Sec. Pompeo meets with King Salman

What started as an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory has received a second major boost from the Trump administration. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says China has a history of running substandard laboratories.

The sons of the murdered Saudi journalist say the family pardons those who were involved in their father's murder. The declaration could spare the lives of five convicted people sentenced to death.

Washington says it plans to revoke sanction waivers for firms from the three European countries operating in Iran. Their foreign ministries say the joint projects ensure the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is safe.

In May, the elder son of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi declared that his family had "forgiven" those responsible for the killing of their father in October 2018. The announcement would give legal reprieve to the five Saudi government agents who have been sentenced to death for the brutal murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. But Khashoggi's fiancée Hatice Cengiz has since renounced that statement.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has backed the UK's tough stance on Beijing, urging the international community to create an alliance against China's "bullying."

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has urged the Czech Republic not to team up with Russia and China on energy policy. During a visit to Prague, he called the recent Belarus unrest a sign of creeping "authoritarianism."

The US Secretary of State's arrival follows the Trump administration's announcement of an ambitious Arab-Israeli peace plan. He will also visit several Gulf Arab states and Sudan this week.

During a joint press conference with Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo encourages Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms.

Hatice Cengiz and US-based group DAWN have filed a civil suit, pursuing the Saudi prince and 28 others for damages. Khashoggi was murdered two years ago when he entered the Saudi consulate to obtain marriage papers.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with negotiators from the Afghan government and the Taliban separately in Doha. A senior official said negotiators were "very close" to breaking a longstanding deadlock.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Iran is the "number one threat" to Gulf security and thanks Bahrain for its support in exerting pressure on Tehran as he meets virtually with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani. The meeting comes as a 40-strong Bahraini delegation visits Israel for two days of talks on boosting economic cooperation and tourism after the two countries normalised relations in September.

After a more than three-year quarrel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are back on track. Political common sense has prevailed, says Kersten Knipp.