RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi crown prince is to make his first international speech since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Mohammed bin Salman is to address the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh on Wednesday afternoon.

The summit is the prince’s brainchild, an effort to draw much-needed foreign direct investment into the kingdom to create jobs for its young population.

However, this year’s summit has been overshadowed by the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi. Turkish officials say the writer was killed by a 15-man Saudi hit squad that included a member of Prince Mohammed’s entourage on overseas trips.

Saudi Arabia has suggested, without offering evidence, that the team went rogue.

Many international business leaders have pulled out of attending the summit over Khashoggi’s slaying.

More: Turkey says Jamal Khashoggi 'ferociously murdered' by Saudi Arabian hit squad

Related: CIA Director Gina Haspel headed to Turkey amid looming questions about death of Jamal Khashoggi </s> A man holds a poster showing images of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman and of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, describing the prince as "assassin" and Khashoggi as "martyr" in Turkish and Arabic during funeral prayers in absentia for Khashoggi who was killed last month in the Saudi Arabia consulate, in Istanbul, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday called for an international investigation into the killing of the Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (AP) </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's crown prince was due to arrive in Egypt on Monday for a two-day visit, state news agency MENA reported, part of his first trip abroad since the murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "dealing with bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries ... as well as some political files of shared interest", MENA said.

Prince Mohammed has visited the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain since Thursday. He is expected to travel to Tunisia on Tuesday.

Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul at the beginning of October drew global condemnation. Saudi Arabia has said the crown prince had no prior knowledge of the killing of the Washington Post columnist at Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul last month. </s> Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince on Wednesday called the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi a "heinous crime that cannot be justified."

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, addressing the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, said separately that the killing will not "drive a wedge" between the kingdom and Turkey.

This year's summit has been overshadowed by the killing on Oct. 2. Turkish officials say a 15-man Saudi team killed the writer at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. A member of Prince Mohammed's entourage was allegedly at the consulate at the time.

International business leaders have pulled out from attending the summit over the killing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly spoke by phone with Prince Mohammed just before he arrived with other Arab leaders at the summit. The event, which debuted last year with global business titans in attendance, has been overshadowed by Khashoggi's slaying and the international outrage over it.

Prince Mohammed immediately addressed the killing after taking the stage.

"The crime was really painful to all Saudis. I believe it is painful for every human in the world," he said. "It is a heinous crime that cannot be justified."

He also promised Saudi-Turkish relations would not be hurt.

"We know that many are trying to use this painful thing to create a kind of wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey," he said. "I want to send them a message: They will not be able to do that as long as there is king called King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia."

Erdogan focused in again Wednesday on Khashoggi's death.

"We are determined not to allow the murder to be covered up and for those responsible — from the person who gave the order to those who executed it — not to escape justice," he said in the capital, Ankara.

The announcement of the call came just before Prince Mohammed, Bahrain's crown prince and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri walked into the Riyadh summit.

Erdogan has said that 15 Saudi officials arrived in Istanbul shortly before Khashoggi's death and that a man, apparently dressed in the writer's clothes, acted as a possible decoy by walking out of the consulate on the day of the disappearance.

Turkish officials say the 15 men comprised a Saudi hit squad that included a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage on overseas trips. Saudi Arabia has suggested, without offering evidence, that the team went rogue.

With the crown prince's standing marred, his ability to draw needed investment to the kingdom could be affected.

Economists say Saudi Arabia will need trillions of dollars in investments to create millions of new jobs for young Saudis entering the workforce in coming years. The investment forum is aimed at attracting investors to help underwrite that effort.

The event's first day saw several speakers acknowledge the killing of the Saudi writer whose columns criticized the crown prince's crackdown on dissent. Dozens of Saudi activists, writers, clerics and even women who were behind calls for the right to drive have been detained.

At one summit session, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih described Khashoggi's slaying as "abhorrent."

In the wake of Khashoggi's killing, many international business leaders and Western officials pulled out of the forum, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Siemens and Blackrock. Western media outlets withdrew as partners for the event.

The chief executive of U.S. private equity fund Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman, and Japan's technology giant Softbank, Masayoshi Son, joined the long list of big speakers who backed out of speaking at this year's forum. Just last year they'd shared the stage with Prince Mohammed at the event. The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, which the crown prince oversees, has invested billions of dollars with both.

Rather than cancel their participation altogether, some companies sent mid-level executives to keep lines of communication and business open with Saudi Arabia. Outside the ornate hall of the forum, hushed conversations over coffee and dates, and a flurry of business cards were being exchanged among participants.

There was a strong showing from Russian, Asian and African nations at the forum.

Some $55 billion in agreements were pledged at the forum, much of that focused on Saudi Arabia's lucrative energy industry. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest exporters of oil, has the Arab world's largest economy and is a key emerging market.

Several participants in attendance from the U.S., including a California hedge fund manager and staff from a U.S. desalination company, declined to speak with The Associated Press at the forum, reflecting a general nervousness among the Americans in attendance.

"This experience has given everyone pause ... to stop, get our breath, take stock and then figure out the most appropriate way forward," David Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with The Associated Press at the forum.

"At the end of the day, many American companies have stakeholders and shareholders to which they need to be very sensitive. So they will listen to those stakeholders and shareholders," Hamod said.

"But timing is everything. A fair number of U.S. companies didn't make the trip, as you know, and that's an issue of timing," he said, adding that he believes over the long-term the relationship will be "very positive."

The forum's subdued atmosphere received a jolt Tuesday when Prince Mohammed made a brief appearance and received a standing ovation from the audience. He was followed around by a crowd of mostly young Saudi men trying to catch an up-close glimpse of their country's most powerful prince. He even posed for selfies.

In the U.S., pressure continued to mount against Saudi Arabia's account of Khashoggi's killing.

"The cover-up was horrible. The execution was horrible," President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday night. "But there should have never been an execution or a cover-up because it should have never happened."

Trump later was asked about Prince Mohammed in an Oval Office interview with The Wall Street Journal.

"Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him," Trump told the newspaper.

Shortly after Trump's remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the United States was revoking the visas of some Saudi officials implicated in Khashoggi's death. The visa revocations are the Trump administration's first punitive measures against the Saudis, who are seen as key allies in U.S. efforts to isolate Iran, since Khashoggi disappeared.

The foreign ministers of the G7 group of nations said Saudi Arabia should conduct a credible investigation, "in full collaboration with the Turkish authorities."

Three days after Saudi Arabia acknowledged Khashoggi had been killed by Saudi agents at its consulate in Istanbul, King Salman and Prince Mohammed met with Khashoggi's son, Salah, and his brother, Sahel, at the Yamama Palace, where the royals expressed their condolences, according to state-run Saudi news.

A friend of the Khashoggi family told The Associated Press that Salah has been under a travel ban since last year. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

Manal Al-Sharif, a Saudi women's rights activist and a friend of Khashoggi, said he "was really assassinated for being outspoken."

"This is a new level the Saudi government is reaching," she said, adding that people inside the kingdom "are so afraid to speak up."

Al-Sharif, who was jailed in Saudi Arabia after getting behind a wheel before the kingdom's ban on women driving was lifted this year, spoke Wednesday in Denmark where she was promoting her book "Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening."

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; contributed to this report. </s> TUNIS (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday, a Tunisian presidency source said.

Hundreds of Tunisians have been staging the first protests of the Arab world against him, denouncing the kingdom’s de facto ruler as a murderer involved in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. </s> RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — In a fiery and unwavering appearance Wednesday at an investment forum, Saudi Arabia's crown prince called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi "heinous" and "painful to all Saudis," before warning anyone against trying to "manipulate" the crisis and drive a wedge between the kingdom and Turkey.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was joined onstage by two Arab allies as he made his first extensive public remarks about the killing that has sparked widespread condemnation and marred his international standing after Turkish reports said a member of his entourage was involved in the crime.

Many international business leaders pulled out of the Future Investment Initiative, the kingdom's main economic forum, after the Oct. 2 killing of The Washington Post columnist inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

But in the forum's vast and ornate auditorium, thousands of people who did attend rose to their feet to applaud the 33-year-old heir whose strong showing underscored his reputation for being bold and assertive.

Prince Mohammed, who spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone before the forum, addressed the case immediately after taking the stage for a panel discussion, saying the Saudis were cooperating with Turkey on the Khashoggi investigation.

"The situation that took place is very painful to all Saudis, especially because it was a Saudi citizen. And I suspect it is painful to anyone in the whole world," Prince Mohammed said.

"It is a heinous act that is unjustifiable," he added, before cautioning anyone who might try "to manipulate the situation" and sow division between Riyadh and Ankara.

"I have a message for them: They will not be able to do that as long as there is a king called Salman bin Abdul-Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi, and a president in Turkey called Erdogan," he said to applause.

Erdogan on Tuesday delivered a sharp rebuttal of Saudi Arabia's widely criticized account that the dissident writer died accidentally in a brawl, saying Saudi officials had planned the killing for days.

He kept up the pressure Wednesday, saying in Ankara: "We are determined not to allow the murder to be covered up and for those responsible — from the person who gave the order to those who executed it — not to escape justice."

Erdogan has said that 15 Saudi officials arrived in Istanbul shortly before Khashoggi's death and that a man, apparently dressed in the writer's clothes, acted as a possible decoy by walking out of the consulate on the day of the disappearance.

Turkish officials say the 15 men comprised a Saudi hit squad that included a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage on overseas trips. Saudi Arabia has suggested, without offering evidence, that the team went rogue. It has arrested 18 Saudis and fired five top officials, some of whom worked directly under the crown prince.

Turkish media have published a security camera image showing a vehicle belonging to the Saudi Consulate purportedly scouting a forest in the outskirts of Istanbul before the killing.

The killing of the 59-year-old Khashoggi has created an international firestorm as suspicion mounts that the crown prince had a hand in the killing.

"Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him," President Donald Trump was quoted telling the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Khashoggi, who lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. for nearly a year before his death, had written critically of the young prince's crackdown on dissent. Dozens of Saudi activists, writers, clerics and even women who were behind calls for the right to drive have been detained.

King Salman and Prince Mohammed met Tuesday with Khashoggi's son, Salah, and his brother, Sahel, at the Yamama Palace, where the royals expressed their condolences, according to state-run Saudi news, which distributed photos of the event. A friend of the Khashoggi family told The Associated Press that Salah has been under a travel ban since last year. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

The crisis overshadowed the crown prince's high-profile economic forum, aimed at raising much needed investments to underwrite his plans to overhaul the Saudi economy.

After the killing, many international business leaders and Western officials pulled out of the forum, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Siemens and Blackrock. Western media outlets withdrew as partners for the event.

Instead, the forum spotlighted how the kingdom's regional allies have rushed to rally behind the crown prince.

On stage with him was Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who abruptly resigned his post last year during a strange visit to Saudi Arabia in which many people suspected that he was held against his will. Hariri returned to Lebanon and to his post later that year after French mediation and has visited Saudi Arabia and met with the crown prince since then.

The crown prince even joked about the incident at the forum, saying Hariri would be in Saudi Arabia this time for two days.

"So please, no one say that he is kidnapped," Prince Mohammed said, before turning to Hariri and pumping his hand as the crowd erupted in laughter.

The summit also drew Dubai's ruler, Jordan's king and Pakistan's prime minister. Pakistan, which is grappling with a soaring deficit, struck a deal on the sidelines of the forum with Saudi Arabia for $6 billion in aid from the oil-rich kingdom.

Some $55 billion in agreements were signed at the forum, much of that focused on the lucrative Saudi energy industry. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest exporters of oil, has the Arab world's largest economy and is a key emerging market.

Rather than cancel their participation altogether, some companies sent midlevel executives. Outside the hall, hushed conversations over coffee and dates took place, with a flurry of business cards exchanged.

Several participants from the U.S., including a California hedge fund manager and staff from a U.S. desalination company, declined to speak to the AP, reflecting a general nervousness among the Americans.

"This experience has given everyone pause ... to stop, get our breath, take stock and then figure out the most appropriate way forward," David Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, told the AP.

"At the end of the day, many American companies have stakeholders and shareholders to which they need to be very sensitive. So they will listen to those stakeholders and shareholders," Hamod said.

"But timing is everything. A fair number of U.S. companies didn't make the trip, as you know, and that's an issue of timing," he said, adding that he believes the relationship will be "very positive" in the long term.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Zarar Khan in Islamabad; Malak Harb in Riyadh; and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed. </s> ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The Latest on the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul (all times local):

A Turkish prosecutor says Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was strangled as soon as he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul as part of a premeditated killing, and his body was dismembered and disposed of.

A statement from chief Istanbul prosecutor Irfan Fidan's office also said Wednesday that discussions with Saudi chief prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb have yielded no "concrete results" despite "good-willed efforts" by Turkey to uncover the truth.

The statement is the first public confirmation by a Turkish official that Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered after he entered the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2 to collect paperwork needed to marry his Turkish fiancee.

Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb, center left, leaves his hotel to go to his country's consulate in Istanbul, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. The Turkish fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi has called on U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders to ensure that his death in Istanbul is not covered up, while Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor on Tuesday visited the Saudi Consulate where officials from his government killed the writer. (Can Erok/DHA via AP)

Turkish media reports say Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor, who is in Istanbul for discussions on the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, has met with Turkish intelligence officials.

Private DHA news agency said Wednesday the prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, paid a midnight visit to the Turkish intelligence agency's Istanbul headquarters. Officials were not immediately available to comment.

Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 Saudi suspects detained in Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate after he entered the building on Oct. 2. It is also pressing Saudi Arabia for information concerning Khashoggi's remains, which still haven't been found, as well as who ordered the journalist's slaying.

Saudi officials have said the kingdom will try the 18 and bring them to justice after the investigation is complete.

Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor Saud al-Mojeb leaves his country's consulate in Istanbul, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. The Turkish fiancee of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi has called on U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders to ensure that his death in Istanbul is not covered up, while Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor on Tuesday visited the Saudi Consulate where officials from his government killed the writer. (Can Erok/DHA via AP) </s> Saudi Arabia's crown prince is scheduled to address an investment forum in Riyadh on Wednesday, his first public speech since the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi plunged the kingdom into crisis.

Organisers of the glitzy flagship Future Investment Initiative listed Prince Mohammed bin Salman among the "top speakers" for the second day of the three-day conference, after he made a brief appearance on Tuesday.

The crown prince is likely to appear on a panel alongside Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, whose resignation in a televised address from the Saudi capital in mysterious circumstances last year sparked rumours he was being held against his will.

The conference, nicknamed "Davos in the desert", has been overshadowed by the outcry over the murder of Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2, with a array of big names pulling out over the case.

The reform credentials of Prince Mohammed, the king's powerful son, have been tarnished by the scandal despite repeated denials he had any involvement in the killing of the Washington Post contributor.

Saudi organisers of the conference have sought to portray it as business as usual, announcing 12 "mega deals" worth more than $50 billion in oil, gas, infrastructure and other sectors on the opening day of the forum.

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih acknowledged, however, that the kingdom was in crisis following the "abhorrent" murder of Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia initially claimed Khashoggi left freely after visiting the consulate but, as international pressure mounted, the kingdom said he died inside the mission when an argument degenerated into a fistfight. It later acknowledged that he had in fact been murdered, as Turkish officials said all along.

The United States said Tuesday it was revoking the visas of Saudis implicated in the murder, as President Donald Trump ridiculed the kingdom's response as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

The move came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a keenly anticipated speech on Tuesday that Khashoggi's killing inside the consulate had been meticulously planned. </s> ELKO, Nev. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he is not satisfied with Saudi Arabia’s explanation for the circumstances around the killing of journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

Speaking to reporters in Nevada, Trump added that it was possible that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been unaware of the death.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will address an international audience for the first time since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.