Turkey’s pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak quoted anonymous security sources on Thursday who said a forest and farmhouse near Istanbul will be searched for clues to the fate of Jamal Khashoggi.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that one of the 15 Saudis who ostensibly flew to Istanbul to kidnap or murder Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a “suspicious car accident” in Riyadh.
The Washington Post on Tuesday published the final column submitted by Jamal Khashoggi’s assistant before Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. He has not been seen or heard from since.
China is not sitting the Khashoggi imbroglio out. On Tuesday the state-run Global Times declared Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul is a test of America’s commitment to human rights.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The story of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has been driven by lurid and dubiously-sourced claims from Turkish newspapers, particularly those supportive of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Few are more supportive than Yeni Safak, and none have produced a more sensational headline than Wednesday’s “Recordings Reveal Khashoggi Tortured, Then Dismembered While Still Alive.”
The diplomatic crisis over Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul does not appear to have damaged the Sunni Arab alliance led by Saudi Arabia.
Taiwan’s latest military exercise began on Tuesday with a simulated attack on coastal bases by Chinese warplanes hypothetically launched from the Liaoning, currently the only functional aircraft carrier operated by the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
Iranian media hammered Saudi Arabia and its ally the United States over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi this week, accusing the arrogant Saudi “empire” of murder and the U.S. of complicity in the deed.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning for urgent meetings with King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir to discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi. Turkish officials said they expect Pompeo to visit Ankara next, bringing important information about the case from the Saudis.
China’s state-run Xinhua news service vented Beijing’s mounting anger at U.S. allegations of espionage and election interference by claiming it is the U.S., not China, that menaces the Internet as a “cyber predator.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte survived many scandals with his poll numbers largely intact, but support for the seemingly unsinkable strongman is finally waning, polls showed on Monday.
The much-discussed and often-delayed joint inspection of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Turkish and Saudi officials formally began on Monday.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz had phone conversations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday night and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday morning to discuss the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
When South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said on Wednesday her government was thinking about lifting some sanctions on North Korea, there were fears even a purely symbolic gesture along those lines could weaken the international coalition allied against North Korea’s nuclear missile program. Right on cue, Chinese state media jumped in and encouraged Seoul to lift unilateral sanctions as quickly as possible in a gesture of fellowship with Pyongyang and defiance toward Washington.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday published a lengthy article about the “new Cold War era with China,” relating a number of tense incidents that explain why so many Trump administration officials are sounding alarms about the Chinese.
Chinese officials announced on Friday that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit China from October 25 – 27, in concert with the 40th anniversary of the “Treaty of Peace and Friendship” signed by the two nations.
The Washington Post published a story Thursday claiming Turkish officials told the U.S. they have audio and video recordings from inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul proving Saudi agents murdered missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Turks have apparently have not shared the evidence with anyone yet.
Chinese telecom company Transsion has not sold a single phone in China, but it beat out heavyweight competitors like Samsung and Apple to quietly dominate the African smartphone market, a CNN report revealed Wednesday.
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon on Thursday contradicted controversial statements made by the foreign minister to parliament the previous day and said there are no plans to lift sanctions against North Korea imposed after the sinking of the South Korean ship Cheonan in 2010.
A bipartisan group of senators wrote to the White House on Wednesday invoking the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to demand an investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and possible sanctions against Saudi Arabia.
Over a dozen Hong Kong lawmakers staged a protest in the legislature on Wednesday, chanting “Protect press freedom!” and holding up placards reading “Free Press, No Persecution,” until security guards escorted them from the chamber.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers on Wednesday the administration of President Moon Jae-in is considering proposals to lift sanctions against North Korea as a reward for improved relations on the peninsula.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen gave an address for National Day – essentially Taiwan’s version of the Fourth of July – on Wednesday unsparingly critical of China without being overtly confrontational. The key element of the speech was an appeal to the free world for protection from China’s increasingly predatorial approach to the island.
A Turkish newspaper aligned with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday claimed it has identified the 15 members of the team allegedly sent from Saudi Arabia to kidnap or kill missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared last week after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Veterans of the People’s Liberation Army staged a massive protest this weekend in the eastern Chinese city of Pingdu against police beatings of former soldiers. Police beat some of the protesters during the demonstration, even though they were elderly.
A security expert working for a U.S. telecom company reportedly uncovered further evidence of Chinese spy chips hidden on computer motherboards, Bloomberg Businessweek reported Tuesday, less than a week since the outlet revealed a massive “hardware hack” discovered in a secretive U.S. government investigation.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Tokyo on Monday and agreed to work together against China’s territorial aggression in the South China Sea.
Officials from the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union expressed concern over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Monday and asked the government of Saudi Arabia to conduct a thorough investigation.
China’s state-run Global Times vowed over the weekend to fight back against “insults” from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and promised a “new Cold War” if the Trump administration forces the issue by continuing to produce “hostile reports and speeches.”
South Korean and Russian media on Monday teased a visit to Moscow by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
After meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a senior Chinese cabinet official named Yang Jiechi.
The mystery of Washington Post contributor Jama Khashoggi’s disappearance took a grim turn over the weekend as Turkish investigators claimed that an execution squad dispatched from Saudi Arabia murdered Khashoggi within the walls of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Bloomberg Businessweek on Thursday reported on a three-year investigation into computer hardware compromised with spy chips by Chinese military hackers. The full report is lengthy, some of the details remain classified since the investigation is still ongoing, and many particulars of the report are contested by the American companies involved. Following is a summary of the most important elements of the “Big Hack” story.
The Financial Times announced on Friday that the government of Hong Kong decided not to renew Asian news editor Victor Mallet’s work visa, effectively beginning the process of expelling him from the island. The decision stunned the international financial community and deeply alarmed press freedom advocates.
