Latest international news

Israeli army cuts off campus
The Israeli army has dug two trenches in the only road linking the Palestinian university of Bir Zeit to the rest of the West Bank, cutting telephone lines and water pipes. The university fears it will be unable to reopen after the Eid-al-Adha festival tomorrow.

Single Iranian women allowed to study abroad
Iran is to allow unmarried women to study overseas on state scholarships in a victory for the country’s reformers. Legislation was unsuccessfully opposed by religious hardliners who feared it would expose Iranian women to "corrupting" foreign influences. Married women can study abroad if their husbands give permission.

Briton appointed v-c of South African university
The University of the Wi****ersrand has appointed British statistician Norma Reid as its new vice-chancellor. Professor Reid, whose selection still has to be ratified by the senate and council, has held senior management positions at the universities of Ulster, Coventry and Plymouth.