It’s the lowest number in 17 years. 

Executive director of the Committee To Protest Journalist Joel Simon says there’s no room for complacency has enemies of press freedom have a considerable armory.

CPJ boss Joel Simon doesn’t know whether the international storm that raged after the deaths of Saudi analyst Jamal Khashoggi and Maltese journalist Daphne Galizia was a deterrent to killing journalists.

25 reporters were slain this year – the lowest number since 2002.

Syria and Mexico are the most dangerous countries on Earth to be a reporter with seven and five deaths respectively.

Stern says the number of reprisal killings is the lowest on record and regional conflicts have claimed fewer journalists’ lives.

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They’ve become part of the 23 countries blacklisted by the European body seeking to avoid becoming a destination for illicit money.

The European Union’s Commissioner for Justice and Gender Equality Vera Jourova explains that the grouping is determined to avoid allowing its financial system to serve as a vehicle for money laundering or as an instrument for financing crime including terrorism. 

Placing Saudi Arabia on the dirty money list has caused a rift between the EU Commission and some of the larger member states who regard the Kingdom as an important ally despite recent tension over the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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Earlier the prince met President Cyril Ramaphosa for discussions on cooperation in energy and investment.

The presence of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the gathering of leaders of the world’s richest countries is controversial following the killing in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul of dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

The prince is widely believed to have ordered that killing.

In Buenos Aires last night he was left at the edge of the so-called family portrait and largely ignored by fellow attendees before he stormed off.

Later he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin exchanged high-fives as they entered the meeting chamber.

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It’s raised questions about how the de facto ruler of the kingdom will be received at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend.

Tunisian protestors displayed  posters showing Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman wielding a chain saw.

It’s a reference to the dismemberment of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi after he was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul six weeks ago.

They also depicted Tunsian President Beji Caid Essebsi pouring cleansing water on the blood-stained hands of the prince, who is said to have ordered the killing.

The Tunsians demonstrations shocked the Saudi authorities. On his first foreign trip since the killing of Khashoggi, the prince was well received in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirate and Egypt.  

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The oil-rich kingdom’s pariah status has not repelled a number of countries receiving its largesse.

South Sudan has issued a statement calling Saudi Arabia’s confession to killing critic Jamal Khashoggi honorable and reaffirming its strong ties with Riyadh.

Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister’s attending the Saudi trade gathering  known as Davos in the desert, which has been increasingly  shunned by Western political and business leader.

He was pictured sitting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Djibouti condemns what it calls a media campaign to tarnish Saudi’s image.

Somalia’s expressed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

Mauritania has expressed full confidence in Saudi justice.

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