A man has denied trying to murder three Emirati sisters in a horrific hammer attack at an upmarket London hotel.
Philip Spence, 32, is charged with attacking them with a hammer in their room at the Cumberland Hotel, central London, on April 6.
He was one of four people who appeared in court on Thursday in connection with the incident.
Ohoud Al Najjar, 34, suffered life-threatening head injuries and lost her left eye in the attack. Doctors have said she has been left with only 5 per cent brain function.
Her sisters Khuloud, 36, and Fatima, 31, also suffered serious injuries, including skull fractures.
Mr Spence appeared at Southwark Crown Court and denied three counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and aggravated burglary.
It is believed £1,000 (Dh6,293) of goods were stolen. Another £5,000 was taken from one of the women’s bank accounts in 10 withdrawals.
The three sisters were visiting the capital from the UAE to enjoy sightseeing and shopping, having arrived in London a few days before the incident.
A co-defendant, Thomas Efremi, 56, appeared in court via video-link and admitted fraud by making 10 withdrawals totalling £5,000 using stolen bank cards.
James Moss, 33, and Carly Baker, 31, also appeared at the court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to handling stolen goods including mobile phones, handbags and jewellery.
Mr Moss and Ms Baker were released on conditional bail, while Mr Spence and Mr Efremi were remanded in custody.
The four live in London and will return to court on October 6.
This week, London’s Metropolitan Police moved to reassure visitors from the UAE that the city is safe.
Following the hammer attack and a separate and unrelated assault on an Emirati couple this year, Metropolitan Police chiefs said the incidents were “shocking but rare”.
“London is safe, especially in those areas and the police presence is high,” said Makhdum Chishty, Met commander for West London.
The British capital is traditionally popular with Emiratis and people from the wider region seeking to escape the heat of summer.
Last year there was a record number of 590,000 visits from GCC countries, 262,000 of which were by Emiratis.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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