Saudi Arabia admits dissident journalist killed in consulate
WASHINGTON/ANKARA: Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi died in a fight inside its Istanbul consulate, its first admission of his death after two weeks of denials. Riyadh provided no evidence to support its account of the circumstances that led to Khashoggi’s death and it was still unclear whether other governments would be satisfied with it. Saudi Arabia also made no mention of what had become of his body, which has not yet been found.
The Saudi public prosecutor said a fight broke out between Khashoggi and people who met him in the consulate, leading to his death. Eighteen Saudi nationals had been arrested, the prosecutor said in a statement.
Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a US resident and a critic of the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents and his body cut up.
Some Western governments and politicians gave guarded or sceptical responses to the Saudi explanation, but Middle Eastern allies closed ranks around the kingdom. US President Donald Trump, who maintains strong relations with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, said the Saudi account was credible.
››FULL REPORT, P15 NEW DELHI: Problems in India’s rural economy continue to pile up, with a fresh harvest season offering little hope of an uptick in farm incomes, despite two big policy announcements by the Narendra Modi government.
Market prices of most kharif or summer-sown commodities — from pulses to coarse cereals — continue to be below the federally fixed minimum support prices (MSPS), month-on-month data reviewed by HT from July 2017 through September 2018 shows (see graphic).
The first three months (July, August and September) of the 2018-19 agricultural year (which runs from July 2018 to June 2019) have shown no signs of a turnaround.
MSPS are benchmark prices at which the government procures agricultural produce from farmers. They are worked out by taking into account cost of production and inflation and, therefore, meant to serve as a floor price for private traders. Prices below MSPS are considered unprofitable.
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