One of the villas searched by Turkish police for the remains of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi belonged to a friend of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reports said Tuesday.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis will brief US senators Wednesday on developments related to Saudi Arabia, amid mounting bipartisan concern about the kingdom, a senior Republican lawmaker said Monday.

Finland announced late on Thursday it will block new arms export licenses to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, citing the murder of a Saudi journalist and the countries' role in Yemen's humanitarian crisis.

The suspension mirrors earlier decisions by Denmark, Norway and Germany to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia for the time being over the killing and over the kingdom's part in Yemen's war which has left 14 million people facing starvation, according to the U.N.

Denmark on Thursday suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the second country to do so after Germany.

US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his partnership with Saudi Arabia, calling it an indispensable ally after a journalist's grisly murder, but critics say his position ignores Washington's enormous leverage over Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has warned criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a "red line", after Donald Trump heaped praise on the kingdom in defiance of warnings he was giving Riyadh a pass on a journalist's grisly murder.

The Saudi assassination of a U.S.-based journalist has put President Donald Trump in an intractable bind.

Saudi King Salman heaped praise on the kingdom's judiciary Monday, in his first public remarks since critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder tipped the country into one of its worst international crises.

The public prosecutor last week exonerated powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of involvement in the murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, but the CIA reportedly concluded that he ordered the assassination.

A senior leader of Yemen's Shiite rebels says the group will halt rocket fire into Saudi Arabia for the sake of peace efforts.

A Saudi-led coalition has been waging war against the rebels, known as Houthis, to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government to power.

Saudi women have mounted a rare protest against the abaya, posting pictures on social media wearing the obligatory body-shrouding robe inside out.