Iran's armed forces chief of staff on Tuesday vowed to destroy any enemy that attacked the country, a news agency reported.
"The result of any aggression will be destruction" and "captivity", the Fars news agency reported Mohammad Bagheri as telling parliament.
Iran has "no animosity towards the countries of the region", Bagheri said, according to the agency close to the country's ultra-conservatives.
But he alleged Saudi Arabia and its ally the United Arab Emirates had "lost their way" and were "at the source of plots against Iran".
Tensions have soared in the Gulf since a September 14 attack on Saudi oil facilities that Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran, which denies involvement.
In the wake of the attack that slashed Saudi oil output by half, the United States said it had ordered reinforcements to the region.
US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani are both to address the UN General Assembly in New York this week.  But no encounter has so far ...

Iran vows to 'destroy' any attacker

PTI Automatic

Six Muslim Brotherhood members have been killed in a shootout with Egyptian police on the outskirts of Cairo, the interior ministry said Tuesday.
In a brief statement, the ministry said police exchanged fire with the "terrorist" group in 6 October City, on the southwestern edge of the capital, accusing it of "planning a series of terror operations".
The announcement comes after rare protests against Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi broke out in several Egyptian cities on Friday and Saturday, with state media accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of influencing the protesters.
After the 2013 military overthrow of elected Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist group was banned and deemed a terror group.
An ongoing wide-scale crackdown has jailed thousands of Islamists and the authorities regularly raid and kill armed affiliates of the banned group.
Last month, Egyptian security forces killed 17 suspected militants over a deadly Cairo car blast that claimed some 20 lives.
In a 

Egypt says six Muslim Brotherhood members killed in shootout

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Tuesday gave a royal boost to South African surfers harnessing the power of the waves to boost mental health in poor communities.
Help through sport -- an issue famously close to the prince's heart -- marked the second day of their tour of southern Africa, the first official trip by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since becoming parents to baby Archie in May.
Buffeted by high winds, the couple chatted to members of an NGO called Waves for Change, which uses surfing to help stressed youngsters in Cape Town's slums find positive thinking and calm.
"Nelson Mandela once said that sport has the power to change the world," said Thembaletu Mani, 24, one of the mentors who greeted the couple at Monwabisi Beach.
"So that's what we do here, conquer the challenges through sport." Eighty-year-old Wendy Perks and her daughters Jenny and Carol were among those who braved the winds to await the British royals.
Wearing masks of the face of Harry's grandmother, Queen 

Harry and Meghan make pitch for mental health on S African tour

Seven children were among 16 people killed Tuesday in twin air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in southern Yemen, an official and a doctor said.
"Sixteen people, including women and children, were killed and nine others injured" in a coalition air raid targeting a residence in Daleh province, the local official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A doctor at Al Thawra hospital in Ibb province where the bodies were taken said seven children and four women were among the dead.
The Iran-backed Huthi rebels condemned the coalition for its "continued aggression" against the Yemeni people, according to their Al-Masirah television.
The coalition could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in March 2015 in support of the beleaguered government.
The fighting has also displaced millions and left 24.1 million -- more than two-thirds of the population -- in need .

7 children among 16 dead in Yemen air strikes: official, doctor

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said he disagreed with but would respect the Supreme Court ruling which found his decision to suspend parliament unlawful.
"I have to say that I strongly disagree with what the justices have found. I don't think that it's right but we will go ahead and of course parliament will come back," he told British broadcasters during a visit to New York.

UK PM says disagrees but will respect Supreme Court ruling

Manchester United announced record revenues of ?627 million ($780 million) on Tuesday as the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward moved to reassure fans his priority remains on the pitch.
United have won just two of their last 11 Premier League games stretching back to last season, which saw them miss out on this season's Champions League.
The loss of income from Europe's premier club competition will be felt in next year's figures with United expecting a drop in revenue to between ?560 and ?580 million.
United made just three summer signings in Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James and have already found themselves short up front early in the campaign after letting Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave for Inter Milan.
However, Woodward defended the change in approach to target young British talent.
"We remain focused on our plan of rebuilding the team and continuing to strengthen our youth system, in line with the philosophy of the club and the manager," said ...

Man Utd post record revenue of 627 million

The EU said Tuesday it hopes that a temporary pact to distribute migrants between France, Germany, Italy and Malta will win broader backing from other member states.
"The text now needs to be taken into the wider context," European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told journalists.
She noted that "at this stage we're not talking about a European Union system" for sharing migrants -- a touchy issue the commission had tried to bring in four years ago but which ran up against fierce opposition from some eastern countries in the bloc.
The details of the four-nation agreement reached in Malta have not been divulged.
They are to be presented at a meeting of all EU justice and interior ministers on October 7 and 8, where further fine-tuning is expected.
Bertaud said the text holds the "contours of a future accord between more member states" and that, while the commission was not in charge of the process, it stood ready to give operational and financial assistance.
The pact is meant to .

EU hopes more will join four-country migration pact

It appears to be France's most coveted cat: A black panther rescued from rooftops near the northern city of Lille last week has been stolen from the zoo where it was taken after capture, officials said.
The feline was seized overnight from the zoo in Maubeuge near the Belgian border, the city's mayor, Arnaud Decagny, told AFP on Tuesday.
"This animal was the only target," Decagny said, adding that "considerable efforts" were made to force locks and avoid security systems.
Zoo personnel are worried about the young panther's health, "which is rather delicate because he lacks strength," the mayor added, saying the animal was just a few months old and weighed between 25 and 30 kilogrammes (55-66 pounds).
The panther was going to be transferred to a centre specialised in rehabilitating wild animals that had been domesticated.
Firefighters caught the cat last Wednesday as it roamed rooftops in Armentieres after escaping through the window of a private apartment believed to have been its ...

Panther stolen from zoo after rescue from French rooftops

Investigators on Tuesday searched the Paris apartment of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, advancing the French leg of a probe into trafficking claims against the disgraced US financier, prosecutors said.
They also searched the premises of Karin Models, an agency founded by Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel, in a child sex abuse investigation that has spilled over from the United States.
Epstein was found hanged in his New York jail cell on August 10 while awaiting trial.
Claims of abuse have since emerged across the Atlantic, and three women have already given evidence to investigators in France.
They included a former Dutch model who says she was drugged and raped by Brunel, an ex-modelling scout, at a Paris apartment in the early 1990s.
Brunel has been accused in US court documents of rape and of procuring young girls for Epstein -- charges he has denied.
Virginia Giuffre, who filed a suit in the US, accused Epstein of using her as a "sex slave" and said she had been forced ..

Investigators search Paris flat of sex offender Epstein

European lawmakers hailed the British supreme court's decision on Tuesday to overturn the suspension of the parliament in London as a victory for democracy.
European Commission officials, currently locked in talks to try to revive the Brexit agreement, were cautious about being drawn into comment on British affairs.
But parliamentarians did not hold back, congratulating their cross-Channel Westminster counterparts on a legal victory against Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"At least one big relief in the Brexit saga: the rule of law in the UK is alive and kicking," said Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian premier and head of the EU parliament Brexit steering group.
"Parliaments should never be silenced in a real democracy. I never want to hear Boris Johnson or any other Brexiteer say again that the European Union is undemocratic." British opponents of European Union membership often deride the bloc's leaders as "un-elected Brussels bureaucrats".
But the incoming EU Commission president, ...

European MEPs hail UK court 'victory for parliament'

House of Commons speaker John Bercow on Tuesday said that Britain's parliament will prepare to resume proceedings on Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend it unlawful.
"I have instructed the House authorities to undertake such steps as are necessary to ensure that the House of Commons sits tomorrow and that it does so at 11:30am (1030 GMT)," Bercow told reporters outside parliament.

British parliament to resume on Wednesday: speaker

Beijing denied Tuesday that a huge military parade planned for China's 70th anniversary was a sign of the country "flexing its muscles".
The country is ramping up preparations for a week's holiday from October 1, marking the day the Chinese Communist Party seized control and established the People's Republic of China.
At a press conference in Beijing, a defence ministry spokesman unveiled more details about the upcoming parade and said that the strength of the Chinese military was a chance to provide "more positive energy" for world peace.
Tuesday's military procession through the centre of the capital will last 80 minutes and showcase the army's most advanced weaponry.
"If the Chinese army displays weapons and equipment, then it is 'flexing its muscles', but if it doesn't display them, then it is 'opaque', said senior Colonel Wu Qian, defence spokesman.
"In the past 70 years, the development and growth of the Chinese military has been obvious to all. We have neither intentions nor ...

China denies 'flexing muscles' in military parade

The two main shareholders of French daily Le Monde have agreed a deal aimed at ensuring the paper's editorial independence, ending months of turmoil after a Czech billionaire bought a stake in the centre-left paper of record.
French telecoms magnate Xavier Niel and investment banker Matthieu Pigasse signed accords with Le Monde's so-called "pole d'independance", an independent structure that groups together staffers, readers and minority shareholders, they wrote in a message to journalists late Monday.
Crucially the agreement gives the pole d'independance a veto right over any change of shareholder control.
"This right is now set in stone," Pigasse said in a joint interview with Niel in Le Figaro on Tuesday.
"The goal is to reinforce and entrench the group's independence, because we believe Le Monde is a common good," Niel added.
Journalists rebelled last year after Pigasse sold just under half his stake to Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech energy magnate who has bought a handful of French ...

France's Le Monde shareholders sign independence peace pact

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, as the embattled South American leader seeks to shore up support from allies.
"All aspects of bilateral cooperation will be discussed," the Russian President's press spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Tuesday.
The focus of the talks would be on "direct meddling in Latin American affairs by third parties".
Washington has imposed an oil embargo on Caracas to undermine Maduro's regime and has repeatedly called on Moscow to withdraw support for the Venezuelan leader.
Russia has rejected the request, accusing the US of wanting to lead a coup in defiance of international law.
The Venezuelan leader last visited Moscow for talks with Putin in December.
Hit by low oil prices, mismanagement and the impact of US sanctions, Venezuela is in freefall and Maduro is seeking support from allies after winning a second term in a controversial vote last year.
Most of the international ...

Venezuela's Maduro to meet Putin in Moscow Wednesday: Kremlin

Viral videos posted online by an Egyptian  businessman this month accusing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the military of corruption have sparked rare and spontaneous protests opposing his rule, and led to hundreds of arrests.
Mohamed Aly, 45, a fledgling actor alongside his construction business, claimed in his first video on September 2 that Egypt's military under Sisi's direction has misspent millions of Egyptian pounds in public funds.
He also alleges the military owes him hundreds of millions of pounds for projects his company Amlaak Group was assigned to build, including palatial residences for Sisi.
Aly -- who says he fled to Spain a year ago -- has not provided any hard evidence to back up his claims. And Sisi has rejected the allegations as "lies and slander".
In a fresh one-minute clip on Monday, Aly said he is on the run for his explosive accusations, after pinpointing some locations of the luxurious guesthouses and palaces in Cairo and other Egyptian cities on the ...

Disgruntled businessman roils Egypt from exile with viral videos

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that the emotional high of his side's Champions League triumph inspired him to join the Common Goal charity.
Klopp will join a host of star names from the world of football, including Manchester United's Juan Mata and FIFA women's player of the year Megan Rapinoe, by donating one percent of his salary to aid the work of charities across the world.
The 52-year-old, who was crowned FIFA men's coach of the year on Monday, told the Players Tribune of difficult times he suffered early in his career as an amateur footballer, working in a warehouse while trying to support his young family.
And while he now faces the pressure of trying to deliver Liverpool's first Premier League title in 30 years, Klopp insisted he and his players have the luxury of no longer living in the 'real world'.
"We should not forget what it was like when we had real problems," said Klopp.
"This bubble we live in is not the real world. I am sorry, but anything that happens ..

'Crazy old dreamer' Klopp inspired to make charity pledge

Australia's financial regulator on Tuesday ordered an investigation into global money transfer platform PayPal, amid concerns it may be being misused by sex offenders to buy child abuse material from Asia.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) demanded an external auditor investigate "ongoing concerns" about breaches of the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Announcing the appointment in a statement Tuesday, AUSTRAC said it was working with its partners to "combat serious crimes such as child sex exploitation" using funds transfer information reported by the financial services sector.
"Online child abuse material can be ordered from Australia to areas such as the Philippines in quite often small amounts that are repeated often, and PayPal unfortunately is one of the areas that they can use to do that," AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose told the ABC.
"That's why we want to get the auditor in to really (determine) what sort of risks ...

Australia probes PayPal amid child abuse payment fears

German prosecutors said Tuesday they had charged Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess, former boss Martin Winterkorn and supervisory board chief Hans Dieter Poetsch with "market manipulation" relating to the car giant's "dieselgate" scandal.
The three are "accused of deliberately informing capital markets too late about the significant payment obligations in the billions arising from the so-called 'diesel scandal', thereby illegally influencing the share price," prosecutors in the north German city of Brunswick said in a statement.

German prosecutors charge current and ex-VW CEOs with 'market manipulation'

China is in "no rush" to add a monetary stimulus to cope with downward pressure on the world's number-two economy, the head of the country's central bank said Tuesday.
A lingering trade war with the United States and cooling growth has raised expectations that Beijing may resort to a round of stimulus measures to provide a kickstart.
Major central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, have also cut borrowing rates or signalled the willingness to do so in recent months.
But People's Bank of China boss Yi Gang said told a news conference: "We are not in a rush to act as central banks of some other countries have done."
He said there was no pressing need for big policy easing steps or to further cut the amount of cash lenders must keep in reserve to release more money into the stuttering economy.
"Monetary policy must remain prudent," he said, adding that there was ample room for both fiscal and monetary policy manoeuvering.
Earlier this month, the PBoC ...

China says in 'no rush' for economic stimulus

Bangladesh's Under-19 team has left on the country's first cricket tour to New Zealand since their Test players narrowly escaped the deadly mosque attacks in Christchurch earlier this year.
A 15-member squad left Dhaka late Monday to play five youth one-day internationals from September 29, following reassurances from Wellington about security measures It is the first visit of a Bangladeshi squad since the shootings at two mosques on March 15 that claimed 51 lives. Bangladesh's Test squad were just a few minutes from being caught up in the carnage as they attended Friday prayers.
The third Test in Christchurch was scheduled to begin on March 16, but was cancelled.
"New Zealand gave us a formal guarantee, which we worked out and sent it to our government," said Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury.
Bangladesh Under-19 skipper Akbar Ali said the players were focused on the matches.
"I think everybody is thinking positively. I don't think anyone is concerned ...

Bangladesh head to New Zealand for first time since mosque attacks

Britain's National Crime Agency on Tuesday said it was dropping an investigation into Arron Banks, the biggest donor behind the Brexit referendum campaign.
The NCA said in a statement it had found "no evidence that any criminal offences have been committed" following allegations from the Electoral Commission.
It said it would therefore take no further action against the insurance industry tycoon, just over a week after the Metropolitan Police said it was also dropping its probe.
Some reports about the investigation had claimed that Banks may have used money from a third party, possibly a foreign government like Russia, to fund the campaign.
Reacting to the decision, Banks said: "No overseas money was used in the Brexit campaign, it was my money." He said on Twitter the investigation was "part of a political witch-hunt led by anti-Brexit MPs".
The Electoral Commission said the case highlighted an "apparent weakness" in the law against foreign money being used in British politics.
"We ..

AFP

AFP

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