Saudi man beheaded for killing compatriot

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have beheaded a Saudi man convicted of killing a fellow national after a dispute. An Interior Ministry statement said Khaled Ahmad was executed Sunday in the northern town of Arar. He was convicted of stabbing to death his compatriot Sultan al-Ruwaili in an argument. The statement did not explain the nature of the dispute. The kingdom follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed with a sword. According to an Associated Press count, Sunday's execution is the fourth this year. In 2008, 102 people were beheaded. Another 137 were beheaded in 2007.