LaNUBlog™

Nine of the convicts were Saudi nationals. A Saudi court has sentenced 13 men to 14 years in prison for backing militants, aiding terrorism and helping young men go to Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan to fight. The 13 sentenced were nine Saudi citizens, two Jordanians, an Egyptian and a Syrian. The court said the men were convicted for owning material that glorified al Qaeda, money laundering, involvement in weapons training in militant camps and financing militants in Iraq. Saudi government said on Thursday in Riyadh that it had sentenced thousands of its citizens to prison terms for similar offences over the past decade since al Qaeda waged a campaign of attacks from 2003 to 2006 inside the country, killing hundreds of people.

The accused was granted bail after pleading not guilty to the charge.

The accused was granted bail after pleading not guilty to the charge.

The returnees are being re-united with their family in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Government said on Monday that it received some 2,540 of its citizens from Saudi Arabia, recently declared illegal immigrants by the authorities. Officials at the

Three Ethiopians were killed by Saudi security officials. More than 100 members of Ethiopia’s opposition Semayawi (Blue) party were on Friday arrested for staging a protest at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Addis Ababa. Some were allegedly beaten by the Federal police during the protest. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the party members had matched to the embassy in their hundreds protesting the killing of three Ethiopians by the Saudi security agencies. The Saudi authorities had said that there were more than 40,000 Ethiopian nationals in the country residing illegally in the country. This led to the Nov. 4 crackdown on them. However, the Blue Party Chairman, Yilekal Getachew, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said he was also arrested but later released by the police. Mr. Getachew said that the party was protesting the killing of the Ethiopians who had been molested by security agencies without adequate reason for doing so. But the Ethiopian pol...

Saudi Arabia has turned down a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, accusing the world body of "double standards". The Saudi foreign ministry said the UN needs to be reformed first. It said the Security Council had failed in its duties towards Syria as well as in other world conflicts. Saudi Arabia has previously expressed frustration at what it sees as an international failure to act on Syria, where it staunchly backs the rebels. There has been no official reaction from the UN, but diplomats there expressed surprise at Riyadh's announcement. Russia's foreign ministry called the move bewildering, and said Saudi Arabia's criticism of the UN Security Council about its actions over Syria "is particularly strange". Analysis By Bridget Kendall Usually there is fierce competition to secure one of the 10 rotating seats on the UN Security Council - a chance to sit alongside the five permanent members for two years on the top UN body...