Saudi Arabia: Man executed for ‘witchcraft and sorcery’

Saudi justice in action?

 Because he weighed as much as a duck? I imagine this to be a pretty good indication of how Sharia law works.

A Saudi man has been beheaded on charges of sorcery and witchcraft, the state news agency SPA says.

The man, Muree bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri, was found in possession of books and talismans, SPA said. He had also admitted adultery with two women, it said.

The execution took place in the southern Najran province, SPA reported.

Human rights groups have repeatedly condemned executions for witchcraft in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, there were reports of at least two people being executed for sorcery.

BBC News

Global: And the happiest nation of all is — the envelope please…

Ah, those smiling faces!

…Costa Rica?

The New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index has been inspiring bemusement and mirth since it first appeared in 2006. The third installment, released last week, continues to defy parody with its glorification of lawless, poverty-stricken countries in the name of environmental sustainability.

The index is made up of three elements—self-reported well-being, life expectancy and size of ecological footprint—but is so heavily weighted towards the latter that economic basket-cases, police states and peasant societies score highly at the expense of places in which you would actually want to live. Consequently, Luxembourg, where life expectancy is 80 years and the well-being score is 7.1, finds itself 30 places behind Rwanda, where life expectancy is 55.4 years and well-being is scored at 4.0.

Adam Smith Institute

France: Islamic militant takes hostages in bank

A self-proclaimed al-Qaeda militant took hostages at a bank in Toulouse last night close to where ”scooter shooter” Mohamed Merah lived and was shot dead by police in March.

The man fired a shot and took four people hostage, including the bank’s manager, in the southern French city and wanted to negotiate with the RAID police unit that shot dead al-Qaeda-inspired killer Merah, police said. He released one hostage late last night.

SMH