US welcomes Saudi withdrawal of ambassador to Syria, but....

At Monday's State Department briefing, spokesman Mark Toner said that the US welcomes Saudi Arabia's withdrawal of its ambassador to Syria, but.... the U.S. has no plans to do so. "This is a choice by any sovereign nation whether to recall its ambassador. It clearly sends a message to the government," said Toner. "For our part, we've talked about this last week and continue to believe that

Don't look for 'Human Rights Watch' to protest

Don't look for 'Human Rights Watch' to protest against it, but Saudi Arabia has proposed a law that would mandate jail time for criticizing the King, essentially squelching all dissent in the Islamic kingdom. The law would allow prisoners to be held without trial, and trials and appeals to be held secretly, Saudi and international rights advocates said. It would also grant the Interior Ministry