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Monday, October 15, 2018

Jamal Khashoggi: Trump suggests 'rogue killers' to blame

President Trump and the King of Saudi Arabia discussed the disappearance of the Saudi journalist
US President Donald Trump has suggested "rogue killers" could be behind the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Speaking to reporters after a phone call with King Salman, he said the Saudi leader had firmly denied knowing what had happened to Mr Khashoggi.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is flying to Saudi Arabia immediately.
Turkish police have, for the first time, been inside the Saudi consulate where Mr Khashoggi was last seen.
They entered the building around an hour after a group of Saudi officials.


Media captionPresident Trump and the King of Saudi Arabia discussed the disappearance of the Saudi journalist
US President Donald Trump has suggested "rogue killers" could be behind the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Speaking to reporters after a phone call with King Salman, he said the Saudi leader had firmly denied knowing what had happened to Mr Khashoggi.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is flying to Saudi Arabia immediately.
Turkish police have, for the first time, been inside the Saudi consulate where Mr Khashoggi was last seen.
They entered the building around an hour after a group of Saudi officials.
Turkish officials believe Mr Khashoggi was murdered in the consulate by Saudi agents nearly two weeks ago but Riyadh has always strongly denied this.
However, unconfirmed reports in the US mediasuggest Saudi Arabia is preparing to admit that Mr Khashoggi died as a result of an interrogation that went wrong and that the original intention had been to abduct him.
Meanwhile, Arabic channel Al-Jazeera quotes Turkey's attorney-general's office as saying it has found evidence to back claims that Mr Khashoggi was killed inside the mission.
The issue has strained Saudi Arabia's ties with its closest Western allies.
Mr Trump addressed snatched questions from reporters over helicopter engine noise at the White House, describing King Salman's denial as "very, very strong".
"It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers," he added. "Who knows?"
The president provided no evidence to back his comment.
A Turkish security source has told the BBC that officials have audio and video evidence proving Mr Khashoggi was murdered inside the building.
On Saturday, Mr Trump threatened Saudi Arabia with "severe punishment" if it emerged that Mr Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but ruled out halting big military contracts with Riyadh.
Secretary of State Pompeo's visit to Saudi Arabia will be followed by a stop in Turkey.

How are the Saudis reacting?

Diplomatic pressure is growing on the Saudis to give a fuller explanation.
On Monday, King Salman ordered an investigation into the case.
"The king has ordered the public prosecutor to open an internal investigation into the Khashoggi matter based on the information from the joint team in Istanbul," an official quoted by Reuters news agency said.
Saudi investigators at the consulate in Turkey where vanished Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was last seen, 15 October 2018

Saudi officials arrived before the Turkish investigators
The official said the prosecutor had been instructed to work quickly.
Last week, Turkey accepted a Saudi proposal to form a joint working group to investigate Mr Khashoggi's disappearance.
On Sunday, Riyadh angrily rejected political and economic "threats" over the case of the missing journalist and said it would respond to any punitive action "with a bigger one".

How was the consulate search conducted?

Investigators entered the building in Istanbul on Monday afternoon - first a Saudi team followed roughly an hour later by Turkish forensic police.
Turkish diplomatic sources had said the consulate would be searched by a joint Turkish-Saudi team.
A group of cleaners was seen entering earlier.
Saudi Arabia agreed last week to allow Turkis officials to conduct a search but insisted it would only be a superficial "visual" inspection.
Turkey rejected that offer. The Sabah daily newspaper said investigators had wanted to search the building with luminol, a chemical which shows up any traces of blood. It is not clear whether that happened.
King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone on Sunday evening, officials said, and stressed the importance of the two countries working together on the case.
Presentational grey line

Questions over crown prince

By Frank Gardner, BBC News
Encouraged by the state-controlled media, many Saudis have been rallying round their leadership. There is even a popular rumour that what happened in Istanbul is all a plot by Qatar and Turkey to discredit the blameless Saudi kingdom.
But privately, others are now questioning whether the 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the man once hailed as a visionary saviour of Saudi Arabia, has gone too far.
He has pitched his country into a costly and seemingly unwinnable war in Yemen. He is embroiled in a damaging dispute with neighbouring Qatar. He has quarrelled with Canada over human rights and he has locked up dozens for peaceful protest while alienating many in royal and business circles.
More conservative Saudis may well be hankering for quieter times.
Presentational grey line

What allegedly happened in Istanbul?

Media captionCCTV footage shows missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Mr Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government who has written for the Washington Post, was last seen walking into the consulate on 2 October.
Reports suggest an assault and struggle took place in the consulate after Mr Khashoggi went to get paperwork for his forthcoming marriage.
Turkish sources allege he was killed by a 15-strong team of Saudi agents but Riyadh insists that he left the consulate unharmed.
Mr Khashoggi was once an adviser to the Saudi royal family but fell out of favour with the Saudi government and went into self-imposed exile. He is a US resident.

What other reaction has there been?

The European Union has joined calls for a transparent investigation.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini briefed reporters after a meeting of the 28 foreign ministers.
"There was full consensus around the table on the fact that we expect transparency, we expect full clarity from investigations to be done by the Saudi authorities together and in full co-operation with the Turkish authorities," she said.
The international conference, starting on 23 October, has been dubbed "Davos in the Desert", though the World Economic Forum says it has nothing to do with its annual event in the Swiss Alps.
Officially entitled the Future Finance Initiative, the Saudi conference describes itself as an "international platform for expert-led debate between investors, innovators and governments as well as economic leaders".
Significantly, it was expected to showcase the reform agenda of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The head of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, is one of the latest high-profile executives to pull out.
Ford chairman Bill Ford and Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi are also among those who will not be attending the conference.
A page with a list of confirmed speakers has been deleted from the event's website.
It is still unclear whether US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will attend the conference. A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC they would "be evaluating the information that comes out this week".

Five Ways You’ve Been Brushing Your Teeth Wrong

When you think of all the difficult tasks you can engage in during your daily routine, brushing your teeth probably never comes up. After all, you’ve been doing it since you were little.
However, it’s easier than you think to make tooth brushing mistakes, putting your oral hygiene at risk.
Your Bristles Are Too Hard
Hard bristles are often too harsh for your teeth and gums, so most dentists don’t recommend them. Instead, choose soft or ultra-soft bristles that can gently get down under the gum line. Hard and medium brushes don’t do that and can actually abrade the gum.
Your Toothbrush Head Is Large
Your toothbrush should fit your mouth comfortably and it is best to go for smaller ones. Unless you have a large mouth, compact brush heads do a better job of helping you access those hard-to-reach and hard-to-see molars.
Failing To Brush Long Enough
The Nigerian Dental Association recommends brushing for two minutes, but many people fail at this, without even realizing it.
Different studies have timed people brushing their teeth and asked them how long they thought they did it for.
Some people thought they’d brushed for a couple of minutes, but it can be less than half a minute, an indication that our perception of how long we’re brushing is not very accurate.
Brushing Too Hard
If you brush your teeth like you are brushing your shoes, you’re doing more harm than good. When you press hard against your teeth and gums, you get a satisfying sensation that you’re really getting the teeth clean, but it’s not making your teeth cleaner.
The point of brushing is to remove plaque—a bacterial film—which is sticky but also soft, so you don’t need to go hard on your teeth to remove it. Pushing too hard can overstress the gum tissue and cause it to recede, exposing part of the tooth’s root.
That area can become sensitive to hot and cold. The root is also more susceptible to cavities than the hard enamel part of the tooth.
You’re Brushing At Wrong Angles
Brushing straight across like you’re playing the violin isn’t the best way to brush your pearly whites.
It is ideal to hold the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle—upward for your top teeth and downward for your bottom teeth—so the bristles can sweep and clean under the gum line where plaque can hide.
If you have an electric sonic toothbrush, you don’t need to angle the brush to 45 degrees. They’re designed to go straight on the tooth and you just hold it there for a few seconds.

A Message To Those Who Have Lost Their Fiancé

It has now been two whole years since I had last heard his voice and even longer still since I’ve had the pleasure of being graced by his warm smile. Has it really been two whole years? Yes, it has and it still hurts like a son of a bitch. It’s time to shed a little light on a subject that not so many people have ever had the horror of dealing with; the death of your beloved Fiancé/Fiancée. No, I’m not talking about a widow and no there is absolutely no difference.
Losing my fiancé has been and will continue to be the most agonizing and trying experience of my life. I remember getting the call (it was a Thursday) that there had been an accident just one day before he was due to be home from his pre-deployment training. Three months before his 20th birthday. And just six months from our Wedding day. The month of March will forever rein infamy in my mind.
The first year after I had lost Josh can be summed up in one simple word. Blurry. The days seemed to mesh together and getting out of bed to face another day seemed like crueler punishment than it was worth. I had blocked so much pain and details of the actual event that I began to doubt my sanity.
Was I dreaming? Was he even real? I wasn’t sure anymore.
All that I knew was my high school sweetheart, my best friend, my Marine was not coming home and I couldn’t understand why.
Being a fiancée I found that I wasn’t as openly recognized as his parents and siblings. No one came to my home to see me. No one left pans of lasagna on my doorstep with a sceawled note to make sure I had eaten. For every one hundred sympathy cards the immediate family received I would hold tightly to ten of my own. I felt like I was being ostracized because we did not yet share a last name. Had I been a “widowed” my support system would have been ten miles high. And that’s the sad truth. I remember being asked by his mother if I thought that it would have been harder if we were actually married. The answer to that is no. Absolutely not, and it truly hurt me to think that this is what people thought.
As if my heart and my entire life weren’t already crushed enough.
An engagement ring on my finger did not automatically and miraculously make my Fiancé more important to me. My love grew for him with each and every passing day and I still find that to be true two years after his death. If I could turn back the hands of time I would gladly and unhesitatingly take his place. I don’t know of a love more pure than that.
We need to put a stop to how society sees us. I was deemed as insignificant being told just a few months after his passing that I am “young,” and that I will “move on.” was most definitely the last thing that I wanted to hear. In all honestly it made me feel about this big.
If I should one day decide that I would like to move forward in my love life that is my business and my business alone. The fact of the matter is that Joshua was an enormous part of my life and so he will remain until I give my final breath. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Fiancées/Fiancés and girlfriends/boyfriends go under the wayside when it comes to grief. We loved them too. It is different than that of a parent’s love or even a siblings but that does not mean it is any less. Just different.
We loved them too. We always will. And we absolutely do not have to prove this to anyone else. I still ask myself “Why him?” “Why my Josh?” and then came the only explanation that seemed to make any sense at all…
When we are in a garden which flowers do we pick?
The most beautiful ones.
Read this: 13 Things To Remember When You Love A Person Who Has Depression
Read this: 10 Things Girls Who Have Lost Their Dads Want You To Know
Read this: This Is Me Letting You Go

Can stomach problems cause lower back pain?

Back pain and bloating can be a miserable and frightening experience when they occur together. However, the most common causes of back pain and bloating are usually due to relatively harmless, underlying conditions.
Although back pain and bloating are fairly common symptoms, it is a good idea to see a doctor if they last more than a few days.
Although the most common causes of back pain and bloating are relatively harmless, some of the less common reasons can be life-threatening.

Common causes of back pain and bloating

Back pain and bloating in woman holding lower back
Back pain and bloating may occur together but may not always be related.
It is worth mentioning that these common causes are by far the most likely reasons that a person will develop back pain and bloating. Causes include:
  • hormonal shifts
  • pregnancy
  • back injuries
  • gas and gastrointestinal problems
  • stress
  • urinary tract infection (UTI)
A doctor will check for these conditions before looking for anything more serious.

Hormonal shifts

Hormones are the body's chemical messengers. As hormone levels swing, they can affect the way the body behaves. Both sexes are vulnerable to hormone shifts.
Many women experience back pain or cramping with bloating during or immediately before their period. If the symptoms follow a predictable pattern and do not cause severe problems, they are generally nothing to worry about.
People undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may also experience bloating and pain. They should discuss these symptoms with a doctor.

Pregnancy

Sometimes, pregnancy causes bloating, constipation, and gas. This is particularly true late in pregnancy when the uterus begins compressing the organs.
The additional weight at the front of the body can also put a strain on the back and hips. Anyone who is pregnant should tell their doctor or midwife about any symptoms they experience, since any conditions or problems that the pregnant woman experiences can affect the baby.
Most causes of bloating and back pain in pregnancy are harmless and typically clear up after delivery.

Back injuries

A wide range of back injuries, ranging from minor muscle sprains and strains to more serious injuries such as herniated discs, can cause back pain.
Sometimes the pain from a herniated disc radiates to other areas of the body, including the abdomen, and can create unusual sensations, such as bloating.

Gas and gastrointestinal (GI) problems

Most of the time, gas is no more than a minor annoyance.
However, gas occasionally produces intense pain that makes the entire abdomen feel full and tender. This pain can radiate to the back, causing back pain and bloating. Minor gastrointestinal problems, such as stomach viruses, may also cause intense gas pain.
Sometimes, GI issues can cause muscle pain. This can happen after straining to have a bowel movement or repeatedly vomiting.

Stress

Stress changes the body, not just the mind. Intense stress or anxiety can trigger both back pain and stomach discomfort, including bloating.
Back pain often occurs because some people who are experiencing stress tense their muscles unconsciously. Stomach pain and bloating are more common in people who have stress as well as an underlying condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

UTI

A UTI can cause back pain when it spreads to the kidneys. UTIs also trigger a frequent need to use the bathroom. Some people find that they feel like they need to use the bathroom again immediately after using it.
This sensation may feel like abdominal bloating, pain, or pressure. Severe kidney infections can also cause vomiting that leads to bloating.