Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad begins his first official visit to Saudi Arabia today, a trip that many in the region hope will help calm sectarian tensions threatening the Middle East as well as conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon.

Arabs were sharply divided today over the death sentence against Saddam Hussein, with some praising the verdict as heavenly justice but others – sharply critical of the US – claiming the decision was unfair.

IN AN Arab world where democracy is a rarity, entrenched leaders are faced with the image of Saddam Hussein in captivity, his power shrunken to myth, his bravado gone.

SAUDIS blamed al-Qaida militants last night for the suicide car bombing of a Riyadh housing complex, declaring it proof of the terror network’s willingness to shed Muslim blood in its zeal to bring down the US-linked Saudi monarchy.

A car bombing that killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more in the Saudi capital Riyadh was being seen as proof the al Qaida terror network is even willing to shed the blood of Muslims in its campaign to bring down the Saudi royal family.