Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood has made a return to parliament after winning 16 seats in the 130-member house, according to results announced by the country's electoral commission.
	The Brotherhood's Islamic Action Front (IAF) contested Tuesday's polls after having boycotted two previous parliamentary elections in the kingdom, in 2010 and 2013, in protest at the electoral system and alleged voting fraud.
	As in past elections, most seats went to businessmen and tribal figures close to the monarchy, the preliminary results showed.
	The election came as Jordan, a key ally of Western countries, wrestles with the spillover of wars in neighbouring Syria and Iraq and the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees.
	As well as the performance of the IAF, attention was focused on the low turnout, with just 1.5 million voters out of a 4.1-million strong electorate casting ballots.
	Experts say the figure reflected a lack of enthusiasm among voters for a parliament with limited power to ..

Jordan's Brotherhood back in parliament after vote

PTI Automatic

US justice authorities today unveiled a broad-based effort to dismantle global mass-mailing fraud operations that officials say cheat millions of people out of tens of millions of dollars annually.
	Officials announced criminal charges, economic sanctions, asset seizures and other actions aimed at companies and individuals based in Canada, France, Singapore, Turkey, India, the United States and other countries.
	The scams followed a familiar pattern, according to the US Justice Department, which said "direct mailers" sent phony letters, frequently to the elderly, claiming the recipients had won cash or prizes that could be collected for processing fees.
	Swiss and Singaporean-based outfits allegedly took in USD 50 million to USD 60 million annually on the back of fraudulent claims, some of which purportedly came from world famous psychics.
	Among others, the effort targeted an Indian printing company which allegedly produced solicitation letters in bulk and a Canadian payments ...

Global mail fraud network targeted by US

Rescuers brought more bodies ashore today after a boat crowded with migrants capsized off the Egyptian coast, leaving at least 55 people dead and dozens missing.
	Survivors said up to 450 migrants had been aboard the fishing vessel when it sank yesterday about 12 kilometres (eight miles) from Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Rosetta.
	A health ministry official said 55 bodies had been retrieved. According to the military, 163 survivors have been rescued.
	Authorities have arrested four suspected human traffickers over the tragedy, the latest in what the UN refugee agency expects to be the deadliest year on record for the Mediterranean.
	Military boats were seen bringing corpses to shore in body bags, one containing the body of a child whose grandfather recognised him and knelt down in shock.
	Rescuers said the search would focus on the boat's cold storage room where witnesses said about 100 people had been when the vessel flipped over.
	"The death toll is going to rise," a medical ..

Egypt migrant shipwreck death toll rises to 55

Ten jihadists and nine pro-government fighters died in clashes today around the last positions of the Islamic State group in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, medical and military sources said.
	"Our forces are advancing on the last holdouts of Daesh" in the only district of Sirte still held by IS, said the media office of the pro-government fighters, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.
	Three car bombs driven by jihadists were destroyed before reaching their targets, it said.
	Sirte was an IS stronghold before forces loyal to the country's Government of National Accord launched an offensive against the jihadists in May.
	The hospital in Misrata, a town half-way between Sirte and Tripoli, to which casualties are ferried, said on Facebook that nine pro-GNA fighters were killed and 40 wounded.
	Loyalist military sources said at least 10 IS militants also died in the latest bout of the four-month-old battle.
	Suicide bombings and sniper fire from the cornered jihadists have ..

'19 dead' in clashes with IS in Libya's Sirte

The US Treasury Department today imposed financial sanctions on the international payments processing company PacNet, accusing it of facilitating fraudulent scams targeting the elderly and vulnerable.
	PacNet Group, based in Canada and with a network of operations in Europe, Asia, Britain and Africa, knowingly laundered money from financial scams perpetrated in the United States and elsewhere, the Treasury Department said.
	The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which oversees US economic sanctions, officially designated PacNet as a "transnational criminal organization", effectively forcing it out of the US banking system and hampering its access to global financial networks.
	OFAC also blacklisted 12 people and 24 entities across 18 countries who are suspected of being involved in or supporting PacNet's operations.
	"PacNet has knowingly facilitated the fraudulent activities of its customers for many years and today's designations are aimed at shielding Americans and the .

US blacklists Canada-based pay processor, citing fraud

The top US military officer today blasted Russia over the attack on an aid convoy in Syria, calling the strike an atrocity and squarely blaming Moscow for the incident.
	General Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said two Russian aircraft were in the area over Orum al-Kubra, a town in Aleppo province, where Monday's air strike on the convoy occurred.
	He said planes from the Syrian regime were also in the area, so he couldn't definitely say who dropped the bombs.
	"There is no doubt in my mind that the Russians are responsible, I just don't know whose aircraft actually dropped the bomb," Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
	Russia has been conducting military operations and air strikes in Syria over the past year to prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
	"It was an unacceptable atrocity," Dunford said of the deadly strike that killed around 20 civilians late Monday.
	Trucks carrying food and medical equipment from the United Nations and other .

'No doubt' Russia to blame in Syria convoy attack: US general

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the UN General Assembly today that Israel's settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank was destroying any hope of a two-state solution.
	Abbas, who has been Palestinian president for 11 years, urged countries at the gathering to recognize Palestine as a state and once again offered the hand of peace, albeit slamming Israel's intentions.
	"What the Israeli government is doing in pursuit of its expansionist settlement plans will destroy whatever possibility is left for the two-state solution along the 1967 borders," Abbas said.
	The Palestinian leader said his officials would "exert all efforts" to get the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on settlements and the "terror of the settlers."
	"The settlements are illegal in every aspect," Abbas said.
	"We are undertaking at the moment extensive consultations with Arab countries and other friendly countries on this matter," he said.
	Washington said on August 31 that it was "deeply ...

Israel destroying two-state solution hopes: Abbas to UN

Sudan has freed 21 child soldiers who were captured in war-torn Darfur last year during fighting between government troops and rebels, the United Nations said today.
	Their release yesterday came just days after President Omar al-Bashir declared in North Darfur that he would order all detained children from the rebel side be freed.
	The child soldiers were captured in Darfur in 2015 during fighting between government troops and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
	"The United Nations welcomes the release yesterday by the government of Sudan of 21 children associated with armed groups," the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.
	"Sudanese children cannot continue to be robbed of their future ... No child should take part in hostilities," Martin Uhomoibhi, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, said in the statement.
	The released children will be housed in a government transit centre that will enable their re-integration into their families and ...

Sudan frees 21 rebel child soldiers: UN

Russian President Vladimir Putin today appointed the country's hawkish former parliament speaker as the new head of his foreign intelligence agency.
	Putin nominated former Duma boss Sergei Naryshkin -- widely reported to have served with him in the Soviet-era KGB -- to take over as head of the SVR from Mikhail Fradkov, days after a thumping win for the ruling United Russia party at legislative elections that will now see a new speaker take over.
	The change comes with Russia locked in its worst standoff with the West since the Cold War over the crisis in Ukraine and Moscow's backing for Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
	The spike in tensions has reportedly pushed the levels of spying from both sides back up to that seen before the fall of the Iron Curtain.
	"You are well aware, as we all are, what situation we are in now  and how important success for this service is for the stable, secure development of our country," Putin told Naryshkin in televised comments.
	"It is important to head off 

Putin appoints new foreign spy boss

Two rockets launched from an area in Syria held by Islamic State (IS) jihadists slammed into the centre of a Turkish border town today, injuring nine people including children and prompting the army to strike back in retaliation.
	The first rocket hit a market area in the centre of the Turkish border town of Kilis, shattering windows and causing panic.
	Seven people -- six children and one adult -- were wounded, said Kilis governor Ismail Catakli, quoted by Turkish media. The adult, aged 34, was said to be in a serious condition.
	The youngest of the children wounded is a 10-month old baby and the oldest just 13, the Dogan news agency said.
	All those wounded were refugees from the war in Syria, who now make up over half of the town's population.
	Shortly afterwards, a second rocket hit the town, wounding two people, one Syrian and one Turk, NTV television said.
	The strikes come one month into an unprecedented incursion into Syria by Turkish forces aimed at rooting IS jihadists and ..

Nine wounded as Turkish town hit by rocket fired from Syria

Rescuers today brought more bodies ashore and searched for dozens still missing, a day after a boat crowded with migrants capsized off the Egyptian coast, drowning at least 51 people.
	Survivors said up to 450 migrants had been aboard the fishing vessel when it sank about 12 kilometres (eight miles) off the coast of Rosetta, an Egyptian Mediterranean port city.
	The military has said 163 survivors have been rescued so far, with a health ministry official saying 51 bodies had been retrieved.
	Authorities have arrested four suspected human traffickers over the tragedy, the latest in what the UN refugee agency expects to be the deadliest year on record for the Mediterranean.
	A military boat was seen bringing six corpses to shore in bags, one containing the body of a child whose grandfather recognised him and knelt down in shock.
	Rescuers said the search would focus on the boat's cold storage room where witnesses said about 100 people had sought refuge as the vessel flipped over.
	"The .

Dozens more feared dead in Egypt migrant boat tragedy

Ten jihadists and three pro-government fighters died in clashes today around the last positions of the Islamic State group in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, medical and military sources said.
	"Our forces are advancing on the last holdouts of Daesh" in the only district of Sirte still held by IS, said the media office of the pro-government fighters, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.
	Three car bombs driven by jihadists were destroyed before reaching their targets, it said.
	Sirte was an IS stronghold before forces loyal to the country's Government of National Accord launched an offensive against the jihadists in May.
	Medics at a field hospital set up on the outskirts of Sirte said three pro-GNA fighters were killed, while loyalist military sources said at least 10 IS militants also died in the latest fighting of the four-month-old battle.
	Suicide bombings and sniper fire from the cornered jihadists have slowed the offensive to retake Sirte, 450 kilometres (280 ...

'13 dead' in clashes with IS in Libya's Sirte

An apparent US drone strike killed three suspected Al-Qaeda members today in Yemen, including a mid-ranking commander, security officials said.
	A missile destroyed a vehicle which the three suspects were using in the region of Sawmaa in central Baida province, the officials said.
	One security official said jihadists had recently sought refugee in the vicinity following military operations against the extremists in nearby Hadramawt, Abyan and Lahj provinces.
	Two suspected Al-Qaeda members were killed yesterday in a similar strike in central Marib province.
	The United States has been involved in a years-long unmanned drone campaign in Yemen and is thought to have carried out dozens of strikes against what it says are members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
	AQAP and the Islamic State group have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and Iran-backed Huthi rebels to expand their presence in the Arabian Peninsula country.
	The US has vowed .

Drone strike kills 3 Qaeda suspects in Yemen: officials

A Kuwaiti court today sentenced Shiite lawmaker Abdulhameed Dashti to 11 years' jail in absentia for insults against the emirate's ruler and its neighbour Saudi Arabia.
	Any criticism of Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah can result in charges of insulting him, and dozens of opposition activists have been jailed for the offence in the past few years.
	The verdict against Dashti, announced in a court statement, comes two months after he was sentenced to 14 years and six months for a similar offence.
	Dashti has been living abroad for several months, after leaving Kuwait in March to seek medical treatment in Britain.
	In the latest ruling, the criminal court in Kuwait City deemed as offensive his remarks about the emir and neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
	The outspoken lawmaker was also convicted in July of endangering ties with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and for calling on people to join the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia.
	Dashti confirmed the latest court ruling on Twitter, saying he ..

Kuwait Shiite MP gets new jail term for insults

A Hanoi court upheld the five-year sentence of an anti-government blogger today, his lawyer said, as rights groups accused authoritarian Vietnam of crushing dissent.
	Nguyen Huu Vinh, more commonly known as Anh Ba Sam, was arrested in 2014 and accused of disseminating anti-government articles on his wildly popular website.
	Vinh, a 60-year-old former policeman, was convicted in March on charges of "abusing democratic freedoms" along with his assistant Thi Minh Thuy who was given three years in jail. The crime carries a maximum penalty of seven years.
	"This is a totally imposed verdict, it isn't based on any proof," said his lawyer Ha Huy Son after the day-long appeal hearing.
	There was a heavy police presence around the Higher People's Court, with surrounding streets cordoned off and plainclothes and uniformed officers manning roadblocks as the hearing got under way.
	Vinh, who appeared in court alongside Thuy, was sentenced under article 258 of the criminal code, which rights ...

Vietnam rejects 'anti-government' blogger's appeal

Food aid for rebel-held east Aleppo, which has been stalled at the Syrian border since last week, will go bad on Monday, the UN said today, urging the country's leader to clear the delivery.
	"Forty trucks are sitting at the Turkish-Syrian border. The food will be expiring on Monday," the head of the United Nations humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, told reporters in Geneva today.
	"The drivers are sleeping at the border and they have done so now for now a week, so please, President Assad, do your bit to enable us to get to eastern Aleppo and also the other besieged areas," Egeland added, in a direct appeal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

UN pleads with Assad over food aid stuck at Syria border

A rocket fired from an area in Syria held by Islamic State (IS) jihadists slammed into the centre of a Turkish town today, wounding six people including five children, reports said.
	The rocket hit a market area in the centre of the Turkish border town of Kilis, shattering windows and causing panic, the Dogan news agency said.
	It said six people were wounded, including five children. Five of the wounded are in a good condition but one was badly hurt, Dogan added.
	All those wounded were refugees from the war in Syria, who now make up over half of the town's population.
	The strike comes one month into an unprecedented incursion into Syria by Turkish forces aimed at rooting IS jihadists out of the border area.
	Following the rocket strike, the Turkish army shelled IS targets in Syria with howitzers, the news agency said.
	Kilis has come under repeated attack from rocket fire from Syria in the last months, with 22 people losing their lives, over half of them Syrian refugees.

Six wounded as Turkish town hit by rocket fired from Syria

A Bangladeshi charity today buried the five Islamist extremists behind July's devastating attack on a Dhaka cafe after their families refused to take the bodies, police said.
	The five shot and hacked to death 20 foreign hostages at the Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1 in Dhaka's Gulshan neighbourhood - an attack claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group.
	Military commandos brought the hostage crisis to a bloody end the next morning after they stormed the compound and gunned down the extremists.
	The military handed over the bodies of the five attackers and their alleged associate to the police today after no relatives came to claim the bodies for nearly three months.
	"We gave the six bodies to Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Since their death no one came to us to take the bodies," military spokesman Colonel Rashidul Hasan told AFP.
	Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman said they handed over the bodies to the Anjuman-e-Mufidul Islam, a Muslim charity which collects and buries ...

Bangladesh buries cafe attackers after months

A "minister" in Syria's opposition government was among at least 12 people killed in a car bomb attack in the south of the country today, the body's spokesman said.
	"Twelve people, including the (opposition) provisional government's local administration minister, Yaacoub al-Ammar, were killed," Shadi al-Jundi told AFP by telephone.
	He said dozens of others were wounded in the attack in Enkhel, in Daraa province of southern Syria.

Opposition 'minister' among 12 dead in Syria car bomb: rebels

The UN's deputy envoy for Syria said today that he hoped peace talks could resume in the coming weeks, despite "grim" events on the ground.
	Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy said his boss, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, was in discussion with warring parties to organise "direct negotiations", a departure from past rounds where the sides met separately with moderators.
	The UN is working "with a view to holding these talks hopefully in the next few weeks."
	De Mistura's recent target dates to relaunch talks have all been missed, amid a failure to contain the fighting.
	While the UN has said it would clearly be preferrable to host talks with a ceasefire in place, future negotiations should not have preconditions.
	The latest truce agreed by the United States and Russia has collapsed, but Ramzy insisted both Washington and Moscow "are determined to make the agreement work."
	Regardless of the setbacks, the UN "will never give up on the political process" to end Syria's five-year war, he added.

UN hopes Syria talks could resume in a 'few weeks'

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian today left for New Delhi where he is expected to sign a long-delayed deal to sell 36 Dassault fighter jets to India.
	Dassault CEO Eric Trappier was part of Le Drian's delegation, an AFP reporter accompanying the minister on the flight said.
	Paris has stopped short of confirming the deal approved yesterday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet committee on security, with government spokesman Stephane Le Foll saying France was waiting for "things to be said officially".
	But a senior Indian defence ministry official said that Le Drian and his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar would sign the accord tomorrow.
	The long-delayed deal is the biggest order for the Rafale after Egypt and Qatar each ordered 24 of the jets last year.
	India entered exclusive negotiations four years ago on buying 126 Rafale jets, but the number of planes was drastically scaled back in tortuous negotiations over the cost and assembly of the planes in ...

AFP

AFP

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