a Pakistani and a Nigerian convicted of drug trafficking were beheaded by the sword in the western Saudi city of Mecca.

a man convicted of murdering his mother-in-law was executed in Saudi Arabia. The official news agency said Naji al-Tharawi, a Saudi, was put to death in the city of Mecca.

two Pakistani nationals convicted of drug trafficking and a Bangladeshi and a stateless resident found guilty of premeditated murder were hanged in Kuwait, officials said.

European Union officials told Iraq that it would seek commitments on human rights standards, including a ban on capital punishment, during negotiations on a trade and aid pact.

“We are gathering support with the European Union for the abrogation of the death penalty and a universal moratorium on capital executions.

a 39 year old widow was sentenced to be stoned to death in the Saudi city of Hail, the local al-Watan daily reported.

Iran has publicly hanged five men convicted of rape and kidnapping in the northern province of Golestan.

Iran hanged five men convicted of drug trafficking in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi province

China's Supreme People's Court announced that anyone found smuggling more than ten artillery shells across the country's borders would receive the death penalty or life imprisonment.

China acknowledged the practice of "transplant tourism," in which the organs of executed prisoners are sold to foreigners, and said it wants to regulate the sale of kidneys, livers and other body parts.

Mureed Hussain, 35, resident of Noorpur, was hanged in Faisalabad District Jail, Pakistan. The accused had reportedly attempted to develop “illicit ties” with a married woman and had killed her son Ehsanullah, 7, on August 30, 1993.

Pakistan's parliament approved amendments to an Islamic-based law on rape, dropping the death penalty and flogging for those convicted of consensual sex outside marriage, officials said.