A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh to death for apostasy and abandoning his Muslim faith after he protested the kingdom's religious police.
Saudi Arabia has executed 151 people so far this year, the highest number since 1995—contributing to a global spike in use of the death penalty.
Saudi Arabia's high court upheld the death sentence of Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, found guilty of sedition over Arab Spring protests.
Abdel-Karim al-Khadar, a rights advocate and opponent of Islamist extremism, was senteced to 10 years by a Saudi "anti-terrorist" court for criticizing the regime.
Citing "damning evidence" of war crimes, Amnesty International is calling for the suspension of transfers of certain arms to the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen.
The US Department of Defense announced the transfer of Guantánamo Bay detainee Abdul Shalabi to Saudi Arabia, brining the population of the prison camp to 114.
The US Department of Commerce agreed to allow limited crude oil trading with Mexico, easing a ban on crude exports that has been in place for 40 years.
Human Rights Watch issued a report charging violations of international humanitarian law in the Saudi-led air campaign against Shi'ite rebels in Yemen.
A Saudi court upheld the sentence of 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for pro-secular blogger Raif Badawi for "insulting Islam through electronic channels."
Conspiranoid websites air disturbing footage of a huge mushroom cloud exploding near Yemen's capital—apparently an under-reported air-strike on a weapons depot.
Over the past two months, the ISIS international franchise has made gains from West Africa to the Indian subcontinent, with militants in several countries proclaiming for the "caliphate."
Both sides in Yemen's bitter Sunni-Shi'ite divide—equally intolerant of hashish-smokers and khat-chewers—are turning to the dope trade to fund their arsenals.
