WASHINGTON: The United States is close to completing a series of arms deals for Saudi Arabia totalling more than $100 billion, a senior White House official said on Friday, a week ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Riyadh. The official said the arms package could end up surpassing more than $300 billion over a decade to help Saudi Arabia boost its defensive capabilities while…

Seoul: North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Sunday in an apparent test of the South's new president who backs engagement with Pyongyang.   The missile flew about 700 kilometres (435 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The US Pacific Command said it did not appear to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.   New South Korean President…

A quarter of all global deaths of children under five are due to unhealthy or polluted environments including dirty water and air, second-hand smoke and a lack of adequate hygiene, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. Such unsanitary and polluted environments can lead to fatal cases of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia, and kill 1.7 million children a year, the WHO said in a report.…

Trump softens immigration stance, takes measured tone in speechUS President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday he was open to immigration reform, shifting from his harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration in a speech that offered a more restrained tone than his election campaign and first month in the White House. Trump, in a prime-time address to a country that remains divided over his leadership,…

Bangladesh on Monday recognized Kosovo as an independent country. The cabinet approved a foreign ministry proposal for the recognition of The Republic of Kosovo as a sovereign and free country. With the approval, Bangladesh has become the 114th country to recognize the independence of Kosovo, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters after the weekly cabinet conference held at the Secretariat…

Muhammad Ali's son detained at US airportFort Lauderdale : A lawyer says the son of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was detained by immigration officials at a Florida airport. Chris Mancini tells the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky (http://cjky.it/2lF3c4F ) that 44-year-old Muhammad Ali Jr. and his mother Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the second wife of Muhammad Ali, arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood…

US president Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he would not attend the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, a high-profile event that draws celebrities, politicians and journalists. ‘I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!’, Trump wrote on Twitter. On the campaign…

Washington: A majority of Americans disapprove of the way President Donald Trump is handling his job after a month in office, according to a poll. The poll by NBC News and SurveyMonkey suggests that 53 per cent of people are not satisfied by his actions, compared to 43 per cent who approve, NBC News reported. More than 30 per cent were angry by the way the federal government was performing. The survey…

Kuala Lumpur,  Detectives probing the assassination of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother want to question a North Korean diplomat, Malaysia’s top policeman said today. Investigators have put five North Koreans in the frame for last week’s brazen killing of Kim Jong-Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and have said they are seeking three more for questioning. They include the…

Washington: The Trump administration issued tough new orders on Tuesday for a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigrants, putting nearly all of the country’s 11 million undocumented foreigners in its cross-hairs. The orders sent shivers through US immigrant communities, where millions of people who have spent years building families and livelihoods in the country, most of them from Mexico and…

Fire crews responded to a house fire in McLean, Virginia Saturday morning. The fire broke in the 800 block of Turkey Run Road around 8:30 a.m. Fire officials say no injuries have been reported. The family was alerted to this fire by smoke alarms and was able to escape.

New US travel ban to spare green card holdersA new version of a Trump administration travel ban will not stop green card residency holders or travelers already on planes from entering the United States, US Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly said on Saturday. US President Donald Trump's initial attempt to clamp down for security reasons on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries…

Washington: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders hit out at US President Donald Trump for his frequent attacks on the news media, calling the President a “pathological liar”, the media reported. “In Trump’s view, people should ignore all the news except what comes directly from him. That is what totalitarianism is all about. Good thing we have Donald Trump, a pathological liar, to…