King Fahd was taken to a Riyadh hospital today for medical tests, the Saudi Press Agency said.

OIL prices made fresh gains yesterday as refinery problems in the United States kept the market edgy about a possible squeeze on gasoline supplies this summer.

President George Bush is seeking relief from record-high gas prices and support for Middle East peace as he opens his Texas ranch to Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer.

A medical team of 50 in Saudi Arabia started complex surgery today to separate a pair of Polish conjoined infant girls who share a lower spine and intestines.

IN A bold attack yesterday Islamic militants threw explosives at the gate of the heavily guarded US consulate in Jiddah, then forced their way into the building and held civilians at gunpoint during which eight people were killed in the three-hour gun battle.

Saudi Arabia has announced an amnesty for Muslim militants who turn themselves in in the next month, saying they will not face the death penalty and will only be prosecuted if they committed acts that hurt others.

THE al-Qaida group responsible for abducting and killing an American engineer say they were aided by sympathisers in the Saudi security forces — a claim denied by Saudi authorities.

The al-Qaida group that beheaded an American engineer said sympathisers in the Saudi security forces provided police uniforms and cars used during the victim’s kidnapping, according to an Islamic extremist website.

The al-Qaida cell that kidnapped and killed American Paul M. Johnson Jr. claimed today that sympathisers in the kingdom’s security forces supplied it with police uniforms and vehicles and set up fake checkpoints to facilitate last week’s abduction.

Police in armoured vehicles and a helicopter closed off three Riyadh neighbourhoods in a pre-dawn search today for more Islamic extremists and for the body of the American hostage beheaded by al-Qaida.

A WESTERN engineering firm yesterday said it was evacuating all 90 foreign staff from the Saudi city of Yanbu after gunmen shot dead five of their colleagues.

A car bombing at a security building in the Saudi capital bears all the hallmarks of al Qaida, officials have said.

Saudi Arabians will be able to vote for the first time after the absolute monarchy announced it was to hold elections for municipal councils.

Heads of state of leading developing countries gathered in Switzerland today for a series of meetings on the sidelines of the summit of Group of Eight leading world powers.

Saudi Arabia acknowledged gaps in security and revealed that 15 Saudis carried out the deadly car bomb attacks in Riyadh – a startling admission considering the Arab kingdom took five months to confirm most of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers were Saudi.

US President George Bush has offered to extend US free-trade benefits already enjoyed by Israel and Jordan to other Middle East nations within a decade.

Tony Blair was returning from holiday tonight to face growing domestic and international unease over the possibility of war with Iraq.

Saudi Arabia issued a fresh warning against war with Iraq today despite US President George Bush’s attempts to convince America’s traditional ally.

Urged by Saudi Arabia to temper support for Israel, President George Bush said today his message to the Arab world is unequivocal: ‘‘We will not allow Israel to be crushed.’’

US Secretary of State Colin Powell faces a Herculean task next week in the Middle East as the Bush administration tries to pry Israeli forces off the West Bank and get Yasser Arafat to control terrorists.

The European Union’s foreign policy envoy, Javier Solana, will travel to Saudi Arabia today to discuss the details of a Middle East peace plan put forward by Crown Prince Abdullah.

The Palestinians have insisted that Israel must end its occupation to make way for a Palestinian state to bring peace to the region - a view backed by many Arab and non-Arab countries alike.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair was today embarking on a new round of shuttle diplomacy to cement support for the coalition against terrorism as MPs returned to Westminster to debate the crisis.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Saudi officials have expressed concern that a war on terrorism could create harmful "secondary effects" in the Muslim world.