WATCH: CNN's Anderson Cooper reveals he's a father

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has finally become a father after welcoming his first child, Wyatt Morgan, via surrogate.

He made the announcement on Thursday (US time) while on air, saying his son was born three days ago, weighing 7.2 pounds.

"On Monday, I became a father. I've never actually said that before out loud and it still kinds of astonishes me. I'm a dad. I have a son, and I want you to meet him," he said.

Cooper continued: "This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old. He's named after my dad who died when I was 10 years old. I hope I can be as good a dad as he was. My son's middle name is Morgan, which is a family name on my mom's side. I know my mom and dad like the name Morgan because while I was going through her things recently, I found a list they'd made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me. Morgan was on the list. So that's Wyatt Morgan Cooper, my son."




Cooper went on to share photos of his son, describing him as "sweet, and soft, and healthy."

He also took the opportunity to thank the surrogate who carried Wyatt, as well as the doctors and nurses involved in his son's birth.

"As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I'm so grateful for all those who paved the way," he said.

"I do wish that my mom and dad and my brother, Carter, were alive to meet Wyatt, but I'd like to believe they can see him. I imagine them all together, arms around each other, smiling and laughing and watching, looking down on us, happy to know that their love is alive in me and in Wyatt, and that our family continues. New life and new love," he ended.

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Saudi court sentences 5 to death over Khashoggi murder

RIYADH — Five people were sentenced to death Monday over Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder, but 2 top aides to the powerful crown prince were exonerated in a verdict that sparked international condemnation.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, was murdered in October last year in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate, tipping it into one of its worst diplomatic crises and tarnishing the reputation of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Out of 11 individuals indicted in the case -- most of whom remain unnamed -- 5 were sentenced to death, 3 face jail terms totaling 24 years and the others were acquitted, the public prosecutor said.

The verdict, which was lambasted by Turkey and rights groups as a travesty of justice, underscores Saudi efforts to draw a line under the crisis as it seeks to reboot its international image ahead of next year's G20 summit in Riyadh.

"The public prosecution's investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated at the start of this mission", but rather that it occurred in the heat of the moment, Saudi deputy prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan told a press conference.

The verdict can be appealed.

Riyadh has described the murder as a "rogue" operation, but both the CIA and a United Nations special envoy have directly linked Prince Mohammed to the killing, a charge the kingdom vehemently denies.

Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic, was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a 15-man Saudi squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His remains have not been found.

Saudi prosecutors had said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw Khashoggi's killing and the US Treasury had claimed the royal court's media czar Saud al-Qahtani was "part of the planning and execution" of the operation that led to the murder.

Qahtani was investigated but not indicted "due to insufficient evidence" and Assiri was charged, but eventually acquitted on the same grounds, Shalaan added.

Both aides were part of Prince Mohammed's tight-knit inner circle and were formally sacked over the killing, but only Assiri appeared in the court hearings, according to Western sources.

'IMPORTANT STEP': US 

A US State Department official welcomed the verdicts as "an important step in holding those responsible for this terrible crime accountable".

"We're pressing them (Saudi Arabia) for more transparency and for holding everybody accountable," the official added.

Others took a stronger position.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, condemned the verdict as a "mockery".

"Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death," she said on Twitter.

"The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial."

Turkey also blasted the "scandalous" verdict, saying those who dispatched the killers had been granted "impunity". 

The Washington Post's publisher Fred Ryan denounced the "sham trial", adding that "those ultimately responsible" in the Saudi leadership had escaped responsibility.

"If the court ruling is meant to put the Khashoggi affair to rest, it is unlikely to succeed," H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told AFP.

"There is a strong belief among much of the international community that the senior Saudi establishment was behind the killing and this verdict does not inspire confidence that accountability has been achieved."

But Salah Khashoggi, the murdered journalist's son who resides in the kingdom and denies reports of a financial settlement with the government, welcomed the verdict, saying justice had been served.

RINGLEADER? 

Qahtani, who led fiery social media campaigns against critics of the kingdom, has not appeared publicly since the murder and his whereabouts are a subject of fevered speculation.

Maher Mutreb, an intelligence operative who frequently traveled with the crown prince on foreign tours, forensic expert Salah al-Tubaigy and Fahad al-Balawi, a member of the Saudi royal guard, were among the 11 on trial, sources have told AFP.

It was unclear if they were among those sentenced to death.

The sources said that many of those accused defended themselves in court by saying they were carrying out Assiri's orders, describing him as the "ringleader" of the operation.

The Riyadh court hearing the case held a total of nine sessions attended by representatives of the international community as well as Khashoggi's family, Shalaan said.

Agence France-Presse

National Geographic journalist injured in shootout in Mexico: authorities

MEXICO CITY - A National Geographic journalist was shot in the leg in Mexico late Friday while interviewing an alleged drug dealer, who was killed when four armed men stormed in on the interview, local prosecutors said.

The journalist was part of a team of four from the international magazine who were recording the interview when the shootout occurred, according to a statement from the Attorney General's office of Chihuahua state.

It said the journalist was taken to a local hospital for treatment and that the rest of the team were being protected by the Attorney General's office.

The statement said the address where the interview took place had previously been searched by authorities in connection with the killing of two members of a criminal group there.

It said Friday's incident was under investigation "to find those responsible." It did not name the journalists or the alleged drug dealer.

Representatives from National Geographic did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The northern border state of Chihuahua is among Mexico's most violent, ranking sixth among the country's 32 departments and entities for homicides in 2018, according to government data.

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Facebook hiring journalists to curate its new News Tab

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook on Tuesday confirmed plans for a News Tab that will be edited by seasoned journalists, in a departure from its longstanding practice of letting algorithms dictate a user's experience.

A human team will select relevant, reliable breaking and top news stories.

Other sections of the tab will rely on algorithms to figure out a user's interests based on "signals" such as pages followed, interactions with online news or subscriptions to publications.

"Our goal with the News Tab is to provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people," Facebook head of news partnerships Campbell Brown told AFP.

"For the Top News section of the tab we're pulling together a small team of journalists to ensure we're highlighting the right stories."

However the majority of stories people see will be determined by software, according to Brown.

The tab would be separate from the trademark news feed at Facebook that displays updates and content from people's friends.

Facebook Watch already allows users to peruse news shows funded by the social network and other on-demand online content.

California-based Facebook has launched an array of initiatives to support or bolster journalism in recent years as social media has been under intense pressure to avoid becoming a tool to spread misinformation.

"Working with news industry to get Facebook's News Tab right is our goal and focus this year," Brown said earlier this month in a tweet.

"Still early days but we are getting tremendous partner feedback on the product. I believe we can provide people on Facebook a better news experience."

Facebook will reportedly pay some publishers to license news content for the tab.

Earlier this year Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted "to make sure that to the extent that we can, we're funding as much high-quality journalism as possible."

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Has 'the sacrificial lamb' arrived?: UN cites new recordings in Khashoggi murder

RIYADH - Moments before Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered last October, two of his suspected murderers laying in wait at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate fretted about the task at hand, according to a UN report published on Wednesday.

Will it "be possible to put the trunk in a bag?" asked Maher Mutreb, a Saudi intelligence officer who worked for a senior advisor to Saudi crown prince, according to a report from the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions.

"No. Too heavy," responded Salah al-Tubaigy, a forensics doctor from the Interior Ministry who would dismember and dispose of the body. He expressed hope his task would "be easy".

Tubaiqy continued: "Joints will be separated. It is not a problem. The body is heavy. First time I cut on the ground. If we take plastic bags and cut it into pieces, it will be finished. We will wrap each of them."

Mutreb and 10 others are now standing trial in closed hearings in Saudi Arabia for their role in the crime.

Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, rejected the investigator's report as "nothing new".

He added in a tweet: "The report of the rapporteur in the human rights council contains clear contradictions and baseless allegations which challenge its credibility."

The report, which calls for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials to be investigated over their liability for Khashoggi's death, relies on recordings and forensic work conducted by Turkish investigators and information from the trials of the suspects in Saudi Arabia.

Khashoggi, a critic of the prince and a Washington Post columnist, was last seen at the consulate where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding.

TEXT MESSAGE

The report concludes that his murder was deliberate and premeditated. The CIA and some Western countries believe the crown prince ordered the killing, which Saudi officials deny.

Media reports have published the contents of some recordings obtained from inside the consulate, but the UN report discloses chilling new details.

At the end of the exchange with Tobaigy, Mutreb asks if "the sacrificial lamb" has arrived. At no point is Khashoggi's name mentioned, but two minutes later he enters the building.

Khashoggi is ushered to the consul general's office on the second floor where he meets Mutreb, whom he knew from when they worked together at the Saudi Embassy in London years earlier.

Mutreb tells Khashoggi to send his son a mobile text message.

"What should I say? See you soon? I can’t say kidnapping," Khashoggi responds.

"Cut it short," comes the reply. "Take off your jacket."

"How could this happen in an embassy?" Khashoggi says. "I will not write anything."

"Type it, Mr. Jamal. Hurry up. Help us so that we can help you because at the end we will take you back to Saudi Arabia and if you don’t help us you know what will happen at the end; let this issue find a good end," Mutreb says.

The report says the rest of the recordings contain sounds of movement, heavy panting and plastic sheets being wrapped, which Turkish intelligence concluded came after Khashoggi's death as Saudi officials dismembered his body. 

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Journalist shot dead in Northern Ireland in ‘terrorist incident’

DERRY, United Kingdom  - A journalist was shot dead during riots in Northern Ireland in what police Friday were treating as a terrorist incident following the latest upsurge in violence to shake the troubled region.

"Lyra McKee was murdered during orchestrated violence in Creggan last night," Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said in a statement.

McKee, 29, had earlier posted an image that appeared to be from the riots in the Creggan housing estate in the city of Londonderry, also known as Derry, accompanied by the words "Derry tonight. Absolute madness."

Images of the unrest posted on social media showed a car and van ablaze and hooded individuals throwing petrol bombs and fireworks at police vehicles.

"A single gunman fired shots in a residential area of the city and as a result wounded Ms McKee," said Hamilton, adding that police believed the gunman was a "violent dissident republican".

"We are treating this as a terrorist incident and we have launched a murder inquiry," he added.

McKee had written for The Atlantic magazine and Buzzfeed News and was named by Forbes Magazine in 2016 as one of their "30 under 30" outstanding figures in media, according to her literary agent Janklow & Nesbit.

Leona O'Neill, a reporter with the Belfast Telegraph, said she saw McKee get hurt.

"I was standing beside this young woman when she fell beside a police Land Rover tonight in Creggan #Derry. I called an ambulance for her but police put her in the back of their vehicle and rushed her to hospital where she died. Just 29 years old. Sick to my stomach tonight," she tweeted.

'TRULY SENSELESS'

Thursday's unrest raised memories of past decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned that "we cannot allow those who want to propagate violence, fear and hate to drag us back to the past".

His British counterpart Theresa May said the killing was "shocking and truly senseless".

In Brussels, a European Commission spokesman condemned the "terrible incident".

"We condemn such violence, and we are confident that the UK authorities will ascertain the exact circumstances of this tragic event," he said.

Visiting US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined in a minute's silence for McKee, saying it was "especially poignant", being held on Good Friday.

The violence came in the run-up to the Easter weekend, when Republicans opposed to the British presence in Northern Ireland mark the anniversary of a 1916 uprising against British rule.

A car-bombing and the hijacking of two vans in Londonderry earlier this year were also blamed on a dissident paramilitary group.

Michelle O'Neill, the deputy leader of Irish republican party Sinn Fein, condemned the killing.

"My heart goes out to the family of the young woman shot dead by so-called dissidents," she wrote on Twitter.

"This was an attack on the community, an attack on the peace process and an attack on the Good Friday Agreement," the peace deal that largely brought an end to violence on the island exactly 21 years ago, she added, calling for calm.

Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Union Party, which is in favor of Britain's presence in Northern Ireland, described the death as "heartbreaking news".

"A senseless act. A family has been torn apart. Those who brought guns onto our streets in the 70s, 80s & 90s were wrong. It is equally wrong in 2019. No one wants to go back," she wrote on Twitter.

HISTORY OF TROUBLES

The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 largely brought an end to three decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland between republican and unionist paramilitaries, as well as British armed forces, in a period known as "the Troubles".

Some 3,500 people were killed in the conflict -- many at the hands of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Police have blamed a group called the New IRA for the flare-up in violence in recent months.

Some have expressed fears that recent attacks could be a sign that paramilitaries are seeking to exploit the current political turbulence over Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland caused by Brexit.

Londonderry was the scene of one of the darkest episodes in the Troubles in 1972, known as Bloody Sunday, when British troops opened fire on a civil rights demonstration and killed 13 people. A 14th victim later died of his wounds.

A former British soldier was charged with murder last month over the killings.

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George and Amal Clooney on justice mission for women and gay people

EDINBURGH - Celebrity couple George and Amal Clooney said on Thursday they wanted to use their star power to push for justice globally for women, children, LGBT+ people, religious minorities, and journalists.

The 57-year-old Hollywood actor said some countries were using courts to do "really rotten things" and it was important to "shine a light" on where this was happening.

The couple's Clooney Foundation for Justice, set up in 2016, plans to this year launch, TrialWatch, a project to monitor trials and create an index to track which countries are using courtrooms to oppress minorities and government critics.

Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer, said it was important to expose injustices and the countries using courts to target vulnerable people, human rights defenders, and press freedom.

"We now have the highest number of journalists in jail in the world since records began," she told a charity gala organized by the People's Postcode Lottery in Edinburgh.

The Clooneys, who married in 2014, said they were both committed to using their fame to raise awareness about human rights abuses and corruption.

Amal Clooney, 41, said her job was less glamorous than it might seem as it mainly involved piling through vast amounts of paperwork but their fame could be used to their advantage.

"It helps when we want to engage governments to act or business leaders," said the British-Lebanese lawyer.

Her actor husband also played down the glamour of fame, joking about being the father of one-year-old twins, but acknowledged that he had always been determined to use the public spotlight to do good.

"I didn't grow up wealthy," he said. "If you end up getting lucky, you should share that luck."

The Clooneys were in Scotland to collect an award from the People's Postcode Lottery for their humanitarian work.

Britain's People's Postcode Lottery is one of several charity lotteries set up in Europe since 1989 by the Netherlands-based social enterprise Novamedia.

The lottery awards cash prizes and also donates about 32 percent of sales to charity, which has totaled more than 400 million pounds ($530 million) since 2005.

The organization has given money to some of George Clooney's other charities and has also made a grant to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.

($1 = 0.7602 pounds)

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Saudi crown prince calls Khashoggi murder 'repulsive'

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's crown prince Wednesday denounced the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and vowed justice would prevail, without addressing US accusations of a botched cover-up over the killing by the Gulf kingdom.

After phoning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the October 2 killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul which has triggered an international diplomatic crisis, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged there would be "no rupture" in ties with Ankara.

"The incident was very painful for all Saudis, it's a repulsive incident and no one can justify it," Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in his first comments since the journalist's murder.

"Those responsible will be held accountable... in the end justice will prevail," the heir apparent to the Saudi throne told a major investment forum in Riyadh, speaking in Arabic in his first public comments on the scandal.

Three weeks since Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen living in self-imposed exile, disappeared after walking into the consulate to get some marriage documents the crisis shows no signs of abating.

Washington moved late Tuesday to revoke the visas of a number of Saudis even though the two countries have long been allies, with Britain following suit on Wednesday.

Saudi leaders have denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder, pushing responsibility down the chain of command.


'No rift' 

But Turkey has been leading their own investigation and Erdogan said the killing was meticulously planned, calling for 18 Saudis who have been detained by Saudi authorities to be tried in Istanbul.

Erdogan spoke with Prince Mohammed in their first telephone conversation since the killing, a Turkish presidential source said.

The two discussed "the issue of joint efforts and the steps that need to be taken in order to shed light on the Jamal Khashoggi murder in all its aspects," the source added. 

Speaking at the investment forum, Prince Mohammed said: "Many are trying to exploit the Khashoggi affair to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey".

"But they will not succeed as long as there is a king named Salman and a crown prince named Mohammed bin Salman."

Since becoming heir apparent last year, Prince Mohammed has won plaudits for reforms including to end a decades-long ban on women drivers.

But his image has been tarnished by Khashoggi's murder despite repeated denials he had any involvement. And Riyadh's changing narrative has triggered deep skepticism abroad.

US President Donald Trump said the Saudis had a "very bad original concept" in killing the 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic.

"It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups," Trump said.


'Punitive measures ' 

Trump for the first time also appeared to indicate Prince Mohammed may have had a role in the Khashoggi case, telling the Wall Street Journal: "Well, the prince is running things over there more... so if anybody were going to be, it would be him."

The conference, nicknamed "Davos in the desert" aimed at drumming up funds to help Riyadh diversify its oil-reliant economy, has been overshadowed by the outcry over Khashoggi's murder with an array of big names pulling out of the event.

Faced with mounting calls for tough measures by US lawmakers across the political spectrum, the State Department said it had identified 21 Saudis whose visas would either be revoked or who would be ineligible for future visas.

"We are making very clear that the United States does not tolerate this kind of action to silence Mr Khashoggi, a journalist, through violence," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

British Prime Minister Teresa May said Britain was "taking action against all suspects to prevent them entering the UK. If these individuals currently have visas, those visas will be revoked today".

France also weighed in, saying it would take "punitive measures" if Saudi Arabia was "proven" to be behind the murder.

'Unravelling the case'

Turkish pro-government media reported Wednesday that Turkish intelligence had shared "all the evidence" with the CIA gathered from its investigation into the killing of the Washington Post columnist.

The evidence included video and audio recordings from the consulate and the consul's residence and were shared with visiting CIA chief Gina Haspel, Sabah newspaper reported.

The whereabouts of Khashoggi's corpse is still unknown.

State media in Turkey said Wednesday that Saudi authorities had denied permission to Turkish police to search a well in the consulate's garden.

Erdogan vowed Turkey would not allow the culprits to get away with their "savage murder".

"It is not over yet," he said. "We are unravelling, dismantling (the case) and the world is closely following."

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Turkey vows to reveal 'naked truth' over Khashoggi death

ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed to reveal within days the "naked truth" over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Riyadh said it did not know the whereabouts of his body and that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been unaware of any operation to murder him.

The Turkish leader's statement came the day after Saudi authorities conceded Khashoggi had been killed inside their diplomatic compound in Istanbul.

"We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth," Erdogan told a rally in Istanbul.

In his strongest comments to date on the affair, President Donald Trump accused Saudi Arabia of lying about the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who fell out of favour with the ultraconservative kingdom, as pressure built on the US administration to strike a tougher line.

The Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, on Sunday described the killing as a "tremendous mistake" and said it had been a "rogue operation" by individuals who "exceeded their responsibilities" and then "tried to cover up for it".

Jubeir insisted in an interview with Fox News that the operation was not ordered by the crown prince known by his initials MBS, also adding that "we don't know where the body is".

Erdogan, who has not yet directly blamed Saudi Arabia, held a telephone call with Trump on Sunday where the two leaders agreed the Khashoggi case needed to be clarified "in all its aspects," a Turkish presidential source said.

Erdogan is expected to make a full statement to his party's MPs in parliament at around 0800 GMT on Tuesday.

Turkish officials have said they believe that 15 Saudi men who arrived in Istanbul on two flights on October 2 were connected to Khashoggi's death.

Riyadh reacted by claiming one of the 15 had died in a car accident years ago.

Saudi officials originally said Khashoggi, who stepped inside the doors of the diplomatic mission on October 2, had left unharmed, before announcing he was killed inside the building in what they described as an altercation.

The kingdom has since admitted Khashoggi died in a "brawl" inside the consulate and said it has fired five top officials and arrested 18 others in an investigation into the killing.

'LIES'

Khashoggi, who would have been 60 this month, sought refuge in the United States after fleeing his native Saudi Arabia after the 2017 appointment of strongman Mohammed bin Salman as heir to the throne.

The journalist, who had espoused both Islamist and liberal views throughout his decades-long career in the press, was engaged to a Turkish woman.

His killing has further soured relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, already at loggerheads over Qatar, with which Riyadh cut ties in 2017 and to which Ankara has deployed aid and troops.

Turkish officials now believe Riyadh carried out a state-sponsored killing and dismembered the body, with pro-government media in Turkey reporting the existence of video and audio evidence to back those claims.

As the Turkish leader is expected to reveal all details into the journalist's killing, Trump has stepped back from his stance that Saudi Arabia's latest explanation over the death was credible amid mounting pressure at home.

"Obviously there's been deception and there's been lies," he said of the shifting accounts of Khashoggi's death offered by Riyadh.

"Their stories are all over the place."

Several senior members of Trump's Republican Party said they believed Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto ruler, was linked to the killing, and one called for a "collective" Western response if a link is proved.

Trump has stopped far short of calling for the prince to be replaced, emphasising as he has before how important the US-Saudi relationship is to Washington's regional strategic goals.

He described the 33-year-old prince as a "strong person; he has very good control."

"He's seen as a person who can keep things under check," added Trump. "I mean that in a positive way."

UK, FRANCE, GERMANY

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

It has also blown up into a major crisis for Prince Mohammed whose image as a modernising Arab reformer has been gravely undermined.

Britain, France and Germany have shown a united front, demanding Saudi Arabia clarify how the journalist died inside its Istanbul consulate backed by "credible" facts.

Australia, Canada, the UN and the EU have also demanded greater clarity around Khashoggi's death.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel added that Berlin would not export arms to Saudi Arabia "in the current situation".

Germany last month approved 416 million euros ($480 million) worth of arms exports to Saudi Arabia for 2018. In the past, military exports by Berlin to Saudi have mostly consisted of patrol boats.

burs-fo/boc

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Merkel says Khashoggi killers must 'answer for their actions'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday said those behind Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death must be brought to book and called for "transparency" from Riyadh.

"Those responsible must answer for their actions," Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a joint statement. 

"We expect transparency from Saudi Arabia on the circumstances of his death," it said. "Available reports on what happened in the Istanbul consulate are insufficient."

After days of denying that it was involved in the death of the Washington Post journalist at its Istanbul consulate, Saudi Arabia finally admitted early Saturday that Khashoggi had died during a "brawl" inside the mission.

Eighteen Saudis have been arrested in connection with his death and two top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as three other intelligence agents, have been sacked.

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Rights body urges UN investigation, independent autopsy in Khashoggi death

LONDON - Amnesty International said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia's explanation of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul appeared to be a whitewash of "an appalling assassination".

"The investigation findings by the Saudi authorities claiming that Khashoggi died as a result of a 'fist-fight' inside the consulate are not trustworthy and marks an abysmal new low to Saudi Arabia's human rights record," Samah Hadid, the human rights group's Middle East director, said in a statement.

It called on Saudi authorities to produce Khashoggi's body so that independent forensic experts could perform an autopsy. It also said the United Nations should investigate his death.

"An independent investigation will be the only guarantee against what increasingly appears as a Saudi whitewash surrounding the circumstances of Khashoggi's murder or any attempts by other governments to sweep the issue under the carpet to preserve lucrative arms deals and other business ties with Riyadh," Hadid said.

Saudi Arabia's claim that Khashoggi had died in a fight -- rather than was deliberately killed - was Riyadh's first acknowledgment of his death after two weeks of denials that it was involved in his disappearance.

"This appalling assassination within the grounds of the Consulate amounts to an extrajudicial execution," Amnesty said.

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'Bonfire of the Vanities' author Tom Wolfe dead at 88

Tom Wolfe, an early practitioner of "new journalism" who captured the mood and culture of America across five decades with books including "The Bonfire of the Vanities," "The Right Stuff," and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," has died at the age of 88, his agent said.

Wolfe, who had a knack for coining phrases such as "radical chic" and "the me decade," died on Monday of an unspecified infection in a New York City hospital, his agent, Lynn Nesbit, said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Wolfe's works -- fiction and non-fiction alike -- looked at realms ranging from the art world to Wall Street to 1960s hippie culture and touched on the issues of class, power, race, corruption and sex.

"I think every living moment of a human being's life, unless the person is starving or in immediate danger of death in some other way, is controlled by a concern for status," Wolfe said in a Wall Street Journal interview.

Wolfe came up with "radical chic" to brand pretentious liberals, the "me decade" to sum up the self-indulgence of the 1970s and the "right stuff" to quantify intangible characteristics of the first U.S. astronauts and their test pilot predecessors.

He was never deterred by the fact that he often did not fit in with his research subjects, partly because he was such a sartorial dandy, known for his white suits.

Wolfe was in his mid-70s while hanging out with college kids and working on the novel "I Am Charlotte Simmons," and was a fairly conservative drug-free observer in a coat and tie while traveling with Ken Kesey and his LSD-dropping hippie tribe known as The Merry Pranksters for "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" in the '60s. By looking so out of place, he figured people would be more prone to explain things to him.

'New journalism'

Wolfe started his writing career at the Springfield, Massachusetts, Union newspaper and also worked for the Washington Post, New York Herald-Tribune and New York magazine.

He was present at the birth of what was known as "new journalism," a loose style that featured lots of dialogue and detail and allowed reporters to narrate and develop characters in a way more often associated with fiction.

One of the genre's defining moments came when Wolfe was having trouble meeting a deadline for a 1964 magazine story on the hot-rod car culture. In frustration, he sent his editor a letter with his thoughts and reportage. The magazine ran it verbatim as "There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby."

That led to a compilation of Wolfe's magazine pieces, followed by "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," which captured the spirit of the psychedelic era during his time with Kesey, author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and his band of pranksters who helped spread the popularity of LSD in California. Written in a wild free-association style that disregarded rules of punctuation, it was filled with sentence fragments and used words like "skakkkkkkkkkkkkkk" and "wowwwwwww."

Wolfe's style was not for everyone. "The question is not only whether Tom Wolfe can be taken seriously but whether he can be taken at all," a Time magazine critic wrote in 1968. "He is irritating, but he did develop a new journalistic idiom that has brought relief from standard Middle-High Journalese."

Wolfe became fascinated with astronauts after Rolling Stone magazine assigned him to cover an Apollo program launch in 1972. Nine years later and in a more restrained style than some of his earlier works, he wrote "The Right Stuff" about the first seven U.S. astronauts and test pilot Chuck Yeager who came before them.

His first try at fiction was "The Bonfire of the Vanities" in 1987, which captured the cultural feel of free-wheeling Wall Street "masters of the universe" as well as his non-fiction books did. "Bonfire," a best-seller that was a much-revised version of a serial he wrote for Rolling Stone, portrayed class struggles in New York City against a backdrop of Wall Street ambition, racial stress and yellow journalism.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that Wolfe's "wry wit and sharp observations defined an era of life in New York."

Wolfe followed with more novels -- "A Man in Full" about race, big money and high society in Atlanta; "I Am Charlotte Simmons," a tale of college high life, and "Back to Blood" about immigrants in Florida in 2012.

Wolfe complained that novelists did not bring enough reality to their books, and while bemoaning the state of American literature, offered himself as an exemplar of what it should be. That kindled rivalries with contemporaries Norman Mailer and John Updike, who Wolfe referred to as "two old piles of bones." John Irving angrily denounced Wolfe by saying, "I can't read him because he's such a bad writer."

Wolfe's trademark was the white suit, often accessorized with a white hat and two-tone shoes. He admitted he liked the attention they brought him.

Wolfe was born March 2, 1930 and grew up in Richmond, Virginia, the son of an agronomist father and an arts-oriented mother. He was a star pitcher in high school and in college at Washington and Lee and unsuccessfully tried out for the New York Giants.

Wolfe lived in New York with his wife, Sheila. He had two children.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Danish inventor gets life term for Swedish journalist's murder

COPENHAGEN - A Copenhagen court on Wednesday found Danish inventor Peter Madsen guilty of the murder and sexual assault of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on his homemade submarine last year, handing him a life sentence.

Madsen, 47, had admitted chopping up the 30-year-old's body and throwing her remains overboard in waters off Copenhagen on the night of August 10, 2017, but claimed her death was accidental.

A life sentence in Denmark averages around 16 years. 

Madsen, wearing a black T-shirt and blazer, stood in the courtroom to hear the verdict. As it was read out by the judge, he sat down next to his lawyer, visibly affected and dejected.

Madsen's lawyer said he would appeal the verdict.

Wall, a freelance reporter, had set off with Madsen on his vessel on the evening of August 10 to interview him for a story she planned to write.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Madsen killed Wall as part of a dark sexual fantasy, stressing that he enjoyed watching videos of women being beheaded and tortured.

But Madsen, who changed his version of events several times, told the court she died when the air pressure suddenly dropped and toxic fumes filled his vessel as he was up on deck.

Despite the testimony of many experts, the lack of tangible evidence in the case and the decomposed state of Wall's remains made it impossible to determine her exact cause of death.

An autopsy report said she probably died as a result of suffocation or having her throat slit.

But the professional judge and two lay judges found the incriminating circumstances were enough to find Madsen guilty, including the gruesome videos he watched, and the fact that he brought a saw, plastic strips and a sharpened screwdriver on board.

Psychiatric experts who evaluated Madsen -- who described himself to friends as "a psychopath, but a loving one" -- found him to be "a pathological liar" who poses "a danger to others" and who was likely to be a repeat offender.

Madsen is the 15th person in 10 years to receive a life sentence in the Nordic nation, which has a reputation as tranquil and safe. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Danish police find missing body parts of Swedish journalist Kim Wall

COPENHAGEN - Danish police said on Saturday they had found the head and the legs of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, who died in mysterious circumstances on an inventor's homemade submarine.

A police spokesman told reporters in Copenhagen that there were no fractures in Wall's cranium. The discovery of the body parts was made on Friday.

The police have charged Danish inventor Peter Madsen with killing the Swedish journalist, a charge carrying a sentence of five years to and life in prison. He was arrested after his submarine sank and he was rescued.

On Aug. 23, police identified a headless female torso that washed ashore in Copenhagen as Wall's. The cause of her death has not been determined.

Madsen, a Dane, says Wall died by accident when she was hit by a heavy hatch cover on board his submarine.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Atom Araullo leaves ABS-CBN

MANILA – Atom Araullo is leaving ABS-CBN after working for the network for over a decade.

While he considers his time with the organization an "amazing adventure," Araullo said the time has come for him to explore emerging opportunities and challenges.

"Although I am taking a new path, I have nothing but respect and gratitude for the company that helped me become the journalist I am today," he said in a statement. "To all the hardworking men and women of ABS-CBN, maraming maraming salamat.”

In a statement, ABS-CBN wishes Araullo the best in his future endeavors.

"ABS-CBN has allowed journalist Atom Araullo to explore new interests in film, broadcast and digital media outside of the company," the network said in a statement.

"Atom says the training and exposure he got from the network as reporter and TV host have equipped him to try out other opportunities in the media industry here and abroad," it added.

Despite his decision to leave, ABS-CBN said Araullo will always remain a Kapamilya.

During his stay at ABS-CBN, Araullo earned several accolades including a bronze world medal at the New York Festivals Awards for his documentary “Warmer” in April this year.

The same documentary earned a nod at the 38th Catholic Mass Media Awards.

In May 2017, he was also hailed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños community as the Best Public Service Program Host for his show “Red Alert.”

In 2014, Araullo was proclaimed as one of the winners in the SUPER (Salute to Unparalled People, Endeavours and Resources) Awards for risking their lives while covering the wrath of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in November 2013.

 Just recently, Araullo tried his hand at acting for the upcoming film "Citizen Jake.”

The movie, billed as the comeback movie of acclaimed auteur Mike de Leon, will be Araullo’s acting debut.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

The Grand Trans-Siberian journey to Mongolia

Journalist Atom Araullo took a journey across Europe and Asia, travelling on the Grand Trans-Siberian Train, the world's longest railway, towards Mongolia. Here's a look at the last leg of his trip.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Atom Araullo marks birthday on 'UKG'

MANILA -- Broadcast journalist Atom Araullo celebrated his birthday on "Umagang Kay Ganda" on Tuesday, one day before he turns 34 on Wednesday.

Araullo thanked his "UKG" family for being part of his "morning routine ko for the past years."

"Siyempre 'yung family ko na lagi akong ginigising kapag 'di ako nagigising ng umaga, at sa lahat ng mga manood na na hindi nakakalimot, thank you, thank you," he added.

Umagang Kay Ganda, October 18, 2016

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

ABS-CBN News reporter Atom Araullo resigns from reportorial duties

Netizens have different reactions to the said news.

Some rumors said that Atom opted to resign mainly because of his strong opinions about the controversy surrounding the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos in which some people accused him of being a biased reporter, thereby affecting the integrity of the News Department.

Unfortunately, it is true. Atom has decided to drop all his duties as a reporter for TV Patrol, Bandila, and ANC to explore opportunities and pursue his other interests.

According to Ging Reyes, head of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs:

“Atom Araullo had filed his resignation from his reportorial duties but will remain an on camera talent of ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs as an anchor in Umagang Kay Ganda and Red Alert. He said he arrived at this decision to be able to pursue other endeavors that would also help him grow as a journalist and as a host. He is aware that the news organization has included him in its future plans and will continue to assign him stories, coverage and events, befitting his position as a journalist.”

Araullo became a segment producer for ABS-CBN then eventually became a field reporter a couple of years after.



(Sandra Agno)

source: mb.com.ph

Donald Trump attacks US media over donation money

Donald Trump stepped up his assault on the US media Tuesday, branding the political press "dishonest," calling one journalist "a sleaze" and promising more such attacks if elected US president.

The former reality TV star, prolific on Twitter with two million more followers than Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, has dominated coverage of the 2016 presidential cycle like no other by calling personally into television shows and frequently holding court at press conferences broadcast live nationwide.

The New York tycoon, who was dismissed as a joke when he launched his campaign, annihilated 16 rivals in the race to sew up the Republican nomination and is trailing Clinton by just a few percentage points in recent polls.

But on Tuesday, he laid into the press at Trump Tower in New York for questioning his claim to have raised $6 million for veteran charities on one night in Iowa last January after skipping a Fox News Republican debate.

The presumptive Republican nominee announced that he had given $5.6 million, reading out the names of more than 40 charities who received funds, including $1 million he donated personally to the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation.

Trump attacked the media for appearing intent on finding fault rather than gushing over his apparent generosity, and said he expected additional donations to tip the figure over $6 million.

"The press should be ashamed," he hectored. "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job."

He addressed a male CNN political journalist as a "real beauty" and pointed to Tom Llamas, who covers the Republican race for ABC News, saying: "You're a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well."

"Should be an interesting week," Llamas tweeted in response.

The presumptive Republican nominee also called Bill Kristol, editor of neoconservative magazine "The Weekly Standard" and fierce critic "a loser."

- A problem in November? -

When asked if this is what it would be like covering a Trump White House, the candidate fired back: "Yeah, it is," having batted aside any suggestion that he needed a thicker skin to become commander-in-chief.

"I'm going to continue to attack the press," said the 69-year-old father of five. "I find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest."

Al Baldasaro, a retired Marine and Republican in New Hampshire's state house of representatives, leapt to Trump's defense dressed in a Trump campaign hat.

"I think the liberal media -- and I have been dealing with you a long time -- need to get your head out of your butt, focus on the real issues," he said.

But outside Trump Tower, former military personnel from the group "VetsVsHate," which campaigns against anti-Muslim bigotry, said the Republican candidate must never become president.

"I am opposed to everything Donald Trump stands for," said Jake Maier, a Marine Corp veteran from New Jersey who said he would be voting for Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in his state primary next week.

"We will not let Donald Trump use veterans as props for his agenda for hate and fear," Maier told AFP.

Trump has routinely attacked reporters on Twitter he considers biased, most notably Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, until they reconciled with a face-to-face interview, broadcast earlier this month.

In March, The New York Times reported that Trump had earned close to $2 billion worth of media attention in the form of news and commentary about his campaign, nearly three times that of Clinton.

Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College in New York, said Trump's attacks on the media had served him well in the Republican primary but warned they could backfire in a general election.

"Trump has really gotten a lot of traction out of calling out the media. His supporters really do not like the media," she said.

But stepping up his attacks may also see independents or moderates increasingly question his temperament to be president.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

BBC correspondent in North Korea detained over reporting – media

SEOUL - North Korea detained a BBC journalist over his reporting and he was to be expelled, media reports said on Monday, the fourth day of the congress of the country's Workers' Party, the first in 36
years.

China's Xinhua news agency cited a North Korean official as saying the correspondent was detained for improper "reportage".

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was detained at Pyongyang airport and interrogated for an inappropriate description of leader Kim Jong Un in his coverage, CNN correspondent Will
Ripley told the network.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com