Richard Branson freezes business ties with Saudis

LONDON (AP) - British billionaire Richard Branson has frozen business links with Saudi Arabia amid reports that journalist Jamal Khashoggi may have been murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Branson says that if the reports are true, it would "clearly change the ability of any of us in the West to do business with the Saudi government."

Branson, founder of Virgin Group, says he will suspend his directorships in two tourism projects in Saudi Arabia while an investigation takes place. He also is putting on hold discussions about a proposed Saudi investment in space companies Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit.

Saudi Arabia is facing increasing international pressure to clarify what happened to Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, with U.S. President Donald Trump and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt among those demanding answers.