An Iranian vice-president today rejected a US contention that his country was fanning Muslim anger over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, while a newspaper in Malaysia faced closure for printing one of the images.

MILITANTS attacked Afghan government offices and a police convoy yesterday, continuing a series of assaults that has left at least 41 people dead in the region over two days.

AT LEAST four Afghan students died when hundreds, enraged over a lack of food and electricity in their dormitory, clashed with police in violent demonstrations in the capital Kabul.

An intelligence official in Afghanistan’s interim government has said negotiations for the surrender of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar have reached “a crucial stage”, with a resolution expected within two days.