he authorities in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Sunday beheaded a Pakistani in holy city of Mecca for stabbing to death a compatriot. Saudi Interior Ministry said, Pakistani national Altaf Hussein Hati was found guilty of stabbing a man in the throat and leaving him to bleed to death. His beheading brings to 74, the number of people executed so far this year in the kingdom. According to Amnesty International, 79 people were put to death in 2011. Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under the Sharia or Islamic law.

 Saudi Arabia has approved plans to develop metro networks in Makkah and Jeddah. A project worth 62 billion Saudi Riyal to develop a metro and bus network in Makkah was cleared on August 14. It includes four metro lines covering a distance of 182 km with 88 stations. It will supplement the existing Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah line which carries Haj pilgrims. Construction is expected to be completed in 10 years.

The holy city receives more than 6 million pilgrims and other visitors a year, putting great pressure on its road network. In Jeddah the route of the first phase of a planned metro link has been approved. The first phase would link the King Abdulaziz International Airport with the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Central Al-Ruwais and Al-Khozam.

 he crude oil export earnings by the Arab world petroleum exporting nations reached its peak in 2011 by nearly $174 billion. A report by Kuwait based Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries OAPEC said the earnings soared to $624.8 billion in 2011from around $450 billion in 2010. The report said that increase in crude oil prices and a higher production by the oil exporting Arab nations were responsible for the gains in export earnings. Saudi Arabia accounted for almost half the total income while UAE gained most in terms of net income . Saudi Arabia, the number one oil power, netted nearly $289 billion last year compared with $184.4 billion in 2010. The UAE’s income swelled to an all time high of about $85.9 billion from $57.9 billion .In Kuwait the income grew to $79.6 billion from $53 billion. The earnings leaped to $27.3 billion from $20.5 billion in Qatar. It went up to $37.2 billion from $28 billion in Algeria. The report, which gave no data for Tunisia, showed the 2011 income stood at $6.3 billion in Bahrain and around $4.6 billion in Egypt. Libya was the only exception as its income tumbled in 2010 because of the uprising which ended with the death of Muammar Gaddafi. The report said that in real terms, the combined Arab income was at $479 billion in 2011, taking into account the real dollar value and global inflation. While the nominal price of OPEC’s basket of crudes was at around $107 a barrel in 2011, its real value averaged about $88 in terms of 1995 prices.

Egypt's New President Mohammed Mursi will make his first visit abroad to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The Official MENA news agency quoting Saudi ambassador Ahmed Qattan said that Saudi King Abdullah has invited President Mursi to visit Riyadh to strengthen relations between the two countries in all areas.

It will be his first foreign trip since he was sworn in as president last week. Egypt and Saudi Arabia had close relations under Mursi’s predecessor Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted by a popular uprising last year. But a diplomatic row between the two countries had led to recall by Saudi Arabia of its ambassador in Cairo and closure of its embassy for several days.

Protests were held in Egypt demanding the release of a lawyer and human rights activist detained in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has died in Geneva. This was announced by Saudi state television, citing a royal court statement.

Nayef, interior minister since 1975, was the heir to Saudi King Abdullah and was appointed crown prince in October after the death of his elder brother and predecessor in the role, Crown Prince Sultan. He had been in Switzerland since May for medical tests.

In Saudi Arabia, the Shura Council has rejected a move to tax the income of expatriate workers in public and private sectors. The Secretary General of the Council disclosed the outcome after the meeting on Sunday. 

The move has been welcomed by the expatriate community in Saudi Arabia. Those in favour of taxing the foreigners said, the move would have brought a parity in wages of Saudi and Non-Saudi workers and opened up more jobs for the local peole.

There are nearly eight million foreigners in Saudi Arabia and an overwhelming majority is in the private sector. At present, only Saudi citizens and Saudi companies need to pay Zakat of 2.5 percent annually on profits and on the assessable amounts of the individuals, in addition to a tax on foreign investors. 

In a bid to attract foreign investment, the Saudi Government had slashed the tax rate imposed on foreign investors from 45 to 20 percent in 2004.

The Vice Consul of Saudi Arabia in Yemen's port city of Aden was abducted and taken to an unknown location by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday morning. 
 Initial investigation showed that the al-Qaida wing in Yemen is behind the kidnap.

Yemeni President Mansur Hadi arrived in Riyadh to hold talks with the Saudi King Abdullah on Monday. The two leaders discussed bilateral and regional issues. The visit comes at a time when Hadi has taken charge from the former President Saleh and political uncertainty continues in Yemen. Saudi Arabia played a crucial role in forging the Gulf-brokered accord that paved the way for Saleh's departure.

The oil-rich kingdom has been a major source of foreign aid for its impoverished neighbour, and is due to host the next "Friends of Yemen" meeting of donor countries in Riyadh on 23rd May

Amnesty International says there was an alarming surge in the number of executions carried out in a small number of countries in 2011. The group said the steepest rise of 50 per cent was in four countries in West Asia - Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Amnesty said China continues to execute thousands of prisoners each year although the exact figures are a state secret.