Iran's Rouhani: Khashoggi murder unthinkable 'without US backing'

Tehran - Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's "heinous murder" would have been unthinkable "without US backing," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on yesterday.

"I don't think that any country would dare do such a thing without US backing," Rouhani said in remarks to cabinet broadcast on state television.

Rouhani said that before Khashoggi's murder "it would have been unthinkable that in this day and age we would witness such an organised felony.

"It is extremely significant that an institution planned such a heinous murder.

"The tribal group that is ruling that nation (Saudi Arabia) has a security margin. That security margin is that it relies on US backing. It is this superpower that is backing them."


Khashoggi, a government critic who was living in self-imposed exile in the United States, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 as he organised the paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

The case has triggered an international outcry against Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ridiculed Riyadh's response as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

Iran had been silent about the Khashoggi case until Monday when its judiciary chief slammed Saudi Arabia over his death.

"This heinous murder further revealed the nature of Saudis, their kingdom and that young man who is seeking fame and murdering innocent people," Sadegh Amoli Larijani was quoted as saying by the judiciary's news agency Mizan Online, apparently referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

- 'Child-killing regime' -
Iran has closely followed the backlash its regional rival Saudi Arabia has faced over the Khashoggi murder.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and three of its officers, including Quds Force commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, as terrorist sponsors.

"The House of Saud is seeking to divert international and regional public opinion away from the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Brigadier General Esmail Kowsari of the Guards said in reaction to decision, quoted by Mehr news agency.

"Saudi Arabia is stuck in a quagmire they can't get out of," Kowsari said, adding that the designation was an attempt to utilise the tactic of attack being the best form of defence.

"The murder of this journalist is one of the thousands of villainies committed by this child-killing regime, but they want to revolve the world’s attention away from themselves onto Iran," said Kowsari.

source: philstar.com

Saudi account of Khashoggi's death meets growing scepticism

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— Saudi Arabia faced a growing chorus of incredulity Sunday over its belated explanation of how critic Jamal Khashoggi died inside its Istanbul consulate, as world powers demanded answers and the whereabouts of his body.

After a fortnight of denials, Saudi authorities admitted on Saturday that the Washington Post columnist was killed after entering the consulate on October 2, a disappearance that sparked outrage and plunged the Gulf kingdom into a spiralling international crisis.

Turkish officials have accused Riyadh of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body, with pro-government media in Turkey reporting the existence of video and audio evidence to back those claims.


Police have searched a forest in Istanbul where they believe his body may have been disposed of.

After initially saying Khashoggi left the consulate unharmed, and then that they were investigating his disappearance, Saudi authorities backtracked and admitted the 60-year-old was killed in a "brawl" with officials inside the consulate.

But that narrative -- combined with the absence of Khashoggi's body -- quickly drew scepticism and scorn from many, including staunch allies.

Ankara vowed to reveal all the details of a two-week inquiry as US President Donald Trump said he was unsatisfied with Saudi Arabia's response to the columnist's death while the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Canada and the UN also demanded greater clarity.

The controversy has put the kingdom -- for decades a key ally in Western efforts to contain Iran -- under unprecedented pressure.

It has also evolved into a major crisis for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a Trump administration favourite widely known as MBS, whose image as a modernising Arab reformer has been gravely undermined.

'Changing stories' 
Canada is among the latest countries to question Riyadh's version of events.

"The explanations offered to date lack consistency and credibility," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement Saturday.

Senior Republican senator Marco Rubio was more stark in his assessment.

"Saudi Arabia's changing stories on #KhashoggiMurder is getting old. The latest one about a fist fight gone bad is bizarre," he tweeted, renewing his call for sanctions against those responsible.

Ankara said it had a "debt of honour" to reveal what happened.

"We are not accusing anyone in advance but we don't accept anything to remain covered (up)," said ruling Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said many questions remained unanswered while German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged transparency, adding that "available reports on what happened in the Istanbul consulate are insufficient."

"This cannot stand. This will not do," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison added on Sunday.

The EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini and UN chief Antonio Guterres both called for a proper investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account.

Trump initially said he found the explanation credible, but later expressed more scepticism -- although he warned against scrapping a multibillion-dollar arms deal with the conservative kingdom.

"No, I am not satisfied until we find the answer," he told reporters. "It was a big first step. It was a good first step. But I want to get to the answer."

Saudi Arabia's Gulf ally, the United Arab Emirates, welcomed the Saudi disclosures, as did Egypt.

Shielding crown prince 
In the Saturday admission, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb also announced a series of moves including against people linked to the crown prince, who Khashoggi had criticised in his writings.

He said 18 Saudis had been arrested and two top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed had been sacked, together with three other intelligence agents.

The Saudi king also ordered the establishment of a ministerial body under the chairmanship of the crown prince -- his son -- to restructure the kingdom's intelligence agency and "define its powers precisely," Saudi state media said.

Saudi officials have roundly denied that the crown prince had any involvement in the affair.

But one suspect identified by Turkey was said to be a frequent companion of the young heir to the throne, three others were linked to his security detail and a fifth is a high-level forensic specialist, according to The New York Times.

The decision to overhaul the intelligence apparatus and sack members of Crown Prince Mohammed's inner circle is designed to "distance the crown prince from the murder," said analysis firm Eurasia Group.

In a recent off-the-record interview published posthumously by US magazine Newsweek, Khashoggi described the 33-year-old heir apparent as "an old-fashioned tribal leader," but said he would have accepted an offer to work as his adviser.

"I'm not calling for the overthrow of the regime," the one-time royal insider said. "I'm just calling for reform of the regime."

source: philstar.com

NBC News fires ‘Today’ co-host Matt Lauer for sexual misconduct

NEW YORK | NBC News fired Matt Lauer, the popular host of its “Today” morning show, on Wednesday after a female colleague accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior, the network said, making him the latest rich and powerful man to be felled by such accusations.

His termination sent shockwaves through U.S. morning television, where Lauer has been a fixture since becoming a “Today” anchor in 1997 and went on to become one of NBC’s highest-paid personalities, earning $20 million a year.

The married 59-year-old news star was the latest public figure to be embroiled in accusations of sexual misconduct that have recently struck down high-profile men in entertainment, politics and media.

Just hours later, U.S. radio host Garrison Keillor said he had been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over an accusation of inappropriate behavior.

The complaint made by an unnamed female colleague on Monday night was a “clear violation” by Lauer of the company’s standards, NBC News chairman Andrew Lack said in a statement.

“While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident,” Lack said.

The network issued a second statement in response to a report in the Hollywood trade publication Variety that said several women had complained to the network about Lauer’s behavior.

“We can say unequivocally, that, prior to Monday night, current NBC News management was never made aware of any complaints about Matt Lauer’s conduct,” an NBC spokeswoman said.

Lauer’s agent Ken Lindner did not respond to requests for comment.

The news was announced by “Today” co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb at the start of the talk show, a staple of U.S. morning television for more than six decades that, NBC says, averages more than 4 million viewers.

“We just learned this moments ago just this morning,” Guthrie said, visibly shaken. “As I‘m sure you can imagine we are devastated.”

Lack’s statement did not say who made the accusation, but promised that NBC News would cover Lauer’s firing in “as transparent a manner as we can.”

The woman had met with New York Times reporters on Monday before meeting with NBC’s human resources and legal departments that evening to share her allegation, the Times reported, saying that she said she was not ready then to publicly identify herself.

Her Washington-based lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld, said the meeting with NBC officials lasted several hours.

“In fewer than 35 hours, NBC investigated and removed Mr. Lauer,” Wilkenfeld wrote in a statement. “Our impression at this point is that NBC acted quickly, as all companies should, when confronted with credible allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace.”

The complaint said the sexual misconduct occurred while Lauer and the female colleague were covering the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics in Russia and continued after the Games, NBC News reporter Stephanie Gosk said on air.

An NBC representative did not respond to a request for more details.

Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable television company, owns NBCUniversal. Its shares rose 2.4 percent to $37.13.

“Today” earned $509 million in advertising revenue last year, more than any of its competitors, New York-based analysts Kantar Media said.

Lauer joined “Today” in 1994 and has interviewed presidents George Bush and Barack Obama and broadcast from seven Olympic Games. He had been due to join his co-hosts for the nationally-televised lighting of the giant Christmas tree at New York City’s Rockefeller Center on Wednesday night.

According to Fortune Magazine, he signed a two-year deal in 2016 that would pay him $20 million per year.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded with messages on Twitter calling for some of Lauer’s colleagues to be fired too, and adding to his recent attacks against U.S. news outlets for their reporting on his administration.

“Wow,” Trump wrote about Lauer. “But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News.”

During the 2016 presidential campaign, then-Republican candidate Trump was accused by 13 women who publicly said that in the past he had physically touched them inappropriately in some way, the Washington Post reported. Trump denied the accusations.

source: interaksyon.com

Award-winning exiled poet-journalist Gelman, who fought Argentine military rule, dies

MEXICO CITY - Argentine poet Juan Gelman, winner of the Spanish speaking world's top literature prize and a vehement critic of military rule in his country, died Tuesday at the age of 83.

Gelman had been living in exile in Mexico for the past 20 years and his death was announced by the National Council for Culture and Art.

The cause of death was not immediately given. The newspaper Milenio, for which he wrote a weekly column, said Gelman died at home.

Gelman was considered one of the Spanish speaking world's greatest poets, and also stood out for his firm stand against impunity for military regimes that once ruled in Latin American countries including his native Argentina.

Among other awards, in 2007 he won Spain's Cervantes Prize, the Spanish speaking world's top literary honor.

Gelman suffered the cruelty of the Argentine military regime that ruled from 1976 to 1983, as his son and daughter in law died during it.

Besides poetry, Gelman worked as a journalist and translator. He published more than 30 books.

He was abroad, in Rome, when the military seized power in Argentina.

His odyssey of exile led him to Madrid, Nicaragua, New York and finally Mexico City.

His poetry was known for a sharp sense of humor, a touch of the absurd and defiance in the face of injustice.

Gelman's son Marcelo was killed at 20 during the dictatorship and his body only found in 1989.

His daughter in law Maria Claudia Garcia is still listed as missing. She was abducted in Buenos Aires in 1976 while pregnant and taken to neighboring Uruguay.

Her daughter was handed over the family of a Uruguayan police officer. The remains of the mother were never found.

Gelman fought for years and finally located his granddaughter in 2000. It was one of the most highly publicized cases of babies being abducted and given away by the regime during the Argentine military dictatorship.

source: interaksyon.com

Pioneering British broadcaster David Frost, famous for Nixon interview, dies

LONDON - British journalist David Frost, best known for interviewing former U.S. President Richard Nixon, died of a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 74, the BBC said on Sunday.

Frost is most famous for a 1977 interview during which Nixon apologized for the Watergate scandal - when his Republican party staff bugged the opposition Democrats' offices.

"Sir David died of a heart attack last night aboard the Queen Elizabeth which is a Cunard (cruise) liner where he was giving a speech. His family are devastated and ask for privacy at this difficult time," the BBC quoted from a family statement.

Immortalized in the 2008 film, Frost Nixon, he was a pioneer of broadcasting for more than half a century, including the satirical program "That Was The Week That Was," and appeared in several British television programs in recent years.

Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to him on Sunday.

"My heart goes out to David Frost's family. He could be - and certainly was with me - both a friend and a fearsome interviewer," Cameron said on Twitter.

September - British broadcasting great David Frost has died of a heart attack aged 74, his family said in a statement Sunday.

Frost, remembered for his celebrated interviews with former US president Richard Nixon, died Saturday on board the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner.

source: interaksyon.com

Ann Curry Confirms Today Show Exit in Tearful Send-Off, Reveals Future Plans

Ann Curry is getting ready to say her good-byes.

The veteran journalist and morning-show host has confirmed rampant speculation that she'll be stepping down from the Today show after 14 years, saying she'll "really miss" viewers and that media leaks about her departure have "hurt deeply."

Curry, who is set to officially announce her exit Thursday morning on the Today show, spoke at length beforehand with USA Today, telling the paper that breaking the news to viewers is "going to be a bit of a tough day."

"I'm going to have to tell our viewers," she said while reportedly choking back tears. "That's what makes me more emotional than anything. I don't want to leave them. I love them. And I will really miss them."

Particularly painful, she lamented, were early media reports about her departure. "I don't know who has been behind the leaks, but no question they've hurt deeply," she said.

Curry also gave props to cohost Matt Lauer, calling out their "terrific relationship" on a "history-making" show.

source: eonline.com