27-02-2021 RIYADH/ WASHINGTON/ ISTANBUL: The Saudi government has issued a statement rejecting a US intelligence report that says Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The Saudi government repeated its previous statements that Khashoggi’s killing were a heinous crime …

27-02-2021 WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives has passed in a late-night vote President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill, as Democrats who control the chamber steered the sweeping measure towards approval. The bill cleared the House on a party-line vote of 219 to 212 early on Saturday. That …

27-02-2021 By SJA Jafri WASHINGTON/ ISTANBUL/ RIYADH: Jamal Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi hit squad operating under the command of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), United States intelligence agencies concluded. A unclassified US intelligence report released on Friday confirms for the first time what role top US intelligence officials …

26-02-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report LONDON/ KARACHI: Karachi’s businessman Jabir Siddiq Motiwala has been granted leave to appeal against his extradition to the United States on the charges of alleged extortion, blackmailing, and import of A-class drugs charges which the Pakistani national strongly denies. Motiwala was arrested in …

26-02-2021 DAMASCUS/ WASHINGTON: The United States military says it carried out attacks on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militia on Thursday, following recent rocket attacks on US troop locations in Iraq. “At President Biden’s direction, US military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed …

26-02-2021 ABUJA: Over 300 girls are missing after unidentified gunmen raided a school hostel in the northwest Nigerian state of Zamfara, a teacher and parent media, in the second mass kidnapping in the troubled region in little more than a week. Sulaiman Tanau Anka, information commissioner for Zamfara state, however, …

26-02-2021 WASHINGTON/ NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: The United States has welcomed the joint statement of India and Pakistan to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control and other sectors, saying it is a positive step towards greater peace and stability in South Asia. White House Press Secretary …

26-02-2021 WASHINGTON/ RIYADH/ DAMASCUS: United States President Joe Biden spoke for the first time since becoming president with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Thursday as the US prepares to release a report about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden emphasized the US commitment …

25-02-2021 LONDON/ DUBAI: The daughter of Dubai’s ruler, who claims to have been held in captivity since a failed escape attempt in 2018, has appealed to UK police to reopen an investigation into the kidnap of her older sister from Cambridge more than 20 years ago. In a new handwritten …

25-02-2021 Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI: Pakistan and India’s militaries have agreed to strictly observe a ceasefire at the de facto border between the two countries in the disputed region of Kashmir, and other agreements, according to a Pakistani military statement – a rare thaw in relations between the South …