KUWAITI SHEIK FACING DEATH, BEGS FOR MERCY FROM ROYAL FAMILY

Sheikh Talal Nasser al-Sabah, the first Kuwaiti royal to be sentenced to death, appealed to his family to be pardoned. Al-Sabah was caught by Kuwaiti police with 10kg (22lb) of cocaine and 165lb of hashish. In addition to drugs trafficking, Sheikh Talal was also found guilty of laundering the proceeds and of illegal possession of two pistols and a shotgun. It is widely seen as a test case for the impartiality of the law. The sheikh was the nephew of a previous Emir of Kuwait, Jaber al-Sabah, who died in 2006.