America

NEW YORK: Rapper Nicki Minaj has cancelled a scheduled performance in Saudi Arabia next week, citing her support for the rights of women and the LGBT community. Her headline billing at the festival in Jeddah triggered an outcry from critics of the country’s human rights record. Others questioned how her …

WASHINGTON: The US State Department has expressed ignorance about the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan this month, ARY News reported on Wednesday. “The White House would be reached for confirmation of the visit”, said State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, while addressing a press briefing here today. The spokesperson said …

WASHINGTON: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — whose kingdom hosts Washington’s biggest military base in the Persian Gulf region — is paying an official visit to the US for high-level talks with Pentagon and White House officials. Sheikh Tamim held a meeting on Monday with acting Secretary …

WASHINGTON: The US has approved sale of $2.2 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, including 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks, in the wake of Washington- Beijing trade tensions. The sale serves “US national, economic, and security interests by supporting” Taiwan’s “continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a …

WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies have prompted large groups of Muslims across the world to boycott this year’s Hajj ceremony, a new report suggests, citing concerns that Riyadh may use the revenues from the pilgrimage to pursue the young prince’s destructive foreign policies, including his deadly …

CALIFORNIA: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has struck southern California, causing cracked buildings fires, broken roads and several injuries, authorities and residents said. The latest tremor, which followed a 6.4 magnitude quake on 4 July, was felt as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Mexico. Early magnitude estimates …

LOS ANGELES: A powerful earthquake jolted Southern California on Thursday, touching off fires, damaging buildings and forcing the evacuation of a hospital in a desert town northeast of Los Angeles, but there were only minor injuries. The 6.4 magnitude quake, the most powerful in Southern California in 25 years, struck …

WASHINGTON: World powers should reconsider holding the next Group of 20 summit in Saudi Arabia without accountability over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a UN expert who probed his death said Tuesday. Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in a report last month found …

NEW YORK: At least 44 people were killed when the air strike blamed on commander Khalifa Haftar’s forces hit the Tajoura detention centre late Tuesday and more than 130 were severely wounded, according to the UN. The divided UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to condemn an attack on a …

WASHINGTON: A new poll shows nearly half the United States population believes that President Donald Trump should be impeached over his performance at the White House while the majority, 53 percent, say he should not. The new Gallup poll released Wednesday shows that 45 percent of Americans want US Congress …