The kingdom also announced the sacking of a top intelligence official Ahmad al-Assiri and royal court media advisor Saud al-Qahtani, both top aides to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who has faced mounting pressure over the Khashoggi affair.

Saudi journalist Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom’s leadership and a Washington Post contributor, was last seen on October 2 entering his country’s consulate in Istanbul.

His disappearance had been shrouded in mystery and triggered an international crisis, with Turkish officials accusing Saudi Arabia of a state-sponsored killing.

“The discussions between Jamal Khashoggi and those he met at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul… devolved into a fistfight, leading to his death,” the Saudi Press Agency said, citing the public prosecutor.

The kingdom announced that 18 people had been arrested in the ongoing probe.

The Saudi king also ordered the setting up of ministerial committee under the chairmanship of the crown prince to restructure the kingdom’s intelligence agency and “define its powers accurately”, state media said.

Shortly before Riyadh confirmed that Khashoggi had been killed, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman agreed in telephone talks to continue cooperation in the investigation into the Khashoggi affair.

Erdogan and Salman “emphasised the importance of continuing to work together with complete cooperation”, said a Turkish presidential source, who asked not to be named.

The United States warned Friday of a “wide range” of responses should it determine that Saudi Arabia is behind the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Turkey widened its investigation into the scandal.

President Donald Trump said the United States, which is Saudi Arabia’s biggest backer, could impose sanctions over the feared murder of Khashoggi.

His top diplomat Mike Pompeo told Voice of America Radio: “We’ll certainly consider a wide range of potential responses.”

The Trump administration has been notably slow to criticise Saudi Arabia, despite mounting evidence that Khashoggi, a critic of the Islamic petro-state’s powerful crown prince, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Khashoggi case has presented Trump with one of the most acute foreign policy crises of his nearly two-year-old presidency.

Pro-government Turkish media have repeatedly claimed that Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated by a Saudi hit squad inside the diplomatic mission, although Turkey has yet to divulge details about the investigation.

The controversy has put the kingdom — for decades a key Western ally and bulwark against Iran in the Middle East — under unprecedented pressure to offer an explanation to take the heat off its rulers.

    Ankara also denied giving any audio recording to US officials from the investigation about Khashoggi, a former royal insider who moved to the United States after becoming a critic of the current House of Saud leadership.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged that Khashoggi was likely dead even as his fate remained unclear 17 days after he vanished.

Pro-government Turkish media have provided a steady stream of claims that Khashoggi was tortured and decapitated by a Saudi hit squad inside the consulate, although Turkey has yet to divulge details about the investigation.

    But the controversy has already put the kingdom — for decades a key Western ally and bulwark against Iran in the Middle East — under unprecedented pressure amid reports it is scrambling to provide an explanation to take the heat off its rulers.

It is also a major crisis for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a favourite of the Trump administration who has portrayed himself as a modernising Arab reformer, but whose image and even position at home could now be gravely undermined.

– Forest search –

Istanbul’s Belgrade forest became a target of the investigation after police focused on the vehicles which had left the consulate on the day Khashoggi disappeared, NTV channel reported. At least one vehicle is suspected to have gone to the forest.

The forest, a vast area and sufficiently remote for even locals to regularly get lost there, is nearly 15 kilometres (over nine miles) away from the Saudi consulate.

Investigators already conducted two searches of the consulate and a nine-hour search of the consul’s residence this week. The Saudi consul, Mohammed al-Otaibi, abruptly left Istanbul for Riyadh on Tuesday.

Pro-government daily Sabah on Friday published new CCTV images of some of the Saudi team arriving in Istanbul and reported that two of the men landed in the city on October 1.

Previously, local media said the 15 men arrived in Turkey on the day that Khashoggi went missing via two private planes, which then returned to Riyadh via Egypt and Dubai.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu did not reveal probe details but promised to share information in due course “in a transparent manner”.

“It is out of the question for us to share this or that information with any country,” he said during a visit to Albania’s capital, Tirana.

– ‘No tape given‘ –

The key potential piece of evidence in the investigation is an alleged audiotape whose existence has been reported by pro-government media. They say it proves Khashoggi was tortured and then killed.

ABC News on Thursday quoted an unnamed Turkish official saying US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heard the audio tape and was shown a transcript of the recording during his visit to Ankara.

But Pompeo said he had neither “seen” nor “heard” a tape and had not read a transcript during the visit to Ankara where he held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Cavusoglu.

Cavusoglu on Friday also denied the claims and said it was “out of the question for Turkey to give any kind of audio tape to Pompeo or any other US official”.

Earlier Trump said he now believed Khashoggi was dead and warned of “very severe” consequences should Saudi Arabia be proven responsible.

“It certainly looks that way to me. It’s very sad,” Trump said when asked if he believed that Khashoggi is no longer alive.

– ‘Prevent whitewash’ –

The New York Times reported that Saudi leaders could blame General Ahmed al-Assiri, a top intelligence official close to the crown prince.

Previously US media said Saudis were preparing a report that Khashoggi’s death resulted from a botched interrogation, in a bid to limit the global backlash against Riyadh and damage to the crown prince.

As Washington seeks to avoid a long-term rupture with its ally Riyadh, Pompeo told Trump the Saudis should be given “a few more days to complete” an official probe.

But four prominent human rights and press freedom groups urged Turkey to demand a United Nations investigation to prevent a “whitewash” of the alleged crime.

The furore has also blown a huge hole in next week’s Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. It was meant to showcase Prince Mohammed’s plans for reform but has now been hit by a stream of big name cancellations including US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

China plans to put an artificial moon in orbit above Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan by 2020. If the launch proves successful, three more such objects will be launched in 2022, Wu Chunfeng, head of Tian Fu New Area Science Society in Chengdu, told China Daily in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

The artificial moon will have a reflective coating that can deflect sunlight back to Earth, similar to how the moon shines, he said.

The man-made moon is essentially an illumination satellite designed to complement the moon at night, though it is predicted to be eight times brighter, the scientist added.

This is due to the object’s planned orbit about 500 kilometers above Earth－much closer than the 380,000-km distance to the moon, Wu said.

“But this is not enough to light up the entire night sky,” he said. “Its expected brightness, in the eyes of humans, is around one-fifth of normal streetlights.”

The location and brightness of the light beam can be changed, and its coverage accuracy can fall within a few dozen meters, he said.

The artificial moon might replace some streetlights in the urban area, thus conserving energy.

Wu estimated Chengdu could save around 1.2 billion ($174 million) yuan in electricity annually if the artificial moon illuminated 50 sq km of the city.

Meanwhile, the extra light can shine into disaster zones during blackouts, thus aiding relief and rescue efforts, he added.

The mirrors can be adjusted for luminosity, and can be completely turned off when needed. However, less light from the satellite will reach the ground if the sky is overcast.

“The first moon will be mostly experimental, but the three moons in 2022 will be the real deal with great civic and commercial potential,” Wu said.

The three new man-made moons can take turns reflecting sunlight as they will not always be in the best position relative to the sun, and together they can illuminate an area of around 3,600 to 6,400 sq km on Earth for 24 hours if desired, he said.

Wu said several notable universities and institutes, including Harbin Institute of Technology and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, have evaluated the man-made moon project and given it their approval for trial and demonstration.

Despite the approval, Wu was quick to point out some criticism of the project, including fear of detrimental physiological consequences for people and animals, in which the absence of regular alternations between night and day would disrupt various metabolic patterns, including sleep.

“We will only conduct our tests in an uninhabited desert, so our light beams will not interfere with any people or Earth-based space observation equipment,” he said. “When the satellite is in operation, people will see only a bright star above, and not a giant moon as imagined.”

However, Wu stressed that much work still needs to be done, both in terms of scientific feasibility and business models, to tap into the full potential of China’s artificial moons.

He said China, Russia, the United States, Japan and European countries are all looking to capitalize on harnessing energy from space, and reflecting mirrors have been in the discussion for some time.

In 1999, Russia tried sending a 25-meter diameter space mirror, under the project named Banner, into space. The project aimed to redirect sunlight onto Russian cities, but the space mirror misfired at launch and the entire project was soon canceled due to budget issues, according to the New York Times.

The British royals, currently in Australia, arranged their trip before Meghan’s pregnancy was known, sparking fears she and her unborn baby could be vulnerable in the island nations, where Zika is officially listed as a risk.

But WHO said the most recent case of the mosquito-borne virus in Fiji was in 2017 and there had been no recorded cases in Tonga since 2016.

“At the moment, there is really no evidence of a Zika virus outbreak in Fiji,” Dr Angela Merianos, a Suva-based communicable diseases specialist with WHO told AFP.

    She said the situation was similar in Tonga, adding: “Overall, the risk is low and there lots of things that you can do to decrease that risk even further.”

Merianos said all travellers should follow “common sense” precautions to avoid mosquitos, which can carry dengue fever and chikungunya, as well as Zika.

These include wearing insect repellent, using mosquito screens and staying indoors where possible.

“Zika of course is a particular concern for pregnant women and women of reproductive age,” she said.

“People should be wearing protective clothing, preferably light coloured, that covers most of the body.”

Kensington Palace said after Meghan’s pregnancy was publicly announced that the royals had decided to proceed with the trip after seeking advice from doctors about the Zika virus.

Zika normally causes a mild fever that lasts less than a week but if a pregnant woman is infected the baby can develop microcephaly, a smaller than normal head size, and other congenital defects.

Public Health England lists both Fiji and Tonga as moderate risk of Zika.

The British health department’s advice for travellers on Fiji states: “Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel until after the pregnancy.”

Harry and Meghan will arrive in Fiji next Tuesday, travelling on to Tonga on Thursday.

DUBAI – A flight attendant has been charged with stealing Dh18,550 (Bt164,724) from three brothers while on a plane coming from Bangkok bound for Dubai last June 21.

The steward, a 37-year-old Egyptian, confessed to stealing from the men’s wallets while they left their seats during the flight, reported the Khaleej Times today, Oct18.

The brothers, who were booked in business class, had gone to check on their father who fell ill and was in the same class.

Upon returning to their seats, they found cash missing from their wallets amounting to $2,600 and Dh9,000. After they informed the flight crew of the incident, a stewardess brought them to the first class kitchen.

There, she took pictures of the remaining cash they had since these had the same serial numbers as those stolen.

After landing, police searched the airplane, and the men’s baggage and wallets were taken for inspection. They were instructed not to touch their belongings.

Eventually, police were able to match a fingerprint from a bill in a wallet with that of the steward’s.

One of the brothers noted that prior to learning of the theft, he saw the steward buying a duty-free perfume during the flight worth Dh1,000. The steward was arrested on July 24.

He first denied that he had committed the theft, stating that he had been assisting the passengers with their belongings.

But soon he confessed and claimed that he had flushed the money down a toilet after police were called about the theft and before the plane had landed.

The trial is adjourned until Nov11.

The non-binding code complements an existing set of protocols for navy vessels: the Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea (Cues), which is designed to reduce the chances of accidents at sea, especially in contested waters such as the South China Sea.

Defence ministers of the 10 Asean member states signed a joint declaration on Friday (Oct 19) at the annual Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), pledging to promote regional peace and stability, as well as deepening cooperation in counter-terrorism, air and sea safety, and cyber security, among other things.

They will, for instance, set up a virtual network of experts to counter chemical, biological and radiological threats from terrorist groups and rogue states.

Also in the pipeline are joint maritime exercises between Asean and China, as well as Asean and the United States.

Speaking after the signing, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said Asean navies are on their way to Zhanjiang in China for the first Asean-China maritime exercise to be held next week.

Asean ministers also agreed on an Asean-US maritime exercise next year, although officials will have to discuss where to hold it.

The ministers also adopted the “Our Eyes” Initiative, an Indonesian-led counter-terrorism intelligence-sharing platform that, until now, involved only five other South-east Asian countries, including Singapore.

The 10 ministers are hoping to convince the partner-countries of ADMM-Plus – Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the US – to sign on to the air code, as they did with Cues at last year’s meeting.

Regional countries have been modernising their militaries, including air forces, to keep pace with new security challenges. Data shows that defence expenditure in the Asia-Pacific is projected to rise by 23 per cent to more than US$530 billion (S$730 billion) in 2020.

The new air guidelines – a set of communication protocols called Game (Guidelines for Air Military Encounters) – are meant to reduce the likelihood of accidents that could escalate into a conflict, especially with increased air traffic in the region.

While they are non-binding and voluntary, they serve as a “practical confidence-building measure” for air forces to improve their operational safety.

Asked at a press conference about the usefulness of such non-binding protocols in the light of a recent near-miss between a US warship and a Chinese destroyer in the South China Sea, Dr Ng likened the guidelines to seat belts in vehicles.

“Is the glass half empty or half full? Without them, does one expect the encounters would get worse? I think the answer is, yes, it may very well be that if there were no guidelines, there would be increased risk of mishaps,” he said.

“In a way they are like seat belts – not completely protective but at least you’ll find some protection.”

The new air code is applied to unplanned encounters between military aircraft over high seas, and spell out acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, such as keeping a safe distance, avoiding reckless manoeuvres and “(refraining) from the use of uncivil language or unfriendly physical gestures”.

The guidelines adhere to existing aviation standards, national and international law, as well as Asean principles of transparency and mutual trust.

Singapore has been instrumental in pushing for the implementation of these guidelines, as this year’s Asean chair.

Dr Ng had outlined three priorities during Singapore’s tenure: counter-terrorism; confidence-building measures and code for unplanned encounters at sea and in the air; and dealing with chemical, biological and radiological threats.

It hands the ADMM chairmanship to Thailand on Saturday at the conclusion of the ADMM-Plus, where the eight dialogue partners are expected to come on board to boost counter-terrorism cooperation.

Goo, 24, was seen serving passengers by the trolley cart on the Oct 12 flight when a passenger, George Wong, snapped two pictures and posted them on his Facebook page the next day.

He accompanied the pictures with this comment: “Affordable fares with incredible scene, what else to blame.”

The posting was shared more than 4,000 times and liked more than 2,000 times. It even caught the attention of Britain’s Daily Mail.

However, some Facebook users criticised Wong for secretly taking photos of Goo, saying he should not have taken her pictures without permission.

Goo is floored by the explosion in interest from all over the world, though apprehensive above some of the undesirable comments.

“I am told it has gone (viral) across China and even the UK. But I’d like to focus my attention more on my work with AirAsia,” said the 24-year-old when contacted.

The Ipoh-born said being a cabin crew member in AirAsia has always been her goal since secondary school.

She has pursued a degree in business but opted to take to the skies to live out her dream.

Goo has been serving in AirAsia as part of its cabin crew Fun Team for almost one-and-a-half years. According to AirAsia, its Fun Team plans entertainment games on board.

The information was revealed in a report by the World Economic Forum.

Of the world’s twenty most populous countries, Việt Nam blows away number two Thailand at 122 per cent.

The measure is calculated by adding the value of exports and imports then dividing the figure by GDP. Economies with high measures are typically rich and small. Hong Kong, Singapore and Luxembourg all have rates over 300 per cent. Companies in these countries and territories make products for export because the domestic market is too small to consume all of their output.

According to the report, Việt Nam’s exceptionally globalised economy is a result of its focus on exports for economic growth. The country opened up its cheap labour market to foreign investors and become a hub for low-cost manufacturing.

Currently, Việt Nam is a major exporter of electronics and apparel, with the United States and China as the main destinations for its goods.

Unlike in some fast-growing economies, Việt Nam’s new prosperity has been shared. The proportion of people in extreme poverty fell from above 70 per cent in the early 1990s to around 10 per cent in 2016, the WEF said.

“It certainly looks that way to me. It’s very sad,” Trump told journalists when asked if he believed that Khashoggi, who disappeared more than two weeks ago, is no longer alive.

Asked about the potential US response to Saudi Arabia, which is accused of murdering the Washington Post columnist and critic of the Saudi regime, Trump said: “It will have to be very severe. It’s bad, bad stuff.”

This marked a hardening of tone from the Trump administration, which has been reluctant to blame ally Saudi Arabia, despite mounting evidence that the kingdom’s agents killed and dismembered Khashoggi inside its consulate in Istanbul more than two weeks ago.

    A former regime insider, Khashoggi had become a critic of powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the point man in ever-tightening military and commercial relations between the petro-state and the Trump administration.

Just hours earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had told Trump the Saudis should be given “a few more days to complete” an investigation.

Only then, Pompeo said, “we can make decisions how or if the United States should respond.”

In a possible sign of how the Saudis will seek to defuse the diplomatic crisis, The New York Times reported that the country’s rulers could come out and blame General Ahmed al-Assiri, a top intelligence official close to the crown prince.

– Call for UN probe –

Four prominent human rights and press freedom groups on Thursday urged Turkey to request a United Nations investigation to prevent a “whitewash” of the alleged crime.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders said such a probe established by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would finally clear up the affair.

But the United States, the Saudis’ most powerful patron, has repeatedly given the country’s royals the benefit of the doubt, with Trump and top officials stressing that the US-Saudi relationship cannot be put at risk.

Trump has repeatedly praised massive Saudi arms purchases, while Pompeo used much of his brief remarks on Thursday to recall Washington’s “long strategic relationship with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudis “continue to be an important counter-terrorism partner, they have custody of the two holy sites… We need to be mindful of that as well,” he said.

 – Market takes a hit –

The furor has also blown a hole in next week’s Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, which was meant to showcase Prince Mohammed’s plans for modernizing the desert kingdom.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was pulling out, joining senior ministers from Britain, France and the Netherlands, as well as a string of corporate leaders.

Mnuchin’s announcement on Twitter helped push down stock prices on Wall Street.

His withdrawal “raises worry that the administration is being pushed to take a harder line against Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi murder and there could be retaliation,” said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

Responses from Saudi Arabia could include selling US Treasuries, or punishing US companies seeking business in the kingdom, Haeling said.

Most analysts don’t think Saudi Arabia would cut off oil supplies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, took a dig at Washington, saying that “the US holds a certain responsibility over what happened to him.”

But he said Moscow would not “start deteriorating relations” with Saudi Arabia as long as “it did not know what really happened.”

– Gory details –

Neither Turkey nor the United States has publicly confirmed that Khashoggi is dead or said officially that Riyadh is to blame.

But a steady stream of unconfirmed leaks from officials to Turkish media have painted a detailed and horrifying picture of Khashoggi’s last minutes, allegedly at the hands of 15 Saudi agents waiting for him when he came to the consulate for paperwork.

The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper on Wednesday claimed it had heard audio tapes in which Khashoggi’s alleged killers tortured him by cutting his fingers off before his decapitation.

ABC News, quoting a senior Turkish official, reported Thursday that during his visit to Turkey this week Pompeo heard this audio and was shown a transcript of the recording. But Pompeo denied the report.

“I’ve seen no tape. I’ve seen no — or I’ve heard no tape. I’ve seen no transcript,” he told reporters during a trip to Latin America.

The pro-government Sabah newspaper on Thursday said Saudi security official Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, believed to be close to the crown prince, was the leader of the operation.

“Here is the head of the execution team,” said Sabah’s headline, and the paper then detailed Mutreb’s movements on the day Khashoggi went missing.