SAUDI PRINCE PAYS BLOOD MONEY TO SPARE DEATH ROW VETERAN

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz has payed nearly $400,000 in blood money to the family of murder victim Ismail Ali al-Zahranito to spare the life of convicted murderer Salah Mussaed al-Zahrani. The Al-Watan daily said Zahrani, who was held in a prison in the western town of Al-Baha for 18 years, had spent longer on death row than any other convict in the kingdom. He was waiting for the victim's son, Othman, to reach adulthood to decide whether to accept the payment to spare his life.