Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with US president Donald Trump during a dinner in the East Room at the White House. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesDenis Staunton's guide to understanding world events - what’s happening, why it matters and how it affects youDonald Trump’s dismissive response on Tuesday to a question about the Saudi crown prince’s role in the murder of a journalist was shocking. ‘Things happen’Trump’s meeting in the Oval Office with Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday was a triumph for the Saudi crown prince, who was still a pariah in Washington only a few years ago. But the crown prince said that although Saudi Arabia wants to be part of the Abraham Accords, it will not happen until there is a clearer path towards Palestinian statehood. An intelligence report published by the Biden administration in 2021 said that the crown prince ordered the killing and that the murderers included members of his personal security detail.
