Police fired tear gas to break up a demonstration by hundreds of Saudis who staged an illegal protest in Riyadh, the capital, in a call for reform in the conservative Islamic kingdom. Some of the protesters chanted religious phrases such as "God is great," but no anti-regime chants were heard, witnesses said.
The Saudi royal family is under pressure to bring about democratic reform, and on Monday the government announced it would hold its first elections, a vote to select half the members of 14 municipal councils.
