Calls for second Brexit referendum but can it actually happen?

Krishnan Guru-Murthy-11 Nov 2018Presenter

Opposition to Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal is increasing.

There have been more threats to defeat the deal and more claims a No Deal Brexit can be stopped. But can it? And does any of this make a new referendum more likely?

Angela Merkel and Theresa May should head for retiremen

Merkel’s big mistake was her leadership during the great economic crisis

May voted to stay in the EU but then made a bid for power to become PM by turning her back on her vote, agreeing to take the UK out

2018-11-10

Is Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, responsible for Brexit? In a way yes, she is because at the time of the great economic crisis of 2007-2013, counter-productively she insisted on austerity throughout the European Union. Austerity helped turn the poorer classes of the UK towards Brexit. 

But so also are the people in high places who lied to the British electorate and persuaded them to vote in a referendum for it. So are those who have fanned the anti-immigrant flames all over Europe. Angela Merkel, in this case, was the most heroic of all the leaders of the West in going the other way and taking in one million, mainly Syrian, refugees. Unfortunately, in the two years before the Brexit vote, she made little effort to support the British Government when it argued that it needed to be allowed to sharply reduce immigration from the EU. 

Yet in 2004 when the EU took in ten mostly central European States, the German Government sought the right to restrict the free movement of labour for a period of up to seven years. 

Then one must add the peculiar dance steps of British Prime Minister Theresa May. She voted to stay in the European Union but then made a bid for power to become Prime Minister by immediately turning her back on her vote, agreeing to take the United Kingdom out. One year later, asked in a radio interview whether she would vote for “leave” in another referendum, she replied that she didn’t know. This is a devious woman. 

The key issue in the British referendum was immigration. The working class especially feels they’ve taken the brunt of the problems that developed as immigration increased. It’s the working class who overwhelmingly voted for Brexit. 

Unjustifiably, when the British Government approached the EU they were told they had to keep their door open. The UK was one of the only three States that did. Strangely, the UK Government did not fight particularly hard for an exception for itself. Immigrants were pouring in, straining health and educational services, especially in working class areas. 

As ‘The Economist’ magazine argued last September, other EU members have “long been amazed that, given Britain’s hostility to immigration, its government either under Theresa May or before under Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, has never applied the constraints allowed on the free movement principle.” 

Britain is also a minority in having no registration system for EU migrants. Then it could have, as Belgium has long done, sent migrants back home who do not find a job after six months. 

Most EU countries are tougher than Britain in insisting that welfare benefits cannot be claimed until a migrant builds up some years worth of national insurance contributions (A form of tax to pay for State pensions.) 

Likewise, the EU’s posted-workers directive is used by many countries to try and stop any undercutting of wage and its standards for working conditions. 

Why didn’t the UK follow these compromises? The anti-immigrant vote would not have been so large in the referendum and Brexit would never have happened. 

Mrs. Merkel’s big mistake was her leadership during the great economic crisis. She amplified the economic crisis, which undoubtedly had an impact on the British economy and thus on the referendum vote. What was needed was more public spending not less. This is what Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump have shown, with the result that America has grown nearly twice as fast as Europe during the last decade. As the greatest of all economists, John Maynard Keynes, noted in the 1930s, taxes should be cut during a downturn and raised during an upturn. This works to drive a depressed economy into renewed growth and to save money to pay off debt during an upturn (This is the opposite of what a household should do in straightened circumstances -- which is partly why public opinion doesn’t easily vote for the Keynesian solution unless it is given the quality of leadership that Obama showed.) Angela Merkel behaved like a thrifty housewife. 

She used Germany’s immense economic power to force governments in trouble to slash government spending on pensions, healthcare and education. She insisted that Germany could not help the southern European nations that were in the most serious trouble, arguing that Greeks were lazy and profligate. They were, as were a majority of Italians and Spanish, but as a result the downturn was deepened severely. 

Four European countries bucked the advice, Sweden, Portugal, Slovakia and Poland, and all have done well. 

Europe now finds it self in an historic mess created by Britain and Germany. The EU, created to avoid war again in Europe, has become a seriously divisive issue. It’s ironic and tragic that the two countries that fought hardest in those wars are now responsible for undermining the EU. Theresa May should join Angela Merkel at the retirement door. 

Copyright: Jonathan Power 

Saudi Arabia and China stand by Pakistan in its hour of need

Saturday, 10 November 2018 

With the US and the IMF acting tough, Pakistan’s time-tested friends, Saudi Arabia and China, have come to its rescue at a time when its economy is in dire straits.

The woes of Pakistan’s economy are many. The Pakistani Rupee has been devalued four times since December 2017. According to published sources, a similar scenario in 2013 had led to Pakistan’s obtaining a $ 6.7 billion loan from the IMF. Foreign reserves have dwindled to $ 7.7 billion from $ 16.4 billion in May 2017. This is barely enough for seven weeks of imports.

Pakistan’s current account deficit widened by 43% to $ 18 billion in the fiscal year that ended 30 June, while the fiscal deficit had increased 6.8%, financial reports said.

No wonder Imran said after taking over as Prime Minister: “Pakistan is facing the biggest economic challenge in the country’s history. Our economy is going down because of our dysfunctional institutions. We need to fix our governance systems.”

Indeed, the ultimate solution is in reform of the overall Pakistani system which is corrupt and dysfunctional to the core. But the need for an immediate financial bailout cannot be gainsaid.

Pakistan has taken 12 packages from the IMF since the late 1980s. It is believed to be seeking between $ 10 billion and $ 15 billion from the IMF.

But IMF loans come with tough conditions such as reining in fiscal deficits, adoption of a tighter monetary policy and reformation of the basic structure of the economy. The tax net has to be widened and tax collection will have to be improved. Prices of utilities will have to be raised. Knowing this, Pakistan’s Central Bank has already increased interest rates three times this year to 7.5%.

The US-led IMF has threatened to ask Pakistan to reveal the terms of its debt to China and cut down on projects linked to the  China-funded multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which Washington describes as a “debt trap”.

The Trump administration has clearly stated that it will not disburse funds to help Pakistan if the objective is basically to repay its debt to China.

On the other hand, China is also acting tough. Its official spokesman has said that while Beijing is ready for a “professional” assessment of its project funding in Pakistan, it will not tolerate any dilution of CPEC.

China has also said that Chinese loans are only a small part of Pakistan’s overall debt to the outside world and that it is not responsible for Pakistan’s overall debt crisis.

Help from Riyadh and Beijing

Be that as it may, armed with a $ 6 billion package from Saudi Arabia, and a $ 1 billion in immediate help from China, the beleaguered Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan hopes to face the IMF team with greater bargaining power.

Saudi Arabia has told Imran Khan that it will deposit $ 3 billion for one year as Balance of Payment support. It will also provide a one-year deferred payment facility for the import of oil up to $ 3 billion. The latter arrangement is to be in place for three years followed by a review.

The Saudis are to invest in a petroleum refinery in Pakistan. They have also expressed interest in the development of mineral resources in that country.

Stressing the need to focus on human resource development (Pakistan has to generate 1.3 million jobs a year to meet the demand of a growing and increasingly youthful population), Imran Khan told the Saudis about the need to invest in the tourism sector, minerals, coal and gas exploration and information technology to generate jobs. They were also asked to invest in the Special Economic Zones coming up as part of CPEC.

After his successful visit to Riyadh, Imran went to China on a five-day visit. Beijing did not announce a bonanza, but it told Imran that it would help Pakistan tide over the financial crisis.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou had told the media that the “in principle the Chinese Government will provide necessary support and assistance to Pakistan in tiding over the current economic difficulties. As for the specific measures to be taken, competent authorities of the two sides will have detailed discussions.”

More concretely, Beijing gave Islamabad a $ 1 billion worth of duty-free access to the Chinese market. According to Abdul Razak Dawood, Imran’s Advisor on Commerce, this will “double Pakistan’s exports in a year”.

The Chinese also told the Pakistani team that if Pakistanis use the market access facility well, access will be increased to the tune of $ 2 billion in 2019.

This facility is timely. Pakistan’s exports had been going down for five years before starting a recovery in 2017. Pakistan had a $ 37 billion trade deficit, the highest-ever, in the last fiscal year.

Nearly half of the deficit was because of the trade imbalance with China. Last year, Pakistan’s exports to China were a measly $ 1.2 billion against the import of $ 14.5 billion worth of goods from China.

A Pakistani delegation was expected to hold talks with Chinese authorities in Beijing on 9 November to finalise details of market access and a possible Balance of Payments support program.

Task force on financial needs  

Notably, for the first time, China has set up a ‘task force’ to assess Pakistan’s financial needs, according to a statement issued by the Pakistani Ministry of Finance.

China has already been helping in this sphere. This year, China had placed $ 2 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to beef up foreign exchange reserves. Earlier in May, China had given $ 500 million as Balance of Payments support. Chinese commercial banks have also been giving big loans to Pakistan.

One of the most important consequences of Imran’s five-day China visit is the interest shown by the Chinese in investing in agriculture which is one of the pillars of the Pakistani economy and a major employment generator. Imran Khan is using Pakistan’s low-cost labour to sell the idea that investment in agriculture for export will be a good idea.

New direction for CPEC

Pakistan and China have completed the first phase of CPEC, which comprised infrastructure and energy sector development. In the second stage, attention is to be given to industrialisation, agricultural revitalisation and trade integration. This phase will help job creation and export growth.

The New U.N. Envoy to Syria Should Kill the Political Process to Save It

A tougher stance from the United Nations would put pressure on Assad and Putin while improving the lives of ordinary Syrians.

BY JULIEN BARNES-DACEY-

 NOVEMBER 9, 2018, 11:26 AM

The United Nations has appointed a new Syria envoy who could fundamentally shift the U.N. approach to the conflict. Rather than keep alive a political process unable to deliver genuine reform, the new Norwegian envoy, Geir O. Pedersen, should deliberately freeze the current U.N. track in order to force international and Syrian actors, many of whom still want U.N. approval, to finally engage more seriously. In short, the new envoy needs to kill the political process in order to salvage a future for any U.N.-led political negotiations.

Staffan de Mistura, the outgoing special envoy, has dedicated the last four years to trying to forge a political solution to the Syrian crisis. The last year, in particular, has been focused on advancing a constitutional reform process meant to lead to U.N.-backed elections. But this track is now at a dead end.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has emerged victorious in the civil war—even if he has not recaptured the entire country—and he is currently unwilling to make any meaningful political concessions.

Syria’s foreign minister recently stated as much, telling de Mistura on his last trip to Damascus in October that there was no room for external involvement in reforming the country’s constitution.While Assad’s key external backer, Russia, claims that it supports the U.N. political process, Moscow has also made clear that it expects this to be led by Assad and has shown no willingness to push Damascus toward meaningful compromises. Ultimately, continued U.N. and international support of this approach is likely to result in the worst possible outcome: a continued descent to the lowest common denominator until international signoff is secured on meaningless reforms and an entirely hollow election process. While this may provide satisfaction to international actors invested in securing the external semblance of a political agreement, it will be worthless on the ground.

De Mistura has long kept the political process alive even when there was nothing going for it, hoping that outside players would eventually shift the equation in his favor. It has failed not because of de Mistura but because international players—including Russia, Iran, and Turkey—did so little to pressure their Syrian allies to meaningfully engage.

Instead, Syrian and international actors continuously took advantage of the political cover provided by de Mistura’s initiatives to advance their mutually contradictory ambitions on the ground.

Russia and Assad have been at the center of this deceptive process, pushing for further military gains even as they have expressed support for ongoing talks. But they are not the only ones. While President Donald Trump’s recent decision to recommit the United States to political engagement in Syria encouraged opposition backers, U.S. policy today is focused on dislodging Iran from the country. The political process is seen as a means to that end, and anyone betting on sustained U.S. backing for a political process is likely to be disappointed.

Pedersen must create his own leverage by exposing the hollow positioning of external and Syrian actors. Rather than keep the political process on life support, he should freeze U.N. sponsorship, making it clear he will not manage an entirely fake process and commit to re-engagement only once the relevant actors show a genuine commitment to moving it forward.

While Russia, in particular, may oppose this approach, it may be the envoy’s only hope of reasserting U.N. relevance and injecting some momentum into a political process. Ultimately, Pedersen reports to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, and his support will be critical to sustaining this approach. But it could also be bolstered by European backing and even a U.N. General Assembly resolution.

The reason this approach could succeed in making limited progress in Syria is that a number of key actors do seek the international legitimization stemming from a U.N.-backed political agreement—especially Russia, which has long sought international approval for its Syria project. This is evident from its intense outreach to Europe for reconstruction support, which is based first and foremost on a desire to secure European political backing for its Syria policy rather than on a meaningful desire to rebuild Syria.

A change of course by the new U.N. envoy would challenge Moscow’s position.

Rather than be the subject of continued U.N. and international outreach, the burden would be on Russia to squeeze meaningful concessions from Assad as a precursor to U.N. political involvement. It is notable that the one time that the U.N. did play hardball on this front, prior to the Russian-sponsored Syria conference in Sochi in January, Moscow conceded to U.N. demands.

For his part, Assad clearly rejects the need for Western legitimization or reconstruction support. But behind this bluster there are also vulnerabilities. European finance sector sanctions, for instance, which will only be lifted through a U.N.-backed process, are blocking even Russian companies from doing business in Syria. And while Assad does not want Western money, he does need some channels of external financial support to meet the demands of his own supporters after seven years of war.

Ultimately, this approach will not deliver a transition, nor will it open the prospect of fair, near-term elections. The continued pursuit of either will only be counterproductive, given Assad’s secure position and Russian ambitions. But a more assertive U.N. approach that makes clear to Moscow and Damascus that they cannot take eventual U.N. signoff for granted may give the envoy a better chance of forcing lower-level political reforms.

A hardening of the U.N. position on the political front should not translate into full disengagement.On the contrary, rather than work to keep alive a defunct political track, the new envoy should prioritize international attention to critical developments on the ground that are shaping the day-to-day lives of Syrian civilians far more than the stagnant political process.

The priorities should be preserving the fragile cease-fire in Idlib province; ensuring full humanitarian access across the country; working to establish a degree of locally managed stabilization support mechanisms, through which the U.N. Development Program can more transparently channel aid; providing security and property rights guarantees for refugees and internally-displaced persons looking to return; and a heightened focus on ensuring information about and family access to the tens of thousands of detainees whose fates remain unknown. Progress on these issues should be one of the necessary preconditions for the resumption of the political process.

While there has been much talk of a new power-sharing constitution, the U.N. envoy should initially concentrate on telling Assad to implement the country’s existing constitutional measures, such as Legislative Decree 107, a decentralization law that is supposed to allow for a degree of meaningful local control. Damascus and Moscow would have less space to accuse the U.N. of external meddling in sovereign issues if the U.N. focused on pressing Assad to enforce Syria’s own laws.

These efforts would not replace the political settlement needed to address the core drivers of the Syrian civil war. But they might help create a marginally better future for Syrians and would represent a notable advance on the status quo. If it fails, then the U.N. will at least have distanced itself from a political process that is going nowhere.

Julien Barnes-Dacey is the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. @jbdacey

Dalits — Dismal Past and Pathetic Present

According to the Hindu caste system, the Dalits are meant for doing the things of very low and cheap category

by Ali Sukhanver-Nov 11, 2018

( November 11, 2018, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) The CNN published a very heart-rending rather agonizing report on the painfully insulting situation of the Dalits in India somewhere in 2012. The report included the story of Dr. Vinod Sonkar’s short visit to a teashop at Rajasthan. Dr. Vinod Sonkar was a PhD in law and was teaching at a Delhi university that time. He told the CNN correspondent that for years he had worked hard to leave behind his childhood of poverty, abuse at school and teasing at university. By the time he had walked into that teashop, he had turned his life into a success story. As the shop owner handed him his tea, he asked him what caste he belonged to. “I am a Dalit,” Dr Sonkar said. “In that case, wash your glass when you are done,” warned him the tea- shop owner. Dr. Sonkar said, “He didn’t want to touch whatever I had touched. I made it impure because I am an untouchable.” Unable to bear that insult, Dr. Sonkar flew the glass across the room, straight into the wall, threw money on the counter – enough for the tea he drank and the glass he had smashed – and walked out. Situation is still the same there for the Dalits even now in 2018.

Dalit is a word of Sanskrit language. It means crushed, suppressed, smashed, broken to pieces; unfortunately, the Dalits practically reflect the real meanings of this word. In India, the Dalits are the people who are often denied the right to education and the right to employment through systemic discrimination and abuse in Indian society. The Indian society does not let the Dalits get education, particularly the higher education yet some Dalits living abroad succeed in getting education but being educated does not make them ‘ honourable and respected’ in the Indian society. “Being a Dalit is like you are born with a stamp on your forehead and you can never get rid of it,” says Amit, a Dalit Video Volunteer in a video message. A renowned Georgian journalist Natalia Antelava also commented on the worst circumstances faced by the Dalits in India in the words conveying the same meanings, “Dalits are at the bottom of the Hindu caste system and despite laws to protect them; they still face widespread discrimination in India.”

According to the Hindu caste system, the Dalits are meant for doing the things of very low and cheap category. But astonishingly, the upper-caste Hindus feel pride in using rather misusing the Dalit women for their brutal sexual desires. They think that sexual exploitation of the Dalit women is an undeniable right of the upper-caste Hindu men. If a Dalit woman shows any resistance in the way to her sexual exploitation, she has to face horrible consequences. Recently on 2nd of this November, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was beheaded in one of India’s southern states. According to the police her assailant belonged to a higher, majority caste. This brutally cruel incident took place in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu. The victim had rejected the sexual advances of her assailant. He got angry and in his rage and fury beheaded the young girl. Though the local police have registered a legal case against the murderer but girl’s parents are very much sure that nothing would be done against that upper-caste Hindu.

Certainly this situation regarding exploitation of Dalit’s rights is the ever-worst example of human rights violations. But it is the wicked stubbornness of the Indian authorities that instead of giving the Dalits their basic rights, they are raising a baseless hue and cry over the working of United Nation’s Human Rights Council. The deputy permanent representative of India before the UN Ambassador, Mr.Tanmaya Lal said in the recent session of the UN General Assembly on Human Rights Council, “Although the Human Rights Council continues to expand with an increasing number of resolutions and decisions, a greater frequency of meetings and special sessions, the effectiveness of its work however, it is not always clear though a very broad normative framework of human rights treaties and pacts has evolved.” The UN authorities have expressed their serious reservations on the statement of Mr. Tanmaya Lal in a press release on 2nd November, 2018. The press release says, “While many Member States commended the work of the Human Rights Council as crucial in the promotion and protection of universal human rights, others expressed concern over its subjectivity, double standards and politicization.” Experts are of the opinion that Tanmaya Lal’s criticism on the working of UN’s Human Rights Council was in fact a desperate reaction to the report which was presented last June by the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report had referred to the Indian atrocities in the valley of Indian Occupied Kashmir. The report had said, “In responding to demonstrations that started in 2016, Indian security forces used excessive force that led to unlawful killings and a very high number of injuries in the Indian held Kashmir.”

In response to that report, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein had called for maximum restraint and denounced the lack of prosecutions of Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir due to a 1990 law giving them what he called “virtual immunity”. He also insisted on formulation of an inquiry commission for the investigation of sites of mass graves in the Valley of Jammu and Kashmir. It is something very positive that UN’s Human Rights Council is well aware of the Indian atrocities in the Indian Held Kashmir but there must be someone who could take care of the millions of Dalits who are living a miserable life worse than animals in India.

Testing time for cricketer Prime Minister

 Saturday, 10 November 2018

A High Court’s acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian lady, previously sentenced to death and forced to live in a secret location since 2009 for allegedly blaspheming Islam and its prophet, has brought a blood thirsty fanatical mob to the streets of Pakistan.

This mob is now demandingBibi not to be allowed to leave the country at all. The motive of this crowd should be clear to Prime Minister Imran Khan whose leadership is put to test. Already the lawyer who defended the lady in the SupremeCourt has received death threat and left the country.

If Bibi remains in the country she will one day be killed by these fanatics and to provide security protectionfor her for 24 hours every day of her life is not only costly but also risky, because there are elements within the security forces in Pakistan who have sympathies with the protestors.

The Prime Minister should find a safe passage and a country for this victimised lady to emigrate, preferably with some financial assistance, saving thereby not only the prestige of his presidency and leadership but also the sublimity of Islam.

The world has seen since Khomeini’s controversial fatwa against author Salman Rushdie series of street violence, killings and destruction committed by Muslim religious fanatics who justify their action by claiming to protect Islam and its Prophet from being blasphemed. All that they have achieved instead is to create a wave of Islamophobia outside the Muslim world that is now threatening to destroy all Muslim minorities.

Compassion, forgiveness and tolerance are the outstanding characteristics of the Prophet of Islam.It was those values that later enabled Muslim rulers to build a cosmopolitan civilisation in Baghdad, Cordoba, Istanbul and Delhi.

The convivencia model of Muslim Spain is an outstanding example of how people of different faiths lived together with mutual respect and tolerance.There was no place for religious fanaticism in that civilisation. It is shocking that none of the modern day Muslim fanatics has any knowledge of this golden past of Islam and its civilisation.

In the entire history of Islam no woman had insulted the Prophet of Islam more than Hind bint Utba and her family. She was an inveterate enemy of the Prophet and his message. After the battle of Uhud in AD 624 for example, in which Muslims suffered a setback, Hind sucked blood from the hearts of dead Muslims,cut their noses and ears to make necklaces and anklets. Even that woman was pardoned by the Prophet when Mecca surrendered to him.How can our modern day street-champions of Islam and their leaders ignore this chapter of the Prophet’s life?

Compared to Hind what Bibi is alleged to have done in Pakistan pales into oblivion. The angry face of this mob has hidden the sublime face of Islam. In many ways today’s Islamophobes are the creation of this fanatical Muslim minority. This is the minority that harass and kill Coptic Christians in Egypt and destroy their churches. It is the same minority that blasted and destroyed the Bamian statues in Afghanistan and the ancient monuments in Syria.

Pakistan is a difficult country to rule. It was created in the name of Islam by a man who was the least practitioner of that religion.Yet, that country has produced some of the world renowned scholars not only in Islam but also in other sciences. It is the only nuclear power in the Muslim world.

The country has great potential to become a world leader for Muslims. However, the challenge of religious fanaticism is a reality that has to be managed and won over by any leader.

Imran Khan, although he did not secure his leadership convincingly at the polls, yet, he is surrounded by a progressive team of advisors and experts who could help the cricketer to lead Pakistan and overcome its challenges. Asia Bibi’s safety should be guaranteed. It is a test for Imran Khan’s prime ministership.

(The writer is attached to the School of Business and Governance, Murdoch University, Western Australia.)

Erdogan says audio of Khashoggi killing has been given to U.S., Saudis, Europeans

Turkish President Erdogan says Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Germany, France and Britain have all been given the recording of the dying moments of Jamal Khashoggi. (Reuters)

By Loveday Morris ,Louisa Loveluck andSouad Mekhennet-November 10

ANKARA, Turkey —  An audio recording tracking the dying moments of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul has been shared with Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany in addition to the United States, the leader of Turkey said Saturday. 

“We gave it to Saudi Arabia,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the Ankara airport before departing for Paris for commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. “We gave it to America. To the Germans, French, English, we gave it to all of them.”

It was the first time that Erdogan has publicly acknowledged the existence of an audio recording that Turkish officials say backs the assertion that Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post World Opinions section, was killed by a Saudi hit team after he entered the consulate on Oct. 2.

Wider access to the recording could increase pressure on the Trump administration to take stronger measures against Saudi Arabia in response to Khashoggi’s killing.

Although Erdogan said he “gave” the tapes to those countries, it was unclear whether he meant that he had physically passed them on.

A senior German official said that the head of the Federal Intelligence Service received a briefing and listened to the audio recording during a trip to Ankara. “The recording was very convincing,” the official said.

The White House and Elysee Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The British foreign office said it was “not confirming or denying” Erdogan’s comments.

U.S. officials have said that CIA Director Gina Haspel listened to the recording during a trip to Turkey last month. 

Two Turkish officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said the audio makes clear that Khashoggi suffered a drawn-out death. He is choked for about seven minutes before he dies, they said.

One said he had been told directly by Erdogan that the killers took 7.5 minutes to choke Khashoggi. The other said he had been briefed by someone who had listened to the recording. Neither said they had heard the tape themselves.

Turkey has not said how it obtained a recording from inside the consulate. Wiretapping of foreign missions breaches the Vienna Convention. Turkish newspapers had published stories on how the recording was made by Khashoggi’s Apple watch, a scenario that was met with skepticism by experts. 

[Erdogan: Order to kill Khashoggi came from ‘highest levels’ in Saudi Arabia]

Saudi Arabia now acknowledges that Khashoggi was intentionally killed in the building and says it has arrested 18 people. It also has fired two senior officials close to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

The crown prince has not been directly implicated by Turkey, but Erdogan has said that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the “highest levels” in Saudi Arabia and that he doesn’t think King Salman is responsible.

Erdogan said that he may meet President Trump during his Paris visit. Two Turkish officials said they expected a meeting to take place, with discussion to include U.S.-Turkish relations, Iranian sanctions and the Khashoggi case. 

[Khashoggi’s sons appeal for his remains]

As Turkey has increased pressure on the Saudis through leaks to the news media on the gruesome killing, Saudi Arabia has been forced to shift its story. Saudi officials had initially insisted that the journalist left the consulate alive.

Analysts and Western diplomats say that Erdogan may be using the carefully orchestrated leaks to leverage Turkish interests internationally.  

“Erdogan can afford for this crisis to play out in a number of different ways, given the strength of his position,” said one Western diplomat who declined to be named, citing protocol. “He has a media infrastructure that works for him, and power is pretty much centralized.” 

Turkish officials had repeatedly complained about a lack of Saudi cooperation in the investigation, saying that Saudi Arabia’s top prosecutor, who visited Istanbul last month, did not share any information. 

The Turkish official who said he had been briefed on the tape said the prosecutor had been more interested in finding out what evidence Turkey already had than in offering information. He also asked for the dead journalist’s cellphones, the official said.  

Erdogan said the Saudi prosecutor was obstructive during his visit. “And then they invite our chief prosecutor there,” he said. “The scene of the crime is here.”

“The murderer or murderers are definitely within this 15,” he said, referencing 15 members of an alleged hit team identified by Turkish authorities.

 “The Saudi Arabian administration will succeed in revealing this by making these 15 people talk.” 

[What we know about the 15 Saudis said to have played a role in Jamal Khashoggi’s death]

Speaking at an International Peace Institute event in New York on Friday evening, Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi’s intelligence service and ambassador to Washington and London, rejected calls for an international investigation into the killing.    “The kingdom is proud of its legal system,” he said. “It will never accept foreign interference in that system.” 

He said he expects Saudi Arabia to “put all the facts on the table.”

“The kingdom wants to show the rest of the world exactly what happened and to go on from there,” he said. He said he hoped that would mean an improvement in the conduct of the Saudi security forces and also in the image of the kingdom, “which has been tarnished by this tragic and extraordinarily painful incident in all of our lives.”

However, Turkish officials say they do not trust Saudi Arabia to try the suspects or hold accountable the person responsible for giving the order. They say the Saudis have rejected requests to extradite suspects to Turkey. 

“They are not telling the whole truth,” said another Turkish official. “There is an important person behind this and they have to explain.”

Mekhennet reported from New York. Zeynep Karatas in Istanbul, and James McAuley and Seung Min Kim in Paris, contributed to this report.

Khashoggi's fiancee calls for worldwide funeral prayers on Friday

Hatice Cengiz's appeal for the Janazah prayer to be said for murdered journalist in Medina poses awkward questions for Saudi leadership

Cengiz had waited for Khashoggi outside the Istanbul consulate which he had entered to obtain papers necessary to marry her (Reuters)

 

Sunday 11 November 2018

Jamal Khashoggi's fiancee Hatice Cengiz called on Sunday for Muslims across the world to say funeral prayers for the murdered journalist in all mosques this Friday.

Cengiz especially called for the Janazah prayer to be carried out in the Prophet's Mosque in the Saudi city of Medina, Khashoggi's home city.

The Turkish academic tweeted her wishes in Arabic, English and Turkish.

Hatice Cengiz / خديجة@mercan_resifi

I call upon Muslims across the world to perform Janazah prayer, Salat Alghaib, on my beloved #Jamal_khashoggi in all mosques, especially the Prophet mosque in Madeenah,after prayer this coming Friday 16 November. May Allah (swt) accepts him in Alfirdaws of paradise #JamalKhasoggi

1,287

2:21 AM - Nov 11, 2018

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Cengiz's appeal for such a memorial in Medina poses awkward questions for Saudi Arabia, which has admitted that a team of its operatives murdered the prominent critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his country's consulate in Istanbul.

Khashoggi, who entered the consulate on 2 October to obtain papers necessary to marry Cengiz, wished to be buried in Medina beside his relatives.

They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished

- Hatice Cengiz

However, his remains have never been discovered, and Turkish authorities now believe his dismembered body was dissolved in acid and poured down the consulate's drain.

On hearing the news earlier this week that Khashoggi's remains were likely dissolved, Cengiz again took to Twitter.

"I'm unable to express my sorrow to learn about dissolving your body Jamal!" she said.

"They killed you and chopped up your body, depriving me and your family of conducting your funeral prayer and burying you in Madinah as wished."

"Are these killers and those behind it human beings?" she added.

Talks in Paris

Khashoggi's murder has caused shockwaves around the world and put intense pressure on the Saudi leadership.

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially acknowledged the existence of an audio recording of the murder, which he said had been shared with the United States, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany and the UK.

Later that day, Erdogan discussed the Khashoggi case with US President Donald Trump over dinner in Paris at a gala of heads of state commemorating the 1918 Armistice's centenary, a White House official said on Sunday.

The two presidents discussed how to respond to the murder, the official said.

Erdogan (R) and his wife pose with Trump (L) and his wife during a dinner for visiting heads of states in Paris (AFP)

Also on Saturday, Trump and France's President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the dinner, agreed that Saudi authorities need to shed full light on the murder, a source in the French presidency told the Reuters news agency.

The two reportedly agreed that the case should not be used to create further destabilisation in the Middle East and said it could be used to help end the war in Yemen, which Riyadh has a lead role in.

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'He did the right thing': Hatice Cengiz remembers fiance Jamal Khashoggi

Their sentiments appeared to echo those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said Saudi Arabia's stability should not be compromised by Khashoggi's murder, as Riyadh is a fierce opponent of Iran.

Erdogan has accused the "highest levels" of the Saudi government of being behind the murder, and many Turkish and international officials, leaders and security services believe the blame lies squarely with the Saudi crown prince.

Riyadh has identified two of bin Salman's closest allies, deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assir and top aide Saoud al-Qahtani as being co-conspirators in the murder.

The heir to the Saudi throne insists he was oblivious to the plot to kill Khashoggi and the subsequent botched cover-up.

Myanmar prepares for first Rohingya returnees, but UN warns against rushing

FILE PHOTO: Rohingya refugees take part in a protest at the Kutupalong refugee camp to mark the one year anniversary of their exodus in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, August 25, 2018.
 REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo

Poppy McPherson, Ruma Paul-NOVEMBER 11, 2018

YANGON/COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Myanmar officials said on Sunday the country was ready to receive more than 2,000 Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh on Nov. 15, the first group from 5,000 people to be moved under a deal between the neighbours struck last month.

But more than 20 individuals on a list of potential returnees submitted by Bangladesh have told Reuters they will refuse to go back to northern Rakhine state from where they fled. Bangladesh has said it will not force anyone to do so.

The United Nations also says conditions are not yet safe for their return, in part because Myanmar Buddhists have been protesting against the repatriation.

“It depends on the other country, whether this will actually happen or not,” Win Myat Aye, Myanmar’s Minister for Social Welfare and Resettlement, told a news conference in the commercial capital of Yangon on Sunday, referring to Bangladesh.

“But we must be ready from our side. We have done that.”

Abul Kalam, Bangladesh Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, said he was hopeful the process could begin on Thursday.

“The return will be voluntary. Nobody will be forced to go back,” he told Reuters.

The countries agreed on mid-November for the start of repatriating some of more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled a sweeping army crackdown in Myanmar last year.

They say soldiers and local Buddhists massacred families, burned hundreds of villages, and carried out gang-rapes. U.N-mandated investigators have accused the army of “genocidal intent” and ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar denies almost all of the allegations, saying security forces were battling terrorists. Attacks by Rohingya insurgents calling themselves the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army preceded the crackdown.

Myanmar does acknowledge the killing of 10 Rohingya by security forces in Inn Dinn village. Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year for allegedly breaking the country’s Official Secrets Act after reporting on the massacre.

Reuters says the court’s ruling was wrong and lawyers for the two have appealed against their conviction.

Win Myat Aye said preparations had been made for 2,251 people to be transported to two transit centres by boat on Thursday, while a second group of 2,095 could follow later by road.

Once processed by the authorities, they would be sent to another centre where they would be housed, fed, and asked to build homes through cash-for-work schemes.

Returnees would only be allowed to travel within Maungdaw township, one of the three they fled, and only if they accepted National Verification Cards, an identity document most Rohingya reject because they say it brands them as foreigners.

Many Rohingya, the majority of whom have been left stateless after decades of persecution, oppose going back without guarantees of citizenship and freedom of movement.

Additional reporting by Thu Thu Aung in Yangon; editing by Mike Collett-White

Fire chief: climate change helped make California wildfires more devastating

Daryl Osby says fire in north of state has taken resources which would usually be used to help deadly blaze in his area

Firefighters hose down hot spots on a wildfire-ravaged property in Malibu, California. Photograph: Marcio José Sánchez/AP

Gabrielle Canon in Los Angeles @GabrielleCanon-Sun 11 Nov 2018.

As fire officials from across Ventura and Los Angeles county gathered to speak to reporters on Sunday, beyond the charred and smoldering hills where the Woolsey fire burned through the weekend, the wind was already starting to pick up.

As Los Angeles fire chief Daryl Osby took the podium, strong gusts swirled smoke, ash and dust through grey skies. Along with updates on progress in fighting the fire, he said this blaze signified a shift: fire crews are now facing the most erratic and challenging fight of their lives.

Climate change, Osby said, was undeniably a part of why the fires burning in northern and southern California were more devastating and destructive than in years past.

The death toll stood at 25: two in the LA-area fires, 23 around the destroyed town of Paradise 500 miles to the north. The total was expected to rise.

“The fact of the matter is if you look at the state of California, climate challenge is happening statewide,” Osby said, adding that “it is going to be here for the foreseeable future”.

The Camp Fire burns in the hills 2018 near Big Bend, California, on Saturday. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Drought conditions have increasingly affected the state over the past decade, causing erratic fire behavior and making efforts to contain the flames much more difficult. The Woolsey fire, which was only 10% contained on Sunday, has burned more than 87,000 acres in three days. More than 177 homes have been lost and officials said that number was expected to rise rapidly.

The fire season, which started in early summer, is poised to break records for a second year in a row. In July California’s outgoing governor, Jerry Brown, referred to megafires as the “new normal”.

After the press conference, Osby told the Guardian environmental changes had expanded fire season across the state. Crucially, this has put a crunch on resources. For an immediate example, the Camp fire in the north, which devastated Paradise, has diverted resources that drier areas of southern California could once rely on for backup.

Typically we would rely on our partners to the north to come. But they are fighting a major fire up there

Daryl Osby, LA fire chief

“It did have an affect on our strategy,” he said. “Typically we would rely on our partners to the north to come. But they are fighting a major fire up there.”

Southern California fire crews therefore only had capacity to focus on saving lives and structures as the fire moved and were unable to work on containing the flames for three days.

According to Cal Fire chief Scott Jalbert, there was a window on Saturday when the winds died down and firefighters were able to make some progress. But with strong winds projected through the beginning of the new week, containing the fire will be more difficult.

“They took as much advantage as they could,” he said but “with these winds, 30-40mph, it is going to cause a lot of problems”. He added that aircraft will be less affective at aiming retardant. “You can imagine dropping a cup of water into these winds. It goes all over the place.”

With help coming from Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Washington, Osby said fire crews would have the support they need to stop the flames from spreading.