Now let's turn to the Middle East. An anti-corruption purge in Saudi Arabia, led by Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, has sent shockwaves through the nation. Dozens of the country's most powerful princes, military officers, government ministers and businessmen have been detained or fired over accusations of corruption. CGTN's Yasser Hakim has more from Cairo.

 

It came as a major shock. Even ministers and members of the king's royal family are involved. They are accused of money laundering, bribery and misuse of power. Some of those detained are influential businessmen such as renowned Al Waleed Bin Talal - the nephew of King Salman. The impact could be far reaching, like in Egypt, where Saudi Arabia has pledged billions of dollars in investments.

 

ATEF SAADAWY EDITOR IN CHIEF, DEMOCRACY MAGAZINE "The highest private sector Saudi investors in Egypt are Prince Walid bin Talal and Sheikh Saleh Kamel who were both detained. The impact will be clear after investigations but there are also investments by the Saudi government, those will not be affected by the latest case."

 

A newly formed anti-corruption committee led by the King's son Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman is spearheading the latest crackdown. But some say it's not just about fighting corruption

 

ATEF SAADAWY EDITOR IN CHIEF, DEMOCRACY MAGAZINE "The logic says all these influential names cannot be detained at the same time for corruption. It's a much bigger issue. Could be tensions or a reaction to internal dissatisfaction over some changes in power made by the king. He had replaced Prince Mohamed Ben Nayef with Prince Mohamed bin Salman as the new crown prince earlier in the year. Some such as businessman Walid Ben Talal were known to have opposed these changes"

 

YASSER HAKIM CAIRO "The Saudi government announced that no one will escape punishment from corruption. But for some experts this crackdown could be more of a show of force by the young crown prince against the old guard in the Saudi monarchy. Yasser Hakim for CGTN, Cairo"