In more news from Riyadh, hackers briefly took over the official website for Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative—also known as “Davos in the Desert”—as organizers prepared to host the high-profile event amid international outcry over Jamal Khashoggi’s murder. The hackers posted a doctored image of Khashoggi wearing an orange jumpsuit, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman standing behind him holding a bloody sword. Bin Salman has the letters ISIS written on his clothing.
This month, the heads of the World Bank and IMF joined a boycott of the conference after top executives from JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Ford, Blackstone Group, Siemens, The New York Times and every other major Western news media organization pulled out. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin also announced he would not go but surprised many when he showed up in Riyadh and met with the Crown Prince Monday. We’ll have more on the death of Jamal Khashoggi after headlines with journalist Rula Jebreal, whose new cover story for Newsweek is titled “Jamal Khashoggi Secret Interview: The Saudi Journalist’s Views of Islam, America and the 'Reformist' Prince Implicated in His Murder.”