LONDON // A Saudi prince jailed for life in Britain for murdering his servant is to serve the rest of his sentence in his home country.
Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir, a grandson of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah II, was jailed in 2010 for killing Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz in a London hotel after subjecting him to a "sadistic" campaign of violence and sexual abuse.
A British government source confirmed on Tuesday that British justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has approved the 36-year-old prince's transfer to a jail in Saudi Arabia.
The source could not specify when the prince would be transferred, but The Times newspaper reported that he was expected to fly home within weeks.
Britain's justice ministry said it did not comment on individual prison transfer cases.
But a ministry spokeswoman told AFP: "We have a prison transfer arrangement with Saudi Arabia which allows nationals of either country to serve their prison sentence in their home state."
Prince Saud denied that he was gay but the trial at London's Old Bailey court heard that he had ordered gay escorts in London and had frequently looked at websites for gay massage parlours and escort agencies.
His lawyers argued that he could face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia over the revelations of homosexual behaviour.
The jury heard that the prince was fuelled by champagne and cocktails when he beat and strangled Abdulaziz to death on February 15, 2010, after the pair had returned from a Valentine's Day night out.
A post-mortem found that Abdulaziz had suffered heavy blows to the head, injuries to the brain and ears and severe neck injuries consistent with strangulation by hand.
Prosecutors said bite marks on his cheeks showed a clear "sexual element" to the killing.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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