US President Donald Trump insists that Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, offering a fierce defence of the visiting Saudi crown prince that contradicts a US intelligence assessment.

The controversy over the 2018 killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and US-based critic of the Saudi leadership, flared again in the Oval Office in front of cameras as the kingdom's de facto ruler made his first White House visit in more than seven years, seeking to further rehabilitate his global image tarnished by the incident.

US intelligence agencies concluded that bin Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibilit

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