bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

Saudi Arabia is preparing a report that would admit Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed as the result of an interrogation that went wrong, CNN reported on Monday, citing two unnamed sources.
One source cautioned that the report was still being prepared and could change, CNN said.
The other source said the report would likely conclude that the operation was carried out without clearance and that those involved will be held responsible, the cable news outlet said.
The report came after US President Donald Trump suggested “rogue killers” might be responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance. His comments came after a phone call with Saudi King Salman.


Trump tweeted Monday that he had spoken with Salman, “who denies any knowledge” of what happened to Khashoggi.
“He said that they are working closely with Turkey to find answer,” Trump wrote. “I am immediately sending our Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) to meet with King!”
After the CNN story aired, Trump said he had seen it, but “nobody knows” if the claims of an interrogation gone wrong were official.
The Wall Street Journa l, citing people familiar with the matter, said the kingdom is weighing whether to say that rogue operatives killed Khashoggi by mistake during an interrogation. The Journal, like CNN, said the Saudi statement has not been finalised.

Also on Monday, a team of investigators entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul for what Turkish officials called a joint inspection of the building where Khashoggi disappeared nearly two weeks ago.
The team arrived by unmarked police cars at the consulate and said nothing to journalists waiting outside as they entered the building. Police then pushed back journalists from the front of the consulate, where they’ve been stationed for days, setting up a new cordon to keep them away.
The make-up of the investigative team that entered the diplomatic compound was not immediately clear, although it appeared to include Turkish police. International concern continues to grow over the writer’s October 2 disappearance. American lawmakers have threatened tough punitive action against the Saudis, and Germany, France and Britain have jointly called for a “credible investigation” into Khashoggi’s disappearance.
A Foreign Ministry official had earlier said the team would visit the diplomatic post Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations. Officials in Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump suggests ‘rogue killers’ could be behind the disappearance of Saudi journalist
Turkish officials have said they fear a Saudi hit team that flew into and out of Turkey on October 2 killed and dismembered Khashoggi, who had written Washington Post columns critically of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom has called such allegations “baseless” but has not offered any evidence Khashoggi ever left the consulate.
Such a search would be an extraordinary development, as embassies and consulates under the Vienna Convention are technically foreign soil. Saudi Arabia may have agreed to the search in order to appease its Western allies and the international community.
However, it remained unclear what evidence, if any, would remain nearly two weeks after Khashoggi’s disappearance. As if to drive the point home, a cleaning crew with mops and trash bags walked in past journalists waiting outside the consulate on Monday.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia warned that if it “receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy.”
“The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures or repeating false accusations,” said the statement, carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The statement did not elaborate. However, a column published in English a short time later by the general manager of the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite news network suggested Saudi Arabia could use its oil production as a weapon. Benchmark Brent crude is trading at around US$80 a barrel, and Trump has criticised OPEC and Saudi Arabia over rising prices.
Saudi media followed on from that statement in television broadcasts and newspaper front pages Monday.
Jamal Khashoggi fallout: how much damage can Saudi Arabia do to the global economy?
The Arabic-language daily Okaz wrote a headline on Monday in English warning: “Don’t Test Our Patience.” It showed a clenched fist made of a crowd of people in the country’s green colour.
The Saudi Gazette said: “Enough Is Enough,” while the Arab News said: “Saudi Arabia ‘will not be bullied’.”
The Arab News’ headline was above a front-page editorial by Dubai-based real-estate tycoon Khalaf al-Habtoor, calling on Gulf Arab nations to boycott international firms now backing out of a planned economic summit in Riyadh later this month.

“Together we must prove we will not be bullied or else, mark my words, once they have finished kicking the kingdom, we will be next in line,” al-Habtoor said.
Already, international business leaders are pulling out of the kingdom’s upcoming investment forum, a high-profile event known as “Davos in the Desert,” though it has no association with the World Economic Forum. They include the CEO of Uber, a company in which Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars; billionaire Richard Branson; JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Jamie Dimon; and Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford.
News that the CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, would pull out of the conference drew angry responses across the region. The foreign minister of the neighbouring island kingdom of Bahrain, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, tweeted Sunday night that there should be a boycott of the ride-hailing app both there and in Saudi Arabia.
Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by ‘murder’ team inside consulate
Late Sunday, Saudi King Salman spoke by telephone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about Khashoggi. Turkey said Erdogan “stressed the forming of a joint working group to probe the case.” Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said King Salman thanked Erdogan “for welcoming the kingdom’s proposal” for forming the working group.
The king said Turkey and Saudi Arabia enjoy close relations and “that no one will get to undermine the strength of this relationship,” according to a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. While Turkey and the kingdom differ on political issues, Saudi investments are a crucial lifeline for Ankara amid trouble with its national currency, the Turkish lira.
Prince Mohammed, King Salman’s son, has aggressively pitched the kingdom as a destination for foreign investment. But Khashoggi’s disappearance has led several business leaders and media outlets to back out of the upcoming investment conference in Riyadh, called the Future Investment Initiative.
The Saudi stock exchange, only months earlier viewed as a darling of frontier investors, plunged as much as 7 per cent at one point Sunday before closing down over 4 per cent. On Monday, Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange closed up 4 per cent.
Khashoggi has written extensively for the Washington Post about Saudi Arabia, criticising its war in Yemen, its recent diplomatic spat with Canada and its arrest of women’s rights activists after the lifting of a ban on women driving. Those policies are all seen as initiatives of the crown prince.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse


Prolonged Iran war could have ‘serious’ impact on food prices, says UN’s FAO

Pakistan to pause strikes on Afghanistan ahead of Eid

Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran’s largest gas field as Middle East energy war explodes

Pakistan to pause Afghan strikes  for Eid at request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey

Saudi Arabia

Saudis ‘preparing to admit’ journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in their Istanbul consulate, during botched interrogation: CNN

The report came after Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman, then suggested that ‘rogue killers’ might be to blame for Khashoggi’s disappearance

Turkish forensics and police officers arrive to the Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on October 15, 2018 to search the premises in the investigation over missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. - Uniformed Turkish police and other officials in suits believed to be prosecutors went inside the consulate after receiving agreement from Riyadh to conduct the search. Khashoggi has not been seen since entering the consulate on October 2. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

The Saudi Arabia's consulate is cordoned off by Turkish police in Istanbul on October 15, 2018 during the investigation over missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. - Uniformed Turkish police and other officials in suits believed to be prosecutors went inside the consulate after receiving agreement from Riyadh to conduct the search. Khashoggi has not been seen since entering the consulate on October 2. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Turkish forensics officers arrive at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on Monday to search the building as part of the investigation in missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Photo: AFP

Jamal Khashoggi fallout: how much damage can Saudi Arabia do to the global economy?

Should the kingdom make good on its warnings, the repercussions could be felt around the world

A flame from a Saudi Aramco oil installion known as "Pump 3" is seen in the desert near the oil-rich area of Khouris, 160 kms east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008. Oil producers are at war with speculators but they have been left speculating themselves over the future of their precious commodity after a unique summit, analysts said. Government ministers and traders alike are anxiously waiting to see which way prices go in coming weeks after Sunday's summit of consumers and producers, which Saudi Arabia called in response to the doubling of the cost of a barrel of oil over the past year to almost 140 dollars. AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI / AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

FILE - In this Feb. 1, 2015, file photo, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks during a press conference in Manama, Bahrain. The disappearance of Khashoggi, during a visit to his country’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, raises a dark question for anyone who dares criticize governments or speak out against those in power: Will the world have their back? (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

US President Donald Trump holds a chart of military hardware sales as he welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House in March. File photo: Reuters

Jamal Khashoggi is just the latest dissident from Saudi Arabia to mysteriously vanish

In the last few years, at least three other Saudi nationals – all relatives of the royal family, all outspoken critics of Saudi leadership and all living in Europe – have been kidnapped

Seen behind barbed wire, the Saudi Arabia flag flies over the consulate in Istanbul, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. Turkish investigators believe Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished Tuesday while on a visit to the consulate, was killed in "a preplanned murder" at the kingdom's consulate, the Washington Post reported Saturday night, citing two anonymous officials. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Tawakkol Karman, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2011 holds a picture of missing Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi as she speaks to journalists near the Saudi Arabia consulate, in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: AP

Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey hunts mysterious black van it believes carried body of missing Saudi journalist after ‘murder by hit squad’

The Washington Post published a surveillance image on Tuesday showing its missing Saudi contributor walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul a week ago, just before he disappeared. Photo: The Washington Post

Protestors hold pictures of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a demonstration in front of the Saudi Arabian consulate on October 8, 2018 in Istanbul. - Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist who has been critical towards the Saudi government has gone missing after visiting the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, the Washington Post reported. Turkey has sought permission to search Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul after a prominent journalist from the kingdom went missing last week following a visit to the building, Turkish television reported on October 8. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

A Saudi official look through the door of the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 8, 2018 in Istanbul during a demonstration for missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. - Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist who has been critical towards the Saudi government has gone missing after visiting the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, the Washington Post reported. Turkey has sought permission to search Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul after a prominent journalist from the kingdom went missing last week following a visit to the building, Turkish television reported on October 8. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

This Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018 aerial photo shows the Saudi Arabia consulate, centre, in Istanbul. Turkey has summoned the Saudi ambassador in Ankara to request Riyadh's "full cooperation" in an investigation over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (DHA via AP)

Donald Trump vows ‘severe punishment’ if Saudi Arabia killed Jamal Khashoggi

A demonstrator holding a photo of journalist Jamal Khashoggi outside the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Washington Post

President Donald Trump listens to a question about the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi after landing at Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport, Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2018, file photo President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. The disappearance of U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi after visiting a Saudi consulate in Turkey has thrust the Trump administration’s large number of diplomatic vacancies back into the spotlight. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Turkey concludes Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed by ‘murder’ team inside consulate, sources say

A demonstrator with a picture of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a protest in front of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday. According to reports, Khashoggi, who is known for being a critic of his country's policies, has gone missing after visiting the consulate this month. Photo: Reuters

epa07073594 A general view from the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, 06 October 2018. According to reports, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who is known for being a critic of his country's policies, has gone missing after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 02 October 2018 to complete routine paperwork. EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

Consul General of Saudi Arabia Mohammad al-Otaibi answers questions during an interview with Reuters at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

News

World

Middle East

The report came after Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman, then suggested that ‘rogue killers’ might be to blame for Khashoggi’s disappearance


The report came after Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman, then suggested that “rogue killers” might be to blame for Khashoggi’s disappearance.


Turkey

Jamal Khashoggi killing

Saudis ‘preparing to admit’ journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in their Istanbul consulate, during botched interrogation: CNN

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The report came after Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman, then suggested that ‘rogue killers’ might be to blame for Khashoggi’s disappearance

The report came after Donald Trump spoke with Saudi King Salman, then suggested that ‘rogue killers’ might be to blame for Khashoggi’s disappearance