Three leading international NGOs announced on Monday they are boycotting meetings that Saudi Arabia is holding with civil society groups ahead of hosting this year’s Group of 20 summit, saying participating would lend legitimacy to a kingdom “trying to whitewash its dire human rights record.”

U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf have loudly pushed for hawkish policies by Washington to pressure, isolate and cripple Iran, but this high-stakes strategy is now being put to the test by the unexpected U.S. strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander last week, thrusting the region closer to full-blown conflict.

A court in Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced five people to death for the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year by a team of Saudi agents.

The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said Sunday as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the assumption the attack was an act of terrorism. Investigators are also trying...

Anthony Joshua’s status as boxing’s rising star might not have been the only reputation on the line in Saudi Arabia this weekend, NBC News reports. British fighter Joshua on Saturday reclaimed his three heavyweight titles in a unanimous points decision. He had lost them to Mexican-American underdog Andy Ruiz Jr., who stunned the sporting world with a seventh round victory at…......

The number of foreign students coming to U.S. colleges and universities continued to fall last year, according to a new report, but the Trump administration says the drop should be blamed on high tuition costs and not students’ concerns over the nation’s political atmosphere. An annual report from the Institute of International Education found that the number of newly enrolled...

Family and friends of a former Twitter employee accused of spying for Saudi Arabia call him a dedicated husband and father who has overcome recent mental health struggles, according to letters of support filed to federal court. Ahmad Abouammo, a U.S. citizen and a media partnership manager for Twitter’s Middle East region, is charged with acting as an agent of...

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) held the first women’s wrestling match in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, NBC News reported. The contest featured two WWE super stars: Lacey Evans and Natalya. Evans is a U.S. Marine veteran while Natalya is a Canadian-American two-time Women’s Champion in WWE. The two athletes battled it out in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, and Natalya emerged victorious....

President Donald Trump is surfacing cultural stereotypes as he depicts the Middle East as a blood-soaked sandbox where people “play” violently because that’s “what they do” in that part of the world. “It’s unnatural for us, but it’s sort of natural for them – to fight,” he said. This from the president of a nation born in revolution, ruptured by...

San Diego drivers may not know how much they will be paying for gas the next time they pull into their neighborhood gas station, but they will know it will hurt.

A prominent bodyguard to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman was shot and killed in what authorities described as a personal dispute, state TV reported Sunday, offering few details on an incident that shocked the kingdom. Tributes poured in across social media for Maj. Gen. Abdulaziz al-Fagham, with many including images of the bodyguard at work. One included him bending down to...

The U.S. is sending one Patriot missile battery and four ground-based radar systems to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said Thursday, in what officials describe as the first steps to help the kingdom protect itself against Iranian attacks. Two more Patriot batteries and a THAAD missile defense system will be prepared to go later if needed, and the deployment will involve...

K-pop superstar group BTS is taking an extended break to “enjoy the ordinary lives of young people in their 20s, albeit briefly,” their agency said Monday. Big Hit Entertainment said a concert Sunday in Seoul was the group’s last scheduled performance before the seven members take “vacations” for the first time since their 2013 debut. The agency didn’t say when...

Around 2.5 million pilgrims took part in a symbolic stoning of the devil on Saturday, marking the final days of the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and the start of the Eid al-Adha celebrations for Muslims around the world. To mark the completion of the hajj, male pilgrims shave their hair and women trim theirs to represent a spiritual renewal...

Muslim worshippers and Israeli police clashed Sunday at a major Jerusalem holy site during prayers marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Palestinian medics said at least 14 people were wounded, one seriously, in the skirmishes with police at the site, which Muslims refer to as the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and Jews refer to as the Temple Mount. Police said...

More than 2 million Muslims gathered Saturday at the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for an intense day of worship and reflection on what’s considered the climax of the Islamic hajj pilgrimage. Many had tears streaming down their faces as they raised their hands in worship on the slopes of the rocky hill where the Prophet Muhammad...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a trio of congressional resolutions aimed at blocking his administration from selling billions of dollars of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month cited threats from Iran as a reason to approve the $8.1 billion arms sale to the two U.S. allies in the Persian...

Microsoft is paying more than $25 million to settle federal corruption charges involving a bribery scheme in Hungary and other foreign offices. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Microsoft will pay about $16.6 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. While the case centered on Hungary, the SEC said it also found improprieties at...

Retired veteran James Golias began volunteering for the Sea Lions for Service Members, a free program that allows veterans to engage in a therapeutic experience at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center by tending to injured animals.

Janet Jackson and rappers 50 Cent and Future have been added to the lineup for the Jeddah World Fest, the concert in Saudi Arabia that Nicki Minaj pulled out of after human rights organizations urged the rapper to cancel her appearance.