Tag: Richard Branson

JP Morgan Chase Los Angeles Times Mastercard New York Times Sinovation Ventures Standard Chartered Thrive Uber Viacom World Bank It was hailed as the start of Saudi Arabia's revamping of its oil-based economy, but a week before its opening the second edition of the kingdom's prestigious economic Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference has turned into a PR disaster for the country. More than 10 of the largest and most prominent attendees have said they will no longer go to the summit following the disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. The Financial Times will not be partnering with the FII conference in Riyadh while the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi remains unexplained. — Finola McDonnell (@FinolaMcD) October 12, 2018 CNN has withdrawn its participation in the Saudi Future Investment Initiative Conference. US Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin has said he will attend but will be monitoring the situation. "But his attendance, on the other hand, would signify that President Trump's interest in the bottom line - in the form of the oft-repeated billion-dollar arms deal between the US and Saudi - is winning out over the US leading on global human rights." "I hope that having more and more companies pulling out [of the event] will show that this [case] is something that cannot be disregarded and that international organisations and governments should make more serious statements on it," Zaccara said. According to Zaccara, it is especially important to see what these companies do once the dust from the Khashoggi disappearance has settled. "After the summit [Saudi Arabia's] position will be, 'Now what are you going to do? When that happens, the bottom line might become the most important aspect, putting human rights abuses on the backburner again.

But what else is happening, you ask? What Happened: It was the team-up the world was waiting for: Kanye West and President Trump had a sit-down meeting at the White House. What Really Happened: Look. The Takeaway: Really, in times like these, let’s pay attention to the true heroes. The President’s Op-Ed What Happened: When is an op-ed not an op-ed? After all, he is the president. What Really Happened: Hey, there’s a new Halloween movie out next week! Of course, the response turned into a thing by itself, because the internet. To admit that the tweet was dumb would undercut the very reason d’être of Fox News, and we can all be grateful that it didn’t back down. As it happened, Curtis herself responded to the story, saying that it’s “just silly.” The Takeaway: You know things are bad when even the dictionary gets in on the dunking.