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Saudi hosts Afghan peace talks with Taliban
LONDON, England (CNN) -- In a groundbreaking meeting, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The historic four-day meeting took place during the last week of September in the Saudi city of Mecca, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.
King Abdullah broke fast during the Eid al-Fitr holiday with the 17-member Afghan delegation -- an act intended to show his commitment to ending the conflict.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
Taliban leader Mullah Omar was not present, the source said.
It marks a significant departure by the Saudi leadership to take a direct role in Afghanistan, hosting some delegates who have until recently been their enemies.
In the past, Saudi Arabia has generally dealt with Afghanistan through Pakistan.
The desert kingdom's current foray marks a significant shift and appears to recognize the political weakness of Pakistan and the need to stem the growth of al Qaeda.
The current round of talks is anticipated to be a first step in a long process. According to the source close to the talks, it has taken two years of behind-the-scenes meetings to get to this point. LONDON, England (CNN) -- In a groundbreaking meeting, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted talks between the Afghan governmen... more -
British Commander: War in Afghanistan Cannot be Won.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.
It quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying in an interview that if the Taliban were willing to talk, then that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency.
"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.
He said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but that troops may well leave Afghanistan with there still being a low level of insurgency.
But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.
"I think this is the personal opinion of that commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters.
"The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful," he said.
Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.
Asked if the commander's comments came as a disappointment, Wardak said: "Yes, it is disappointing, for sure."
Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most of them in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where they face daily battles with a growing insurgency.
NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH "INVADERS"
NATO commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.
"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."
But a spokesman for the Taliban said on Sunday there would be no negotiations with foreigners and repeated calls made by Taliban commanders for the unconditional withdrawal of the more than 70,000 international troops from Afghanistan.
"They should know that Taliban will never hold talks with the invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP.
"What we had said in the past, we also say once again, that foreign forces should leave without any condition," he said.
Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace. LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times report... more -
Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil
A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has called on women to wear a full veil, or niqab, that reveals only one eye.
Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan said showing both eyes encouraged women to use eye make-up to look seductive.
The question of how much of her face a woman should cover is a controversial topic in many Muslim societies.
The niqab is more common in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, but women in much of the Muslim Middle East wear a headscarf which covers only their hair.
Sheikh Habadan, an ultra-conservative cleric who is said to have wide influence among religious Saudis, was answering questions on the Muslim satellite channel al-Majd. A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has called on women to wear a full veil, or niqab, that reveals only one eye. ... more -
Country Fast Facts: Saudi Arabia
Tell us why this is interestingSaudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. The king's official title is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The modern Saudi state was founded in 1932 by Abd Al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud (Ibn Saud) after a 30-year campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula. A male descendent of Ibn Saud, his son Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz, rules the country today as required by the country's 1992 Basic Law.
Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia accepted the Kuwaiti royal family and 400,000 refugees while allowing Western and Arab troops to deploy on its soil for the liberation of Kuwait the following year. The continuing presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil after the liberation of Kuwait became a source of tension between the royal family and the public until all operational U.S. troops left the country in 2003. Major terrorist attacks in May and November 2003 spurred a strong on-going campaign against domestic terrorism and extremism. King Abdallah has continued the cautious reform program begun when he was crown prince. To promote increased political participation, the government held elections nationwide from February through April 2005 for half the members of 179 municipal councils.
In December 2005, King Abdallah completed the process by appointing the remaining members of the advisory municipal councils. The country remains a leading producer of oil and natural gas and holds approximately 25 percent of the world's proven oil reserves. The government continues to pursue economic reform and diversification, particularly since Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO in December 2005, and promotes foreign investment in the kingdom. A burgeoning population, aquifer depletion, and an economy largely dependent on petroleum output and prices are all ongoing governmental concerns. Tell us why this is interestingSaudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medin... more -
Revealed: secret Taliban peace bid
The Taliban have been engaged in secret talks about ending the conflict in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging 'peace process' sponsored by Saudi Arabia and supported by Britain, The Observer can reveal.
The unprecedented negotiations involve a senior former member of the hard line Islamist movement traveling between Kabul, the bases of the Taliban senior leadership in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and European capitals. Britain has provided logistic and diplomatic support for the talks - despite official statements that negotiations can be held only with Taliban who are ready to renounce, or have renounced, violence.
Sources in Afghanistan confirmed the controversial talks, though they said that in recent weeks they had 'lost momentum'. According to Afghan government officials in Kabul, the intensity of the fighting this summer has been one factor. Another is the inconsistency of the Taliban's demands.
'They keep changing what they are asking for. One day it is one thing, the next another,' one Afghan government adviser with knowledge of the negotiations said. One aim of the initiative is to drive a wedge between Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
The talks started in the summer and have been brokered by Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Afghan government. The go-between has spent weeks ferrying lists of demands and counter-demands between the Afghan capital, Riyadh and Quetta. He has also visited London to speak to Foreign Office and MI6 personnel. A delegation from Saudi intelligence has also visited Kabul.
The Taliban are understood to have submitted a list of 11 conditions for ending hostilities, which include demands to be allowed to run key ministries and a programmed withdrawal of western troops.
In Kabul, President Hamid Karzai's national security adviser, Zalmay Rasul, has been in charge of the negotiations. It is understood that Karzai has yet to make a formal response to the demands, leading to frustration among some western officials.
The Observer has also learnt of a separate exchange of letters in the summer between Karzai and the Taliban ally Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The dialogue proved fruitless.
Although the MoD denied any plans to extend other service personnel's combat tours in Afghanistan, the idea of troops deployed to the area serving nine months was raised recently by the army's director of infantry, Brigadier Richard Dennis, in a speech to senior commanders.
Washington is putting pressure on Nato allies such as Britain to match American troop increases. The Taliban have been engaged in secret talks about ending the conflict in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging 'peace process' spo... more -
Young Saudis Reinvent Ramadan -
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- During Ramadan this year, Faten Jiddawi and a few friends from a charity packed into a hot van and delivered a new washing machine and refrigerator to a needy family.
Like many Saudis, Jiddawi used to mark the Muslim holy month by shopping, eating lavishly and watching television until the wee hours. Then she slept, sometimes all day until sunset prayers signaled the end of the daily dawn-to-dusk fast.
"That's what everyone did, but that's not really fasting," said Jiddawi, 28, a bank teller. "Fasting is about feeling your hunger, getting close to God and helping the poor."
In Saudi Arabia, one of the world's wealthiest Muslim countries, some people have started to criticize how many here observe Ramadan by essentially turning day into night to make fasting easier. Work and school hours have been shortened, shops stay open until right before dawn, and doctors and dentists offer appointments until 2 a.m. JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- During Ramadan this year, Faten Jiddawi and a few friends from a charity packed into a hot van and delivered a... more -
How Saudis Pressured the U.K.’s Blair Government | Newsweek Voices - Terror Watch ...
The United Kingdom's highest court today provided new details of how the Saudis pressured British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government to shut down a politically embarrassing bribery investigation two years ago that implicated the Saudi ambassador to Washington. The ruling, by a House of Lords judicial panel, offers an unusually revealing window into how international power politics is played in the post-9/11 era. The United Kingdom's highest court today provided new details of how the Saudis pressured British Prime Minister Tony Blair'... more
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Dickey Talks to Saudi’s al-Faisal
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. His cause as crown prince in the 1990s and as reigning monarch since 2005 has been to settle as many disputes as he can in this region of clashing faiths, millennial rivalries and chronic conflagrations. They are all related, as he sees it, from Palestine to the price of oil, from Iraqi death squads to Iranian nukes to the risk of global recession, each cancroid problem feeding off the other. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. His cause as crown prince in the 1990s and as reigning monarch since 2005 has been to settle as many di... more
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Decade worth of messages, interviews from bin Laden leaked to web
Ten years of messages and interviews with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have been leaked. Translated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the documents were posted on a blog Friday.
Posted to Secrecy News blog on September 12, and copied to similar sites including Wikileaks.org, the ten years of messages span from 1994-2004. The packet, issued in 2004, is nearly 300 pages, and labeled "official use only". It was translated by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), a division of the CIA, and includes interviews with bin Laden from various news agencies and also includes messages he sent directly to the United States.
One message includes bin Laden's denial of having anything to do with the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.
Read on.... Ten years of messages and interviews with al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have been leaked. Translated by the United States Central In... more -
Brazil passes on Saudi Invite to Join OPEC
Brazil has declined a recent invitation from Saudi Arabia to join OPEC, citing plans to refine, not export, crude oil from its recently discovered deep water reserves, top energy officials said Monday.
Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said Brazil determined it doesn't need the cartel, because it plans to boost oil income by refining crude into products like gasoline for export abroad, the state's Agencia Brasil news agency reported.
Paulo Roberto Costa, a high-ranking executive with Brazil's state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA oil company, confirmed the government had decided not to join OPEC.
"Brazil won't be a big exporter of oil, that's already defined," Costa told Agencia Brasil at the Rio Oil & Gas Expo 2008 industry conference in Rio de Janeiro. "Brazil was invited to participate in OPEC and did not accept because our priority is refining here and exporting derivatives."
Analysts say the reserves — found in the last year thousands of feet under the ocean floor and several hundred miles off the Rio de Janeiro coast — may contain 55 billion barrels of oil, enough to catapult Brazil to superpower oil status.
By refining its own oil, instead of shipping it abroad to be refined, Lobao said Brazil will generate more money and jobs at home. The country is undergoing an economic boom but still has one of the world's deepest divides between rich and poor.
Under orders from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a commission of government ministers is examining possible changes in the nation's oil law. Silva insists profits from the new oil discoveries be used to fight poverty and improve education.
Agencia Brasil said the Saudi OPEC invite came at a "recent" meeting of oil producing nations, but gave no other details. OPEC met last week in Vienna.
Brazil last month declined an invitation extended by Iran to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Lobao did not specify why at the time, saying only that Brazil had "other priorities."
Also Monday, Petrobras said it awarded contracts to build 10 new floating production, storage and offloading units to develop its new fields.
Petrobras will rent two units to produce 100,000 barrels a day by 2014, and will build eight others to produce up to 120,000 barrels a day by 2016, according to a company statement. A spokesman declined to give disclose how much the contracts were worth or with whom they'd been signed.
U.S. traded shares of Petrobras plunged 11.7 percent to $40.35 in New York on Monday, amid a global stock meltdown and oil prices that closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months. Brazil has declined a recent invitation from Saudi Arabia to join OPEC, citing plans to refine, not export, crude oil from its recentl... more -
Saudi fatwa pans 'immoral' TV
Top judicial official says satellite network owners should face trial, even death, for 'bad programs'
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA–A senior Saudi official said yesterday owners of satellite TV networks that show "immoral" content should be brought to trial and sentenced to death if other penalties don't deter them from airing such broadcasts.
Appearing on government-run Saudi TV yesterday, Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan, the chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council, was trying to mitigate his original decree that it should be permissible to kill television network owners.
Al-Lihedan's fatwa was broadcast last week during the daily Light in the Path radio program in which he and others pass rulings on what is permissible under Islamic law.
A caller asked about Islam's view of the owners of satellite TV channels that show "bad programs" during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which began two weeks ago.
"What does the owner of these networks think, when he provides seduction, obscenity and vulgarity?" al-Lihedan said. "Those calling for corrupt beliefs, certainly it's permissible to kill them."
Al-Lihedan, 79, did not name a particular TV channel or programs in the radio show, which was taped a couple of months ago.
Yesterday, he said his "advice" was aimed at owners who broadcast witchcraft, indecent programs, shows that mock scholars or the religious police, and comedies that are not appropriate for Ramadan.
A prominent cleric condemned al-Lihedan's edict, saying it encourages terrorism and allows "the enemies of Islam" to portray the faith as one that favours murder. Top judicial official says satellite network owners should face trial, even death, for 'bad programs' ... more -
Saudi judge condemns 'immoral TV'
The most senior judge in Saudi Arabia has said it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV channels which broadcast immoral programmes.
Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan said some "evil" entertainment programmes aired by the channels promoted debauchery.
Dozens of satellite television channels broadcast across the Middle East, where they are watched by millions of Arabs every day.
The judge made the comments on a state radio programme.
He was speaking in response to a listener who asked his opinion on the airing of programmes featuring scantily-dressed women during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"There is no doubt that these programmes are a great evil, and the owners of these channels are as guilty as those who watch them," said the sheikh.
"It is legitimate to kill those who call for corruption if their evil can not be stopped by other penalties."
Royal dilemma
Given his position as the country's most senior judge, the sheikh's views can not be easily dismissed, says BBC Arab affairs analyst, Magdi Abdelhadi.
Clerics like Sheikh al-Luhaydan represent a huge dilemma for the Saudi royal family, our correspondent adds.
On the one hand, Saudi rulers need their support to claim that they rule in the name of Islam.
But on the other hand, fighting militant Islam can be difficult when the country's top judge calls for the beheading of those he views as immoral broadcasters. The most senior judge in Saudi Arabia has said it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV channels which broadcast immoral p... more -
Five Countries Responsible for All Executions of Juvenile Offenders Since 2005
Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments should use next week’s United Nations General Assembly session opening to commit to urgently needed reforms to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law.
In the 20-page report, “The Last Holdouts: Ending the Juvenile Death Penalty in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Pakistan, and Yemen,” Human Rights Watch documents failures in law and practice that since January 2005 have resulted in 32 executions of juvenile offenders in five countries: Iran (26), Saudi Arabia (2), Sudan (2), Pakistan (1), and Yemen (1). The report also highlights cases of individuals recently executed or facing execution in the five countries, where well over 100 juvenile offenders are currently on death row, awaiting the outcome of a judicial appeal, or in some murder cases, the outcome of negotiations for pardons in exchange for financial compensation.
“We are only five states away from a complete ban on the juvenile death penalty,” said Clarisa Bencomo, Middle East children’s rights researcher for Human Rights Watch. “These few holdouts should abandon this barbaric practice so that no one ever again is executed for a crime committed as a child.”
Every state in the world has ratified or acceded to treaties obligating them to ensure that juvenile offenders – persons under 18 at the time of the crime – are never sentenced to death. The overwhelming majority of states complies with this obligation, with several states – including the United States and China – in recent years moving to ban the juvenile death penalty and strengthen juvenile justice protections.
The vast majority of executions of juvenile offenders take place in Iran, where judges can impose the death penalty in capital cases if the defendant has attained “majority,” defined in Iranian law as 9 years for girls and 15 years for boys. Iran is known to have executed six juvenile offenders so far in 2008, including two in August: Behnam Zare on August 26, 2008, and Seyyed Reza Hejazi on August 19, 2008. Over 130 other juvenile offenders are currently sentenced to death. ****CONTINUES***** Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition ... more -
Iran accounts for most juvenile executions
Iran has executed 26 juvenile offenders since the start of 2005, accounting for the vast majority of people under age 18 executed around the world, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
The New York-based group said Iran was one of five countries known to have executed juveniles since January 2005. Saudi Arabia and Sudan each executed two juveniles, and Pakistan and Yemen, one.
"We are only five states away from a complete ban on the juvenile death penalty," said Clarisa Bencomo, Middle East children's rights researcher for Human Rights Watch. "These few holdouts should abandon this barbaric practice so that no one ever again is executed for a crime committed as a child."
The report said in Pakistan, Yemen and Sudan the execution of people under 18 was outlawed, but because birth registration levels were low young offenders can have trouble proving their age and are often treated as adults.
"In Iran and Saudi Arabia ... these sentences are the result of deliberate state policies to retain the juvenile death penalty, combined with criminal justice systems that fail to provide children with fundamental protections against unfair trials," the report said.
It said Iran executed eight juvenile offenders in 2007. So far in 2008, it executed at least six juvenile offenders and more than 130 others are under sentence of death, it said.
"Judges can impose the death penalty in capital cases if the defendant has attained 'majority,' defined in Iranian law as 9 years for girls and 15 years for boys," it said.
In Saudi Arabia, the report said judges have discretion to impose the death penalty on children from puberty or 15 years, whichever comes first. Two juveniles were among at least 158 people executed in 2007 in Saudi Arabia, it said.
"Even states that still execute juvenile offenders acknowledge that such executions are wrong," said Bencomo. "But changes in law and practice need to be faster."
Human Rights Watch called on U.N. member states to ask U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to issue a report on compliance with the international ban on the juvenile death penalty. Iran has executed 26 juvenile offenders since the start of 2005, accounting for the vast majority of people under age 18 executed arou... more -
Al-Qaeda is planning to release 9/11 video
Al-Qaeda is planning to release a video message within 24 hours to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, a U.S.-based intelligence group said.
The terrorist network's media production unit as-Sahab published banners on the Internet earlier this week flagging the release, with a graphic saying ``Wait 11 September,'' IntelCenter, based in Alexandria, Virginia, said in an e-mailed statement today.
The banner showed a silhouette of a face with a question mark over it...
(Read the rest at Link...) Al-Qaeda is planning to release a video message within 24 hours to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World T... more -
OPEC to cut oil production, tackling falling oil prices
OPEC ministers headed for Vienna on Monday to wrestle with the issue of falling oil prices, with analysts expecting them to agree to trim output to help keep crude above $100 a barrel.
The question facing OPEC, which is to hold a meeting Tuesday, is when, not if, to cut its oil production target as crude prices slide in the face of weakening global economic growth, analysts say.
Most observers expect the 13 nation cartel to agree to reduce its output informally before waiting until later, possibly at a scheduled gathering in Dec, to alter its official output target.
The informal cut will be achieved by members, mainly Saudi Arabia, agreeing to cut their excess production above their OPEC quota, which would remove oil from the market but not amount to a formal change in policy.
"Anyone that is overdoing their quota should respect it," Libya's OPEC representative, National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Shukri Ghanem, told AFP by telephone on Sunday. "The market is more than oversupplied it seems."
Under fierce pressure from the U.S, Saudi Arabia agreed in May and June to increase production to help calm the runaway crude market which reached a pinnacle on July 11, when crude struck $147 a barrel in New York.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude producer, is estimated to be producing about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) above its quota.
The stakes are entirely different to the last time OPEC members met in March, when crude prices had broken through $100 a barrel and were on a steep upwards trajectory.
This time, oil prices are on the way down and approaching $100 a barrel - a level many members, above all the traditional price hawks of Iran and Venezuela, are keen to protect.
Economic conditions, which determine oil demand, have worsened considerably, with many European economies facing recession, the US struggling & fears growing about the emerging economies of Asia.
OPEC producers have to balance their desire for revenues from high oil prices against the danger that high prices could choke off feeble economic growth.
Analyst John Hall, who runs his own oil consultancy expects a cut in production via a crackdown on overproduction by Saudi Arabia.
"I think they'll hold up at where it is & reinforce targets. That'll bring the output number down," he told AFP.
He estimated that OPEC was pumping about a million bpd more than its output target of 29.67 million bpd, which includes new members Angola & Ecuador but excludes Iraq.
Ecuador's oil minister, whose nation is the smallest OPEC producer, said on Sunday an oil price of $110-120 per barrel was "reasonable" but he suggested OPEC should keep its output steady.
"I don't think there is a possibility of a cut to OPEC production levels in our opinion," he said as he arrived in Vienna. "The production levels are adequate."
On Monday, ministers from Algeria, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar and Venezuela are set to arrive and begin informal talks ahead of the policy meeting late on Tuesday.
The arrival time of Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi, the de facto leader of the group who is yet to comment on the meeting, is unknown.
The Washington-based energy consultancy PFC Energy believes support is growing for an outright cut to OPECs target despite the unpopularity of such a move in consumer countries where transport and heating costs are rising.
"The focus of debate among OPEC ministers gathering ... in Vienna will not be whether there is a need to cut crude oil production, but rather when," it said in a report.
If not on Tuesday, then a cut would be announced in December at the next OPEC meeting.
"Though Riyadh will not be bullied into agreeing to a production cut, the near consensus within the group that some reduction in volumes is needed ... raises the distinct possibility that the final communique in Vienna will announce an output reduction," PFC continued.
OPEC meets regularly to set its production policy, with each member assigned a quota or production target. OPEC ministers headed for Vienna on Monday to wrestle with the issue of falling oil prices, with analysts expecting them to agree to t... more -
Drug trafficker beheaded in Saudi Arabia
A convicted drug trafficker was put to death by the sword in Saudi Arabia's eastern city of Khobar on Sunday, the interior ministry said.
Hussein Muilu, a Saudi national, was condemned to death after being convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
Sunday's beheading brings to 71 the number of executions announced by Saudi Arabia this year.
Last year, a record 153 people were put to death in the ultra-conservative Arab kingdom, which applies a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law. This figure compared with 37 beheaded in 2006.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, where executions are usually carried out in public. A convicted drug trafficker was put to death by the sword in Saudi Arabia's eastern city of Khobar on Sunday, the interior minist... more -
8-year-old girl to get divorced
A child, who is just preparing for a new term at primary school in Saudi Arabia, is the focus of a court hearing to decide whether she can get DIVORCED.
The 8-year-old girl from Unayzah was married off in secret (she does not know she is married) to a much older man by her father. Surprisingly it was the girl's own mother who filed for divorce, however her daughter's husband insists that he has done nothing wrong, and under Sharia law, he probably hasn't.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest child-marriage rates on the Arabian peninsula, however they are also routine in many parts of Africa and South-East Asia. A child, who is just preparing for a new term at primary school in Saudi Arabia, is the focus of a court hearing to decide whether she... more -
Saudi child 'files for divorce'
A court in Saudi Arabia is reported to be preparing to hear a plea for divorce from an eight-year-old girl who has been married off to a man in his 50s.
The Saudi newspaper al-Watan said the girl had been married off to the man by her father without her knowledge.
The child's mother is thought to be pushing for the marriage to be annulled - though the father opposes the move.
In April, a court in neighbouring Yemen annulled the arranged marriage of another eight-year-old girl.
She had been married to a 28-year-old man.
Child-protection groups say children are often given away in return for hefty dowries, or as a result of old customs in which a father promises his infant daughters and sons to cousins out of a belief that marriage will protect them from illicit relationships.
Activists have called for an end to the practice. A court in Saudi Arabia is reported to be preparing to hear a plea for divorce from an eight-year-old girl who has been married off to... more -
Saudi Arabia executes two Pakistanis for drug smuggling
Riyadh - Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed two Pakistani nationals for smuggling drugs, a statement by the interior ministry said.
The ministry had ordered the men be executed by sword after they were caught smuggling heroin in the eastern city of Damman.
Drug smuggling carries the death penality in the Islamic state, where 63 people have been executed since the beginning of the year. Riyadh - Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed two Pakistani nationals for smuggling drugs, a statement by the interior ministry said. ... more
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