Eight people have been arrested in Mexico for the killing two 10-year-old boys and a 55-year-old woman in ritual sacrifices by the cult of La Santa Muerte, or Saint Death.

Until now there have been no confirmed cases of human sacrifices in Mexico to the saint.

An 11-year-old albino girl from Swaziland was shot dead in front of her friends and then beheaded in what police believe was a ritual murder.

The murder is the latest in a series of albino killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, where sufferers of the rare skin pigmentation condition are concentrated.

Earlier this year, another 11-year-old albino child was killed close to the same spot in Swaziland and her hand was removed.

Police believe both children may have been targeted because of a belief by witch doctors that the blood and body parts of albinos – who lack pigment in their eyes, hair and skin – can bring good luck and fortune when used in potions.

Their value for black magic practitioners sees them often fall prey to human traffickers, one of whom was jailed for 17 years in Tanzania this week for abducting and attempting to sell a live albino man.

Christine Hofisi, 21, from Chipinge near the Mozambique border, is accused of strangling the 18-month-old child before removing his left ear.

Detectives believe that the boy’s ear was sold for $20 to a healer over the border known as Maheza.

He is currently on the run, having been arrested on suspicion of carrying out a series of ritual murders following the discovery of 11 human skulls at his home.

“The suspect told us he shaves his victims’ hair after killing them. We caught him with human hair, which he confessed belonged to his latest victim,” Maithya said.

He said they were not interested in ransom or blood from the victims but human hair, which they produce to their seniors to assess their progress.

A BBC investigation into human sacrifice in Uganda has heard first-hand accounts which suggest ritual killings of children may be more common than authorities have acknowledged.

A former witch-doctor who now campaigns to end child sacrifice confessed for the first time to having murdered about 70 people, including his own son.

A Uganda newspapers has learnt that Police earlier this year, acting on a tip-off, sanctioned an investigation into claims that some wealthy people in the country are responsible for the spiralling acts of child human sacrifice in the country.

According to an investigating officer 40 children have lost their lives to ritual killings this year alone.

Gruesome stories of people, especially children, being killed by parents, friends, and strangers in horrific ritual practices have become common in the news from Uganda in the last four months.

At least 25 ritual murders involving children were confirmed in Uganda in 2006. In the same year, there were 230 cases of child abduction. The cases dropped to 108 in 2007, but then increased to 318 in 2008. So far in 2009, 18 cases of child sacrifice have been recorded, 15 of which have been investigated.

Prosecutors say 26-year-old Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr., who faces two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing his 8- and 10-year-old stepdaughters in January, was practicing satanism and carefully planned the killings as a part of a spell or ritual from “The Satanic Bible.”

Shortly after the girls’ deaths, police said Harris told them they had died during a spell that “had gone bad.”

Milton Blahyi, a former feared rebel commander in Liberia’s brutal civil war, has admitted to taking part in human sacrifices as part of traditional ceremonies intended to ensure victory in battle.

Marla Harris said Wednesday she still doesn’t know what happened Sunday at the home she shared with her husband, who is accused of killing her daughters in a ritual slaying.

Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr. told police he “had been casting a spell that had gone bad, and that the spell could have had severe consequences,” according to court documents.

Two young sisters who were murdered during a ritual slaying Sunday knew more about witchcraft then they should have for their age, a local pastor said. Pastor Cary Gordon of Cornerstone World Outreach said Kendra Suing, 10, and Alysha Suing, 8, bombarded a bus driver for the church with questions after a summer lesson about the sinfulness of practicing witchcraft.

Their stepfather, Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr., 25, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kendra Suing, 10, and Alysha Suing, 8.

“The murders were not committed for the sake of the murder, rather they are typical of a cult-inspired ritual. Everything we found in the suspect’s house points to that conclusion,” Lukovic’ said.

Police found what they described as satanic cult literature while searching the suspect’s house. Manuals on body dismemberment were also discovered, unofficial sources say.