SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia's new envoy to the UAE was privy to Khashoggi 'bullet' quip

Saudi Arabia on Sunday appointed former media chief Turki Aldakhil as its ambassador to the UAE just days after it was revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told him he would “use a bullet” on slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Aldakhil is a former general manager at the Saudi TV network, Al Arabiya, and a fairly well-known TV personality. He’s been called “the Charlie Rose and the Larry King of the Middle East” and his columns defending the young Saudi crown prince are known in Mideast circles. Aldakhil has denied the New York Times report as “categorically false”. But there’s still a cloud hanging over him and given the inconsistency of Saudi denials in the Khashoggi case, those clouds aren’t going anywhere. Despite this, and just days after the report was published, Saudi Arabia confirmed Aldakhil’s appointment as Riyadh’s new ambassador to the UAE.