A military base deep inside Saudi Arabia appears to be testing and possibly manufacturing ballistic missiles, experts and satellite images suggest, evidence of the type of weapons program it has long criticized its archrival Iran for possessing.

Further raising the stakes for any such program are comments by Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who said last year the kingdom wouldn't hesitate to develop nuclear weapons if Iran does. Ballistic missiles can carry nuclear warheads to targets thousands of kilometers (miles) away.

International human rights groups on Friday called on Saudi Arabia to allow independent investigators into the country to probe fresh accusations of torture and abuse of human rights activists.

Two Saudi sisters whose bodies were found taped together on the banks of a New York river committed suicide, the city's medical examiner said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau renewed calls for the release of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi after meeting his wife on Friday, calling the issue "a priority" for him and all Canadians.

The young Saudi woman who fled her family seeking asylum abroad is scheduled to land in Canada on Saturday after successfully harnessing the power of Twitter to stave off deportation from Thailand.

Australia said Tuesday it will "carefully consider" the asylum claim of an 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled alleged abuse from her family and is now in the care of the U.N. in Bangkok, after she fended off deportation in a gripping, live-tweeted ordeal.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia ordered a major government reshuffle Thursday, replacing the ministers of foreign affairs and information, a royal decree said.

The shake up comes as the kingdom grapples with international outrage over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a scandal that has tipped Riyadh into one of its worst international crises.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it was creating government bodies to boost oversight of its intelligence operations, in the wake of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder.

Senators are expected to vote Thursday on a resolution that would call on the U.S. to pull assistance from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, a measure that would rebuke Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The Senate may also consider a separate resolution condemning the journalist's killing as senators have wrestled with how to respond to the Saudi journalist's murder. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known of the plot, but President Donald Trump has been reluctant to pin the blame.

Human Rights Watch on Friday urged Saudi Arabia to allow independent observers access to detained women's rights activists, saying Riyadh's assurances of their well-being could not be trusted following the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.