SAUDI ARABIA. FOUR MEN EXECUTED FOR MURDER

Saudi Arabia executed three Saudis for killing local officials and security forces in the north of the kingdom, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
A fourth Saudi man was also put to death in a separate case for stabbing to death a compatriot after an argument.
A ministry statement said the three tried on security charges -- Hisham bin Awwad al-Otha, Mohammed bin Awad al-Balhoud and Amjad bin Abdulaziz al-Jaber -- were convicted of forming a criminal gang, kidnapping, theft, murder and shooting at security forces and officials in al-Jawf province. The men were not been linked to attacks by supporters of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda militant network.
They killed a local court judge, a senior provincial official, a member of the security forces and a policeman, the ministry said. It said they also kidnapped an Indian resident.
Another man, Bandar bin Mohamad bin Nasser Al Qaraani Al Huwaiti, arrested over the wave of violence in al-Jawf in 2002 and 2003 was handed a five-year prison term, it added.