US Air Force B-2 bombers attacked Islamic State military camps in Libya in a move aimed at eliminating extremists who had escaped the former IS stronghold of Sirte, a defense official said today.
	The official said the camps were located about 45 kilometers, or 28 miles, southwest of the central coastal city of Sirte.
	The official was not authorized to speak in advance of an expected Pentagon announcement and confirmed the strikes on condition of anonymity.
	The strikes were carried out overnight and were authorized by President Barack Obama, marking perhaps the final use of military force by a wartime president who intervened in Libya in 2011 as part of a coalition that ultimately toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
	The defense official said the latest strikes were aimed at hitting Islamic State militants who had escaped from Sirte after US strikes largely eliminated the group's presence in that coastal city in December.
	At the time, Pentagon officials said they would further ...

US bombers strike Islamic State camps in Libya

PTI Automatic

Indonesia's anti-graft commission has named a former top executive of national flag carrier Garuda as a suspect in a case involving bribes for the purchase of Rolls Royce aircraft engines.
	A deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission, Laode Syarif, said today that the bribery occurred between 2005 and 2014, the period when Emirsyah Satar was Garuda's president-director.
	Satar is alleged to have received bribes totaling USD 3.45 million for procurement of Rolls-Royce engines for some 50 Airbus planes owned by Garuda.
	Syarif said Satar received the bribes via another suspect who has a Singapore-based company with businesses in Indonesia but who was not identified.
	Rolls Royce on Tuesday agreed to pay 671 million pounds (USD 808 million) to settle bribery and corruption charges brought by authorities in Britain, the US and Brazil.
	The British engineering giant apologized for the scandal that involved paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure orders in six ...

Indonesia names former airline boss as bribery suspect

The National Library of Israel said today it has acquired what is considered the world's greatest private collection of Hebrew books and manuscripts.
	The Valmadonna Trust Library contains some 10,000 items including a 15th century copy of the Hebrew Bible and one of the only two surviving copies of a 16th century Passover manuscript from Prague.
	The collection, assembled over decades by London collector Jack Lunzer, was entrusted to Sotheby's auction house in New York in 2009. Lunzer initially hoped the U.S. Library of Congress would acquire the collection, worth millions of dollars.
	Instead, some gems of the collection were sold last year to private collectors for about USD 12 million. In recent weeks, the rest was acquired by Israel's national library and an Israeli private collector for an undisclosed sum.
	The collection is currently located at Sotheby's in New York and will be transferred to its new owners in the coming weeks, according to Oren Weinberg of the National Library 

Israel's national library acquires famed Judaica collection

Germany's anti-trust agency says it's dropping its investigation of Amazon subsidiary Audible and Apple after the two companies agreed to end exclusivity deals for audiobook supply and distribution.
	The Federal Cartel Office said Thursday the companies earlier this month terminated a deal that gave Audible exclusive rights to sell digital audiobooks on Apple's iTunes, and obliged Audible not to offer its products elsewhere.
	Cartel office head Andreas Mundt says the termination of the agreement "will enable a wider range of offer and lower prices for consumers."
	The German Publishers and Booksellers Association had complained to both the cartel office and the European Commission.
	The Commission says ending the agreement "will allow for further competition in a fast growing and innovative market and allow European consumers broader access to downloadable audiobooks.

German anti-trust case against Audible, Apple dropped

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation plans to send a high-level delegation to Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state to assess the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority, Malaysia said today.
	A resolution issued after a special meeting of OIC foreign ministers to discuss the Rohingya crisis urged Myanmar to accept the OIC's visit. It asked Myanmar to implement the rule of law, work toward a sustainable solution, and allow the safe return of refugees and "unimpeded and unconditional access" for humanitarian aid to the affected area.
	Rohingya villagers and activists say hundreds of civilians have been killed since October, although figures cannot be verified because authorities have limited access for aid workers and journalists. Recent satellite images show thousands of houses were burned.
	Myanmar's army began a crackdown in Rakhine state in October after nine policemen were killed. The security forces are accused of killings, rape and the burning of homes that have driven some 65,000 .

OIC hopes to send team to Myanmar to study Rohingya's plight

Albanian police said today they had arrested a female teacher for making statements supportive of the Islamic State extremist group.
	The teacher, whose name was not given, is being questioned at the anti-terror offices in the capital, Tirana, according to a spokesman who declined to be identified as the investigation is ongoing.
	A private television station, TVKlan, broadcast the previous evening footage of the woman telling her young students at a Muslim school in Shkodra, 120 kilometers north of Tirana that IS "are good people but the state wants to fight them."
	She described the IS as "a Muslim organisation protecting Syria's Muslim population, or that of Palestine, or that of Egypt."
	The station did not identify the person who recorded the footage, and said only that it was recorded "some time ago."
	Albania's Muslim Community, or KMSH, which is in charge of the school in Shkodra, immediately reacted, saying that "what this teacher has said does not represent the official line 

Albanian teacher arrested for pro-IS propaganda

Iran's foreign minister says his country isn't worried and has options if US President- elect Donald Trump ditches a nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six world powers.
	But Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran believes "it is in the interest of everybody to stick to the deal."
	He told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Kuala Lumpur today that if Trump's government walks away from the deal, "we will make him surprised." He declined to elaborate.
	The deal was negotiated by Iran and the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, and was enshrined in a legally binding UN resolution.
	It imposed limits on the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for lifting UN economic sanctions.

Iran says not worried, has options if Trump axes nuke deal

Hundreds of members of a Congolese rebel group have fled a military camp where they had been awaiting amnesty since the signing of a peace deal with Congo's government in 2013, Uganda's government said today.
	Some members of M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group that once controlled vast territory in eastern Congo, "have been quietly escaping into the general public," government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said in a statement.
	Opondo said Ugandan authorities have arrested 101 M23 members, disguised as ordinary passengers, who were being ferried in four vehicles destined for Congo.
	"Uganda will not and does not support any armed activities to destabilise the Democratic Republic of Congo," he said.
	At least 270 M23 members are still detained in western Uganda, Opondo said.
	It was not clear if M23 leader Sultani Makenga remained in the custody of Ugandan authorities. Makenga is the subject of US sanctions, including a travel ban and assets freeze for "serious violations of international law ...

Uganda confirms hundreds of Congolese M23 rebels missing

The Philippine national police chief apologised to South Korea today over the death of a Korean man who was arrested illegally and then slain by members of an anti-drug task force at the main police camp in Manila.
	Police Director-General Ronald Dela Rosa said the policemen detained Jee Ickjoo with a fake arrest warrant last October with the intent of holding him for ransom, but killed him the same day. He said they then extracted a ransom payment from Jee's family without telling them Jee was dead.
	The victim's cremated remains have been found in a funeral parlor, officials said.
	"I'm very sorry that this crime happened and my men are involved," dela Rosa said at a news conference. "I just want to melt and disappear from this world out of embarrassment for what my men did."
	He said one of the policemen has since surrendered.
	Dela Rosa said he is regularly updating the South Korean ambassador on developments in the investigation.
	South Korean officials have expressed alarm over .

Philippine police chief apologizes to South Korea in killing

China's government defended itself today as a supporter of free trade after US President-elect Donald Trump's pick for commerce secretary criticised its tactics.
	Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying pointed to President Xi Jinping's appeal to avoid protectionism in a speech this week at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
	"Who is sincerely pushing ahead with liberalization of trade and investment and who is exercising trade protectionism should be clear for all to see," Hua said at a news briefing.
	Trump, who takes office Friday, promised during his campaign to respond to what he called unfair Beijing trade tactics by raising tariffs on Chinese goods and possibly imposing other penalties.
	His nominee for commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, criticised China yesterday for excess steel and aluminum production and said he would look closely at potential anti-dumping cases.
	"It's a little weird that we have very low tariffs and China has very high tariffs," Ross said.

China defends trade stance after Trump appointee's criticism

Iran's state-run Press TV says 30 firefighters have been killed in the collapse of a burning high-rise building in Tehran.
	Press TV announced the deaths today in the blaze at the Plasco building, an iconic structure in central Tehran just north of the capital's sprawling bazaar. It gave no source for the information.
	The blaze began hours earlier. There was no immediate cause offered for the fire.
	The 17-story tower was built in the early 1960s by Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian and named after his plastics manufacturing company. It was the tallest building in the city at the time of its construction.
	A high-rise building in Tehran engulfed by a fire collapsed today as scores of firefighters battled the blaze. Iran's state-run Press TV said people were believed to be trapped inside the rubble.
	Authorities told the state-run IRNA news agency just after the collapse that at least 38 people had been injured at the Plasco building, an iconic structure in central Tehran ...

Iran says 30 firefighters killed in collapse of high-rise

Scores of Iranian firefighters are battling a blaze at an iconic building in Tehran housing a major shopping center.
	No injuries have been immediately reported.
	The fire broke out today at the Plasco building, built over 50 years ago. Police have blocked off streets around the 17-story structure, which was among the first high-rises built in the Iranian capital.
	Jalal Maleki, a fire department spokesman, told Iranian state television that 10 firehouses responded to the blaze, which was first reported around 8 am.
	Maleki says the fire is now under control as firefighters struggle to extinguish the blaze.

Scores of Iran firefighters battle blaze in Tehran building

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to help end the persecution of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority, as OIC foreign ministers open a special meeting to discuss the crisis.
	Najib, in a speech at the meeting today, said that the crisis is no longer Myanmar's internal affair as it has caused an exodus of refugees that could destabilize the region. He warned that the violence must end before terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State group infiltrate and radicalize the Rohingyas.
	Security forces in Buddhist-majority Myanmar are accused of widespread abuses against the Rohingya, including killings, rape and the burning of thousands of homes that have driven an estimated 65,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh in the past three months.

Malaysian PM urges Muslim world to help oppressed Rohingya

Two US Navy pilots are recovering after their jet crashed on a training flight near a Mississippi military base airfield.
	Naval Air Station Meridian said in a statement yesterday that both pilots an instructor and student safely ejected Tuesday afternoon from the aircraft and were evaluated and released from an area hospital.
	Authorities said the T-45C Goshawk jet, assigned to Training Air Wing One, crashed shortly before 2 pm Tuesday at the base in eastern Mississippi.
	An Aviation Mishap Board has been established to determine what caused the crash.
	Base officials said the jet that crashed is used for intermediate and advanced portions of the Navy/Marine Corps pilot training program for jet carrier aviation and tactical strike missions.

Navy pilots recovering after crash near Mississippi airfield

Guatemalan prosecutors have detained the brother and son of President Jimmy Morales in a case of alleged corruption.
	A UN anti-graft commission said they are suspected of submitting about USD 23,000 worth of false receipts in an alleged tax fraud.
	The president's brother, Samuel, told reporters yesterday at the courthouse that he is cooperating with the investigation and said he is innocent.
	Attorney General Thelma Aldana said she also sought a warrant for the president's son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin, 23, but he appeared voluntarily for questioning.
	National Civil Police spokesman Jorge Aguilar said later that Morales Marroquin "was arrested and put at the disposition of a judge" after presenting himself to prosecutors.
	A judge ordered the men held while prosecutors investigate. The president stuck to his daily schedule.
	"As family, all support," Jimmy Morales told reporters at the inauguration of a school in southern Guatemala. "And all support for the law as a citizen ...

Guatemalan president's brother, son detained in graft probe

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has said he had opposed commuting the prison sentence of convicted leaker Chelsea Manning, who was convicted in 2013 of espionage and other crimes for leaking classified information while deployed in Iraq.
	"That was not my recommendation," Carter said. "I recommended against that, but the president has made his decision."
	Carter declined to elaborate on his view.
	President Barack Obama has drawn intense criticism from members of Congress and others for his decision Tuesday to commute Manning's 35-year prison sentence to about seven years, including the time she spent locked up before she was convicted. Her sentence is now set to expire May 17.
	At the time Manning committed the crimes she was known as Bradley Manning and was serving as an Army private.
	A judge convicted Manning of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud. She was sentenced to 35 years out of a possible maximum of 90. She was acquitted of the most ...

Pentagon chief says he opposed cutting Manning's prison term

Two days before Donald Trump takes office, the CIA has published for the first time its guidelines for how it collects, stores, searches and shares information about Americans. New rules put limits on those who can search it and require they give a reason.
	While some of the policies haven't been updated since 1982, others have been changed, reflecting radical developments in technology over the past three decades and the CIA's effort to be more transparent and protect Americans' privacy and civil liberties, the spy agency said yesterday.
	The changes will go into effect on March 18.
	The revised, unclassified guidelines have been in the works for years, CIA General Counsel Caroline Krass said. But the timing of the announcement, shortly before Trump's inauguration, suggests officials prioritised their completion before President Barack Obama left office. The incoming Trump administration could undo the changes, though doing so would likely be a complicated and time-consuming ...

CIA publishes guidelines for handling Americans' info

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange retreated from his pledge to accept extradition to the US if Chelsea Manning was granted clemency, arguing via his lawyers that what he was really asking for was an immediate pardon for the ex-Army analyst.
	It was only last week that Assange raised eyebrows across the internet when he appeared to offer himself up as a kind of swap for Manning, the former private convicted of leaking the hundreds of thousands of documents that made WikiLeaks a household name.
	"If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case," WikiLeaks said, apparently referring to the US Department of Justice's continuing investigation into the radical transparency website.
	But when Obama granted clemency to Manning on Tuesday, setting a May release date that lops almost 30 years off her sentence, Assange's lawyers said it wasn't enough.
	"There's no question that what President Obama did is not what Assange was ...

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange retreats from extradition pledge

Supporters of American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, who has spent most of his life in prison in the killing of two FBI agents in South Dakota in 1975, hope President Barack Obama will grant him clemency and shorten his sentence to the four decades he has already served before Obama leaves office tomorrow.
	Among those supporting Peltier's last-ditch bid for freedom is Pope Francis, who wrote to the White House on Tuesday, Peltier's attorney, Martin Garbus, said yesterday.
	"We'll see if that has any effect," Garbus said. "We have not had a denial of the clemency application."
	The White House declined to comment on deliberations about clemency for Peltier or most people who have sought it in the closing days of his administration. Peltier was not on the list of 273 people granted commutations or pardons Tuesday.
	The White House has said Obama would grant more commutations today, though officials said those would focus on drug offenders and would not likely include any other ...

Indian activist Peltier's supporters hope for clemency

Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard has made an unannounced trip to Syria and Lebanon, travelling to the region two months after she sat down with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss foreign policy.
	The Hawaii congresswoman has frequently challenged President Barack Obama on national security issues. In the meeting with Trump, she warned him about escalating the civil war in Syria by establishing a no-fly zone to protect civilians from bombing.
	She has said she believes that creating such a safe zone off limits to military aircraft could bring the US into direct conflict with Russia and result in nuclear war.
	Spokeswoman Emily Latimer yesterday said that Gabbard, who is a major in the Army National Guard, "has long been committed to peace and ending counterproductive, interventionist wars.
	Latimer wouldn't say if Gabbard met with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
	"As a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, and as an individual committed to doing all ...

Congresswoman Gabbard makes unannounced trip to Syria

Yemeni security officials say a rocket fired by Shiite rebels has killed six civilians in the war-torn city of Taiz.
	They say yesterday's strike hit a residential area inside Taiz. It comes one day after six civilians were also killed outside the city, which is known as the cultural centre of Yemen.
	Clashes between rebels and forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have been ongoing for nearly two years.
	The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to brief reporters.
	The war in Yemen has raged since the rebels, known as Houthis, seized the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition has waged an air campaign since March 2015 aimed at restoring Hadi's government. The northern region remains under Houthi control.

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