RIYADH: Saudi authorities yesterday beheaded a Yemeni man and then crucified his body after he was convicted of murdering a Pakistani national, the kingdom’s interior ministry announced.
“The Yemeni citizen Mohammed Rashad Khairi Hussein killed a Pakistani, Pashteh Sayed Khan, after he committed sodomy with him,” said a statement carried by state news agency SPA. The Yemeni was also convicted of carrying out a series of attacks and robberies. The execution in the southern city of Jizan was followed by crucifixion, implemented by the ultra-conservative country for serious crimes. The beheading brings to 28 the number of people put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year.
Saudi customs thwarts fuel smuggling bid
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s customs authorities have thwarted an attempt to smuggle over 3,260 metric tonnes of refined petroleum products out of the country’s Gulf port of Dammam, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. King Abdulaziz Port Customs general manager Othman Al Riqei was quoted as saying on Tuesday that the smugglers had tried to disguise their operation by mislabelling 296 large metal containers containing barrels.
The report did not say which fuels were seized or where they were headed, but subsidised Saudi vehicle fuels are among the cheapest in the world and several countries in the region, including Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Pakistan, have struggled to meet their demand with domestic production.Agencies
