Saudi Arabia fails to join UN human rights council but Russia and China elected

Result follows warnings from human rights groups that UN body's credibility at stake

Russia and China have been elected to the UN human rights council for the next three years, but Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to win a place on the 47-seat body.

The result is a severe blow to the country's efforts to improve its image in the wake of the admitted killing of the Saudi citizen and Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi.