INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mohammed bin Salman was named crown prince and heir to the throne in Saudi Arabia in June 2017
throne in June 2017.Despite moves by the young prince to modernise the economy and society -- including lifting a ban on women driving --
an increasingly assertive foreign policy.War in YemenSaudi Arabia has since March 2015 spearheaded a regional military intervention in
strikes that rights groups say have often killed civilians.On August 9, 51 people, including 40 children, were killed in an air strike on a
bus in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada.The coalition has acknowledged errors but accused the Huthi rebels of using civilians as human
caused "most of the documented civilian casualties" and voiced "serious concerns about the targeting process".The Saudi-led coalition
coalition's intervention.Ritz-Carlton's 'gilded cage'In September 2017, the Saudi authorities arrested around 20 people, including
Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel served for three months as a de facto detention centre for dozens of princes and senior officials
suspected of graft or disloyalty
days later looking exhausted and prompting rumours he was being detained by the Saudis.France intervened and Hariri returned three weeks ago
via Paris to Lebanon, where he reversed his resignation and said he was open to dialogue with the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah
movement.Saudi Arabia denied intimidating Hariri into quitting his post and holding him against his will
Istanbul consulate on October 2.Khashoggi has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since last year to avoid possible arrest,
had left the Saudi consulate shortly after arriving.But Turkish police believe he was killed by a team of assassins who were sent to
Istanbul and departed the same day, according to a government source.Riyadh called the allegations "baseless", while Prince Mohammed invited
Turkish authorities to search the consulate, stressing his country had "nothing to hide".(Except for the headline, this story has not been
edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
