

Only one of President Vladimir Putin’s 21 candidates got less than 50 per cent, according to early results.

The liberal RPR-Parnas party led by headed by former Russian PM Mikhail Kasyanov, which contested seats in Kostroma, one of 11 regional parliaments elected, polled just under 2 per cent of the vote.

Three arrested for bombing

MALAYSIA: A Pakistani and two Malaysians have been arrested in connection with last month’s bombing of a shrine in Bangkok that killed 20 people, national police chief Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday.

The three were detained a few days ago following a tip-off by Thai authorities. One of the Malaysians is a woman.