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The US government has charged a Russian woman for her role in a Kremlin-backed campaign to influence the US mid-term congressional elections next month.

The criminal complaint against Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, was revealed by the US Department of Justice on Friday.

It marks the first foreign meddling case in the forthcoming US elections.

Officials say she was the chief accountant for a project to "sow discord in the US political system".

The charges allege Ms Khusyaynova - who lives in St Petersburg - continues to engage in "information warfare against the United States" by managing a so-called troll farm which posts inflammatory content online.

"The strategic goal of this alleged conspiracy, which continues to this day, is to sow discord in the US political system and to undermine faith in our democratic institutions," US Attorney Zachary Terwilliger said in a statement.

She is charged with conspiracy to defraud the US.

Ms Khusyaynova is accused of running a programme called Project Lakhta, in which her team created online arguments and misinformation to spark division among Americans.

The programme allegedly used social media and other platforms to discuss topics including immigration, gun control, gun rights, the Confederate flag, race relations, LGBT issues, the Women's March and the NFL national anthem debate, according to the justice department.

Project Lakhta has a budget of $35m (£27m), but not all of their projects are directed at the US, according to officials.

US authorities say their "activities did not exclusively adopt one ideological view; they wrote on topics from varied and sometimes opposing perspectives".

"Members of the conspiracy were directed, among other things, to create 'political intensity through supporting radical groups' and to 'aggravate the conflict between minorities and the rest of the population'."

The conspirators also "took extraordinary steps" to appear as American political activists, officials say, by creating "thousands of social media and email accounts" that gave the illusion that they were operated by US citizens.

Officials says the alleged "conspiracy" sought to pit Americans against each other.

Some guidance to the Project Lakhta staff allegedly include:

"Brand [Senator John] McCain as an old geezer who has lost it and who long ago belonged in a home for the elderly"
Describe Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as a "loudmouth" and "a complete and absolute nobody incapable of any decisiveness"
"Fully support Donald Trump and express the hope that this time around Congress will be forced to act as the president says it should"
"Emphasise that if Congress continues to act like the Colonial British government did before the War of Independence, this will call for another revolution"

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election in favour of Donald Trump.

The conclusion reached by Americans spymasters led the US Department of Justice to appoint former FBI director Robert Mueller to investigate foreign attempts to influence the US electoral system.

Friday's complaint accuses Russian oligarch Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, and two companies he controls, of funding Project Lakhta.

The two companies - Concord Management and Concord Catering - were among three entities and 13 Russian individuals who were indicted by Mr Mueller in February.

Mr Prigozhin, who has been dubbed "Putin's cook" due to the banquets he has organised for the Russian leader, has previously been targeted by US sanctions.

The charges against Ms Khusyaynova come as White House National Security Advisor John Bolton is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

It also comes as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned that it was concerned about "ongoing campaigns" by Russia, China and Iran to interfere in the mid-term elections on 6 November.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the case "serves as a stark reminder to all Americans: Our foreign adversaries continue their efforts to interfere in our democracy by creating social and political division, spreading distrust in our political system, and advocating for the support or defeat of particular political candidates."

Suspected bot accounts are attempting to shape the social media narrative following the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Arabic hashtags expressing support for de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, condemning news organisation Al Jazeera and urging users to "unfollow enemies of the nation" were among those amplified by the involvement of bot networks alongside genuine users.

Twitter has suspended a number of bot accounts.

Mr Khashoggi is missing, presumed dead, after he was seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

Turkish officials allege the journalist, who had been critical of the Saudi regime, was killed there.

On 14 October, the Arabic hashtag translating as "we all have trust in Mohammed Bin Salman" was among the top global trends, featuring in 250,000 tweets. Additionally, "We have to stand by our leader" was used more than 60,000 times.

On Wednesday, a hashtag translating as "unfollow enemies of the nation" was also highly used, while in the past 24 hours the term "campaign to close Al Jazeera, the channel of deception" has gained traction, used close to 100,000 times on the social network.

Saudi Arabia has previously called for Al Jazeera, which is funded by Qatar, to be closed. In 2017, several of Qatar's neighbours cut diplomatic ties with the tiny Gulf state.

Bot networks were used by both sides in an effort to control the conversation on social media during the crisis.

Ben Nimmo, Information Defence Fellow at the Atlantic Council, analysed one of the Arabic-language hashtags with bot involvement.

"Unfollow enemies of the nation" was used in excess of 100,000 times. The vast majority of that came through retweets, which can be a signal of bot activity.

BBC Monitoring confirmed Mr Nimmo's analysis.

Accounts which had been dormant for a long time were suddenly tweeting again, posting identical or near-identical material to other suspicious accounts.

Others were newly-created or exhibited other characteristics typical of bot accounts.

Attempts to control and manipulate social media conversations have become an increasingly prominent global issue.

On Wednesday, Twitter published more than 10 million tweets from suspected state-backed Russian and Iranian "troll farms".

While US national security chiefs have warned of "a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to weaken and divide the US".

Turkey has vowed to reveal all details about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after Saudi Arabia admitted for the first time he had been killed in its consulate in Istanbul.

"Turkey will never allow a cover-up," a ruling party spokesperson said.

Saudi Arabia suggested on Friday Mr Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi critic, had died in a "fist fight".

Turkish officials previously said he had been deliberately killed inside the consulate, and his body dismembered.

Earlier this week, unnamed Turkish officials told media outlets they had audio and visual evidence to prove this.

The Saudi kingdom has come under intense pressure to explain Mr Khashoggi's disappearance after he entered the Istanbul consulate on 2 October to seek paperwork for his forthcoming marriage. Until Friday, it had denied knowledge of his whereabouts.

Turkish police and prosecutors have been searching the consulate as well as the consul's residence this week for evidence of what unfolded. On Friday they widened their search to a nearby forest, where unnamed officials believe his body may have been disposed of.

The NFL has refused to comment on reports that Barbadian singer Rihanna declined an invitation to headline the Super Bowl half-time show in support of Colin Kaepernick.

Quarterback Kaepernick, 30, was the first player to kneel during the US national anthem.

Other players followed suit, leading to criticism from President Donald Trump.

A source close to the singer reportedly told US Weekly magazine that Rihanna "does not agree with the NFL's stance".

Maroon 5 will now headline the show, which will take place on 3 February in Atlanta, Georgia.

Republican senators have dismissed Saudi Arabia’s explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, breaking with President Trump who described the Saudi account as “credible.”

On Friday, Saudi state television carried a government announcement that the death of Washington Post columnist Khashoggi occurred as the result of a “fist fight” in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and that 18 people had been arrested on suspicion of involvement with the death. 

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was among several U.S. lawmakers unconvinced by the explanation, pointing out the radical shift in Saudi Arabia’s account after its initial denial of involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi.

“To say that I am skeptical of the new Saudi narrative about Mr. Khashoggi is an understatement,” tweeted Graham. 

“First we were told Mr. Khashoggi supposedly left the consulate and there was blanket denial of any Saudi involvement. Now, a fight breaks out and he’s killed in the consulate, all without knowledge of Crown Prince. It’s hard to find this latest ‘explanation’ as credible.”

Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker — chair of the Senate's influential Foreign Relations Committee — also expressed skepticism about the Saudi account of the death, and called for an independent U.S. investigation. 

“The story the Saudis have told about Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance continues to change with each passing day, so we should not assume their latest story holds water,” he tweeted. 

“They can undergo their own investigation, but the U.S. administration must make its own independent, credible determination of responsibility for Khashoggi’s murder under the Global Magnitsky investigation as required by law,” tweeted Corker, referencing the 2012 congressional act passed after the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, under which the U.S. sanctioned Russian officials it held accountable. 

This Saudi stuff has not been and will not be properly explained because it will bring the laws of Islam into focus.

you've got a link which includes "the laws of Islam"?

The "Reliance of the Traveler" explains Sharia. Pay attention.

And how is it related to the the Turkish Criminal Code?

The Turkish code are the laws of man

Sharia is Allah's law Do you understand the difference between god and man? I bet you do.

And the Saudis could give a **** about Turkish law, they have proven that.

Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of a conference in Edinburgh next month because Donald Trump's ex-strategist Steve Bannon was also due to speak.

The first minister had been scheduled to take part in the three-day News Xchange event, which is being co-hosted by the BBC, on 13 November.

However, she said that giving Mr Bannon a platform risked "legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views".

Nicola Sturgeon was due to be introduced by the BBC's Scotland editor Sarah Smith on the opening evening of the conference on 13 November.

Steve Bannon is expected to take part in a session the next morning, which is also due to be moderated by Sarah Smith at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

In a tweet, Ms Sturgeon said she regretted the position she had been put in by the BBC.

She said: "I believe passionately in free speech but as @ScotGovFM I have to make balanced judgments - and I will not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far right, racist views. I regret that the BBC has put me and others in this position."

She also attacked the event's description of Mr Bannon as a "powerful and influential figure...promoting an anti-elite movement."

She added: "This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation."

I think, the US criminal code is a "law of man", too

Well, that might be true, but nevertheless, since the murder happened in Turkey, Turkish law applies.

Yeah and as we saw with the "Trump Dossier" how reliable former M16 agents are.

You tell Erdogan good luck with that.