Saudi police exchanged fire with "masked gunmen" during a protest in the oil-rich east, killing one of them, state news agency SPA reported early on Saturday, in the second such incident in 24 hours.

Activists contacted by AFP from Dubai said that Zuhair al-Said, 21, was killed as security forces dispersed a protest on Friday against the death of another Shiite demonstrator the previous day.

Saudi King Abdullah said on Friday that world confidence in the United Nations had been shaken after the world body failed to adopt a resolution against the Syrian regime's deadly crackdown on protests.

"We all used to take pride in the United Nations which used to bring us together and not divide us... but what took place does not augur well as world confidence in the United Nations has undoubtedly been shaken," King Abdullah said in a short televised speech.

Security forces opened fire on a demonstration in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich east, fatally wounding one Shiite protester and wounding several others, activists and witnesses said on Friday.

"Munir al-Medani, 21, was wounded by a live bullet in his chest" one activist said requesting anonymity, referring to the incident which took place late Thursday in Qatif province in the kingdom's Eastern Region.

Malaysian police Friday said they had detained a young Saudi journalist who fled his country after Twitter comments he made about the Prophet Mohammed triggered calls for his execution.

Hamza Kashgari was taken into custody after flying into Malaysia's main international airport on Thursday, police spokesman Ramli Yoosuf told Agence France Presse.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak arrived in the Qatari capital Doha Thursday after a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he secured pledges to ensure a stable supply of oil to the East Asian nation.

He is on a regional tour that will also include a stop in the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to ensure a stable supply of oil to South Korea, which is under pressure from the United States to reduce purchases from Iran, a report said on Wednesday.

The assurances came as South Korea's President Lee Myung-Bak held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday with Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and the head of Saudi state oil giant Aramco, Khalid al-Faleh.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak arrived on Tuesday in Riyadh at the start of a two-day visit to the OPEC kingpin which comes as Seoul seeks to diversify its oil sources.

"South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak arrived with his delegation in Riyadh today in an official visit to the kingdom," Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

A U.S. judge Tuesday set an October 22 trial date for an Iranian-American accused of plotting with senior Tehran officials to hire Mexican gangsters to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Federal Judge John Keenan rejected a request for more time by the defense lawyer for Manssor Arbabsiar, a used car salesman from Texas with dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship.

The six Gulf Cooperation Council states have decided to expel Syria's envoys and withdraw their own from Damascus over the "mass slaughter" of civilians in Syria, a joint statement said.

"Member states have decided to withdraw their ambassadors from Syria and ask at the same time for all the ambassadors of the Syrian regime to leave immediately," a GCC statement said.

Saudi Arabia on Monday called for "critical measures" to be taken on Syria, warning of an impending "humanitarian disaster" after the U.N. Security Council failed to pass a resolution on the crisis there.

"The U.N. Security Council's failure to pass a resolution in support of the Arab Initiative must not prevent the taking of critical measures to protect innocent lives and stop the bloodshed and all acts of violence that threaten serious consequences for the Syrian people and regional stability," a cabinet statement said.