Spain, Japan react on killing of Saudi journalist

Top German politicians press Siemens boss to skip Saudi conference

Siemens boss Joe Kaeser came under pressure from senior German politicians on Sunday to pull out of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia next week following Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death.Many business executives including the heads of Deutsche Bank, Uber Technologies and Siemens rival ABB have dropped out of Riyadh's Future Investment Initiative conference amid outrage about Khashoggi's fate.The leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), Andrea Nahles, called on Kaeser to follow the example of other executives and cancel his plans to attend the conference."I hope that Joe Kaeser will rethink this," she told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.Germany calls into question arms sales to Saudi over Khashoggi deathForeign Minister Heiko Maas, also from the SPD, told German public television on Saturday evening that cancellations sent the right signal."I certainly wouldn't participate in an event in Riyadh at the moment," he said. "And I have great understanding for those who have cancelled."Norbert Roettgen, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union who chairs the German parliamentary foreign affairs committee, also urged Kaeser to skip the event.Amid scepticism, Saudi official provides another version of Khashoggi death"This applies in my view, for example, to the Siemens CEO who has confirmed his attendance," he told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.A spokesman for Siemens said Kaeser had not yet decided whether to attend the conference. He said he expected Kaeser to make a decision on Sunday.The engineering conglomerate has won orders to supply gas turbines, power plant components and trains to Saudi Arabia. Last year, it signed a declaration of intent to work with Saudi authorities to equip infrastructure projects which Siemens said could be worth at least a billion euros.Merkel and Maas have reacted strongly to Saudi Arabia's admission that Khashoggi died in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, condemning the killing and demanding Riyadh make clear what happened.($1 = 0.8686 euros) Merkel demands full facts on Khashoggi’s killing

Whereabouts of Khashoggi’s body raises questions

The whereabouts of Jamal Khashoggi’s body has become a pressing question after Saudi Arabia admitted that the veteran journalist had died during a “brawl” at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.“Where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi?” Syrian journalist Musa al-Omar asked.“He should be buried in Al-Baqi’ [a cemetery in Madinah in western Saudi Arabia] as recommended."Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, had gone missing since entering the consulate on Oct. 2.After days of denying to know his whereabouts, Saudi Arabia on Saturday claimed Khashoggi was killed during a fight inside the consulate.Roger Cohen, a columnist for The New York Times, scoffed at the Saudi explanation on the circumstances of Khashoggi's killing.“Strangled in “a fistfight”?? 15 agents sent to “meet him”?? One of them with a saw??” Oh, and didn’t Khashoggi walk out the consulate 17 days ago?? He wondered.Kuwait welcomes decisions by Saudi king on 'regretful' Khashoggi caseSaudi explanation of Khashoggi death not credible: British minister“If [U.S. Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo was sent to Riyadh to cobble together a plausible story, well, mission failed,” he said.On Tuesday, Pompeo visited Riyadh for talks with Saudi officials on Khashoggi’s disappearance.On the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while he was still inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.A joint Turkish-Saudi team completed an investigation into the case on Thursday after searching the residence of the consul general as well as the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.Khashoggi saw Turkey as key country in new Middle East“Where is the body?”Several Arab journalists raised the questions about the Saudi journalist’s body.“He died as a result of a fistfight, where is the body of Jamal Khashoggi?" Lebanese journalist Najla Abu Mari asked.Yemeni journalist Hamdi al-Bakari tweeted "Where is his body?"Bahraini journalist Nazih Saeed also asked about Khashoggi’s body, saying the dismissal of officials was "not enough to achieve justice."Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman was sarcastic about the Saudi king’s decision to dismiss the deputy intelligence chief Ahmad Asiri and senior adviser Saud al-Qahtani over the case."We can understand your dismissal [King Salman] of them in this way: for their failure to oversee the assassination of Khashoggi without scandals,” she wrote on Twitter.There was no comment from Saudi authorities on the allegation.Emirati political analyst Abdul Khaliq Abdullah said on Twitter: "May Allah have mercy on the champion of freedom Khashoggi."Oman welcomes Saudi decisions on 'regrettable' Khashoggi case"This is a sad day for me, for his friends, family, the liberals of the world and for anyone who courageously dared to say the truth and fight the battle of freedom and pay costly for it," Abdullah said.Egyptian academic Saif al-Din Abdul Fattah asked about the whereabouts of the Saudi journalist’s body."Why did the Saudi authorities deny more than once that Khashoggi was murdered? Where was the man's body?" he asked.Egyptian political activist Wael Ghonim said on Twitter "the remembrance of Khashoggi’s martyrdom will live in the hearts and minds of many believers in humanity all over the world.""I knew him a noble knight, loved his country and suffered so much from being away from his homeland,” he said, going on to call on Saudi Arabia to bring perpetrators and planners of the “brutal crime” to justice.Arab states hail Saudi explanation on Khashoggi killing

France wants whole truth on Saudi dissident's killing

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Saudi Arabia's admission that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its Istanbul consulate was welcome "progress", but urged the kingdom to follow through with a full and transparent investigation."I note that the Saudi authorities have changed tack, admitted the facts and accepted some responsibility, so we're making progress," Le Maire said on France 3 television on Sunday. "But full light needs to be shed."How bilateral relations develop from here will "depend on the way the truth is aired, the investigation conducted and the results established," Le Maire said."If they continue in this direction by establishing the truth with a full investigation, I believe we can maintain our strong strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia," he added."If that doesn't happen, nobody will understand - neither France nor the European Union nor the United States. Saudi Arabia is a strategic partner, but we can't have a trusting relationship that isn't grounded in truth."Kuwait welcomes decisions by Saudi king on 'regretful' Khashoggi caseSaudi explanation of Khashoggi death not credible: British ministerKhashoggi saw Turkey as key country in new Middle East

US senator Corker says he believes Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi death

A leading Republican U.S. senator said on Sunday he believed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the Saudis have lost all credibility in their explanations of his death."Yes, I think he did it," Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union." Kremlin says we want answers from Washington over arms treaty plan

Turkey will not allow cover-up in Khashoggi killing, sees 'dire' consequences: AKP official

Turkey will not allow a cover-up after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a senior member of President Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AK Party said on Sunday, warning that consequences could be "dire".After denying any involvement in the disappearance of Khashoggi, 59, for two weeks, Saudi Arabia on Saturday said the journalist and critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had died in a fistfight at the consulate. An hour later, another Saudi official attributed the death to a chokehold."If the incident transpired as it has been told across the world, there is no way Saudi officials can cover this up by saying a team from Saudi Arabia came and two or three men among them murdered him," Numan Kurtulmuş, deputy chairman of the AKP told CNN Turk in an interview."A crime committed in a consulate cannot be carried out without the knowledge of the senior state officials of that country. If this crime was really carried out as has been said, if the evidence really leads to that conclusion, the situation will be dire and this must have very serious legal consequences."Reflecting the intensifying international scepticism over its account, a senior Saudi government official has laid out a new version that in key respects contradicts previous explanations.The latest account includes details on how the team of 15 Saudi nationals sent to confront Khashoggi had threatened him with being drugged and kidnapped and then killed him in a chokehold when he resisted. A member of the team then dressed in Khashoggi's clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate.Germany calls for united response to Khashoggi killingWhereabouts of Khashoggi’s body raises questionsSaudi explanation of Khashoggi death not credible: British ministerKhashoggi saw Turkey as key country in new Middle EastOman welcomes Saudi decisions on 'regrettable' Khashoggi case

Germany calls for united response to Khashoggi killing

Germany has called for a united international response to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia’s Consulate in Istanbul.‘We need a united response from the international community,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Twitter on Sunday, adding that Berlin was coordinating its stance together with France, the U.K., other EU partners and the G7 states.Khashoggi was last seen on Oct. 2 when he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.After days of denying to know his whereabouts, Saudi Arabia on Saturday claimed Khashoggi died during a fight inside the consulate.Maas said a “credible” investigation was expected from Saudi Arabia on the real circumstances surrounding Khashoggi’s death.Germany’s top diplomat also signalled that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government would put on hold arms sales to Saudi Arabia.“As long as this investigation continues, as long as we don’t know what really happened there, I think that there is no basis for a positive on arms exports to Saudi Arabia,” he told German public broadcaster ARD.Turkey increases visitors of ancient Ethiopian mosqueGermany hopeful of Syria summit in IstanbulGermany looking to coordinate global minimum corporate tax