Diplomats from 11 countries met in Istanbul on April 20 to discuss the Syrian crisis, Xinhua reported.

Saudi King Abdullah removed Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Sultan from office April 20 and in a royal order appointed Prince Fahad bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahman to take his place, Xinhua reported.

Gulf Cooperation Council countries' national emergency officials met in Riyadh to discuss the risk of radiation spreading through the region, should Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant be damaged during an earthquake, and to form a joint plan for handling such a scenario, Reuters reported April 14.

Unidentified gunmen carried out three separate shootings in two Shiite towns on Feb. 16, targeting a prison in Qatif and two police targets, a police spokesman said Feb. 17, AFP reported.

The opposition Saudi Coalition for Freedom and Justice has called for a demonstration on Dec. 28 in the eastern Al-Qatif region after the group said 18-year-old activist leader Ahmad al-Matar was killed Dec. 27 in a raid in the region by government forces in armored vehicles, the BBC reported.

The Friends of Syria group will recognize the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition as the country's legitimate representative during a Dec. 12 meeting in Morocco, Al Arabiya and AFP reported.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Dec. 4 received a delegation led by Moaz al-Khatib, the president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, SPA reported.