Not satisfied with the Saudis on Khashoggi investigation: Trump
Washington, Oct 23: US President Donald Trump has said he was "not satisfied" with the response of Riyadh over the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
The president also said a group of US officials are in Saudi Arabia and another group of investigators in Turkey are trying to gather information on this issue.
"I am not satisfied with what I've heard," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for an election rally in Texas Monday.
"We will know very soon. We have tremendously talented people very well. They're coming back tonight or tomorrow and I will know very soon," he said responding to a question.
Khashoggi, a writer for The Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, where he had gone to collect some papers related to his marriage.
For the first two weeks, the Government of Saudi Arabia had said Khashoggi left the consulate through the back door.
Following a global outrage, a few days ago, the Saudi government in a statement acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed in a fistfight inside the consulate and noted that an interrogation went wrong.
Except for Trump administration officials, lawmakers and think-tanks are saying that the Saudi explanation is not credible.
Trump had told reporters that he has spoken to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wields the real power in Saudi Arabia after the King.
"We have people over in Saudi Arabia now. We have top intelligence people in Turkey. We're going to see what we have.
"I'll know a lot tomorrow, they'll be coming back either tonight or tomorrow morning," the US president said.
Responding to questions, Trump said he was against making any move on the USD 110 billion mega arms deal with the Saudis.
"I don't want to lose all of that investment that's being made in our country. I don't want to lose a million jobs, I don't want to lose USD110 billion in terms of investment, but it's really USD450 billion So that's very important, he said.
However, "we're going to get to the bottom of it", Trump said.
Calling for the release of information regarding the US intelligence community's advance knowledge of Saudi Arabia's plot to capture Khashoggi, over 50 US lawmakers, led by Indian American Ro Khanna and Mark Pocan, have written to Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence,
In weighing the merits of US-Saudi military cooperation, it is imperative that Members of Congress have a full, detailed grasp of the intelligence community's knowledge of Saudi actions and their potentially harmful impact on the wellbeing of US residents and citizens, as well as any US intelligence failures pertaining to Saudi activities that may have contributed to needless loss of life, the letter to Coats said.
Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the senate foreign relations and armed services committees, said Saudi Arabia's alleged murder of Khashoggi while visiting its consulate in Istanbul demonstrates a combination of brutality and lies that must not be tolerated.
After claiming that Khashoggi left the consular office on his own and that they knew nothing of his condition, the Saudis now offer up the inane lie that he was killed in a fistfight within the consulate.
"If so, where is the body? And why did they lie about their complicity in Khashoggi's death in the first place? he asked.
Senator Mike Lee called for an end to United States involvement in Saudi Arabia's war on Yemen.
Killing a United States resident is never acceptable behaviour, and the repeated failure to be honest about the incident should call into question the extent of our relationship with Saudi Arabia, Lee said.
But setting aside the extent of our alliance generally, why should we continue to support Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen when the kingdom is killing our residents and lying about it?
"It is far past time that the United States Senate had a serious debate regarding our military involvement in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, he said.
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Sheena Bora case: Indrani Mukerjea moves SC, seeks permission to travel abroad
New Delhi, Nov 26: Former media executive Indrani Mukerjea, accused of killing her daughter Sheena Bora, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court ruling denying her to travel abroad.
A special court on July 19 allowed Mukerjea's plea to travel to Spain and the UK for 10 days between intermittent periods over the next three months.
The CBI approached the high court challenging the order passed by the special court but the high court quashed the special court order on September 27.
Mukerjea has now moved the apex court challenging the high court's verdict.
In her plea filed in the top court through advocate Sana Raees Khan, Mukerjea said she was a British citizen, and sought permission to visit Spain and her home country for "making necessary changes and amendments and taking care of pending work which cannot be transacted without her personal presence".
She argued the activation of a digital certificate was a must for all relevant work and administration in Spain and her physical presence was mandatory.
In its verdict, the high court noted Mukerjea wanted to travel abroad on the ground that she was a British national and was required to execute documents regarding her bank account and perform other work in Spain and the UK.
While setting aside the special court's order, the high court said if Mukerjea wished to perform these works from India, the statutory authorities back home would extend her the necessary support with the assistance of Embassy of Spain and the UK.
Mukerjea was arrested in August 2015 after the murder of Bora came to light. In May 2022, she was granted bail by the Supreme Court.
She has denied the allegations.
Bora (24) was allegedly strangled to death in a car by Mukerjea, her then-driver Shyamvar Rai and former husband Sanjeev Khanna in April 2012 in Mumbai. Her body was then burnt in a forest in the neighbouring Raigad district, according to the prosecution.
Bora was Mukerjea's daughter from her previous relationship.
The killing came to light in 2015 when Rai reportedly revealed about it during interrogation by police after his arrest in a separate case registered under the Arms Act.
Mukerjea's ex-husband Peter Mukerjea was also arrested for allegedly being a part of the conspiracy linked to the murder, probed by the CBI.
All the accused are currently out on bail.
