Saudi king, crown prince call slain writer Khashoggi's son
Istanbul, Oct 22 : Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the son of Jamal Khashoggi, the kingdom announced early Monday, to express condolences for the death of the journalist killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by officials that allegedly included a member of the royal's entourage.
King Salman similarly made a condolence call as international pressure on the kingdom continues to rise, even after it acknowledged on Saturday that the Washington Post journalist was killed Oct. 2 at the consulate under still-disputed circumstances.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he will "go into detail" about the Khashoggi case in a speech in parliament Tuesday, the same day a glitzy investment forum in Riyadh spearheaded by Prince Mohammed is to take place.
Saudi Arabia's explanation that Khashoggi was killed in a "fistfight" and 18 Saudis have been detained has been met with international skepticism and allegations of a cover-up designed to absolve Prince Mohammed of direct responsibility. Turkish media reports and officials say a 15-member Saudi team flew to Istanbul, laid in wait for Khashoggi at the consulate and then cut off his fingers, killed and dismembered the 59-year-old writer.
"Why did these 15 people come here? Why were 18 people arrested? All of this needs to be explained in all its details," Erdogan said.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced the calls to Khashoggi's son, Salah, early Monday morning. Statements from the agency said both King Salman and Prince Mohammed express their condolences for his father's death.
The call comes after a leaked photograph apparently taken from surveillance footage shows Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage on trips to the United States, France and Spain this year, at the consulate, just ahead of Khashoggi's arrival.
Mutreb's name also matches that of a first secretary who once served as a diplomat at the Saudi Embassy in London, according to a 2007 list compiled by the British Foreign Office.
Saudi Arabia so far has not acknowledged or explained Mutreb's presence in Istanbul nor that of a forensics and autopsy expert, also on hand for Khashoggi's arrival at the consulate.
Istanbul's chief prosecutor summoned 28 more staff members of the Saudi Consulate, including Turkish citizens and foreign nationals, to give testimony on Monday, Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported. Prosecutors have previously questioned consulate staff; some Turkish employees reportedly said they were instructed not to go to work around the time that Khashoggi disappeared.
Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency reported Sunday that Khashoggi's fiance, Hatice Cengiz, has been given 24-hour police protection.
Also Sunday, images that were obtained by TRT World, a Turkish news channel that broadcasts in English, showed Khashoggi as he arrived at a police barrier before entering the consulate on Oct. 2. The images, taken from security camera video, show the writer being searched before continuing toward the building.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Fox News that Khashoggi's killing was "a rogue operation" and that "we don't know where the body is.'" "The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority," he said.
"There obviously was a tremendous mistake made and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up. That is unacceptable to the government." However, a leading U.S. Senate Republican said the Saudi explanation, which followed initial denials from the kingdom that it knew anything about Khashoggi's fate, wasn't credible.
Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Saturday on CNN's "State of the Union" that he believed Prince Mohammed, the heir-apparent of the world's largest oil exporter, was behind the killing.
The crown prince has "now crossed a line and there has to be a punishment and a price paid for that," Corker said. He also urged Turkey to turn over purported audio recordings of Khashoggi's killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The existence of such evidence has been reported in Turkish media in a series of leaks, though Turkish officials have yet to confirm they have recordings.
"The Turks have been talking more to the media than they have (to) us," Corker said of the NATO ally.
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Brar, Shashank, Wadhera star as PBKS inch closer to playoffs with 10-run win over RR
Jaipur, May 18 (PTI): Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar bowled a match-turning spell after Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh made bruising fifties as Punjab Kings edged closer to an IPL playoff berth with a 10-run win over Rajasthan Royals here on Sunday.
Brar, who came in as a substitute for skipper Shreyas Iyer -- possibly unwell due to extreme heat -- was introduced in the fifth over and the left-arm spinner walked away with an impressive 3/22 in four overs, helping PBKS to restrict RR to 209/7 in the chase of 220.
The Punjab side had earlier made 219 for five riding on an unbeaten on 59 off 30 deliveries (5x4, 3x6) by Shashank and Wadhera (70, 37b, 5x4, 5x6).
With this win, PBKS (NRR: +0.38) climbed to 17 points and they are second on the table behind leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17 points, +0.48) on net run rate difference.
The Ricky Ponting-coached side needs just one more point to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2014.
Brar, who mixed up his angles, trajectory, and pace with precision, played a big part in that.
His scalps included the 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 off 15; 4x4, 4x6) and Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had launched a brutal assault up front with his (50 off 24).
Together they flew off the blocks with a stand off 76 runs in just 4.1 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai (2/44) then landed a double blow, sending back skipper Sanju Samson (20 off 16) and Shimron Hetmyer (11 off 12), as RR's chase lost steam.
Dhruv Jurel (53 off 31 balls; 3x4, 4x6) hit form to score his second fifty of the season but it went in vain as Marco Jansen (2/41 in three overs) removed him and Wanindu Hasaranga in successive balls in the last over to end their chase.
Jaiswal was in explosive form from the outset, smashing four fours and a six off Arshdeep Singh’s first over.
Suryavanshi matched him stroke for stroke, cracking two sixes and a four off Jansen.
RR raced to 51 for no loss in just three overs -- 50 of those runs coming in boundaries, and one via a wide.
Suryavanshi continued his fireworks with back-to-back sixes off Arshdeep, helping RR storm to 76 in just 29 balls.
However, Brar's introduction proved decisive, as he first removed Suryavanshi and then dismissed Jaiswal, who fell immediately after completing his sixth fifty of the season.
It saw the required rate jumping to 12 from under 10, and the Royals couldn't recover.
Earlier, fiery half-centuries from Wadhera and Shashank powered PBKS to a commanding total.
Opting to bat, PBKS started briskly but lost opener Priyansh Arya in the second over, caught by Hetmyer off Tushar Deshpande (2/37). Prabhsimran Singh briefly kept the momentum going, striking Maphaka for a four and a six, but wickets continued to tumble.
IPL debutant Mitchell Owen fell for a two-ball duck, holing out to Samson off Maphaka. Prabhsimran (22 off 12) followed soon after, edging Deshpande to Samson, who reviewed successfully after the on-field umpire turned it down.
Skipper Iyer (30 off 25, 5x4s) and Wadhera then stitched a quick 67-run stand off 44 balls for the fourth wicket. Iyer looked fluent but fell against the run of play, slicing a Riyan Parag delivery to Jaiswal at long-off.
Wadhera, dropped on 47 by Hasaranga off his own bowling, made the most of the reprieve.
He brought up his fifty in just 25 balls and was particularly dominant on the leg side.
His knock ended when he attempted back-to-back sixes off Akash Madhwal, only to find Hetmyer in the deep.
Omarzai provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 21 off just nine balls, helping PBKS cross the 200-run mark.
