Flamur Beqiri, who was shot dead at his London home in front of his wife and child on Christmas Eve last year. Shutterstock
Flamur Beqiri, who was shot dead at his London home in front of his wife and child on Christmas Eve last year. Shutterstock
Flamur Beqiri, who was shot dead at his London home in front of his wife and child on Christmas Eve last year. Shutterstock
Flamur Beqiri, who was shot dead at his London home in front of his wife and child on Christmas Eve last year. Shutterstock

Three arrested in Sweden over murder of man linked to crime boss caught in Dubai


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Three men have been arrested in Sweden on suspicion of murdering a man in south-west London who had links to a crime boss caught in Dubai.

Flamur Beqiri, 36, a Swedish national who had a wife and a young child, was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot outside his home about 9pm on Christmas Eve.

Beqiri and his family were about to enter their family home in Battersea when a gunman shot him on his doorstep, in front of his wife and child.

A court heard in August that Beqiri and his family flew to Britain four days before the murder.

The three Swedish men, aged 22, 31 and 33, were arrested on Thursday in Stockholm and Vaxjo under a UK European arrest warrant, London's Metropolitan Police said.

They will now face extradition proceedings through the Swedish justice system.

Swedish national Anis Fouad Hemissi, 23, has previously been charged with Beqiri's murder.

He was extradited to the UK from Denmark in June and is due to appear at the Old Bailey in London on December 1.

Beqiri, who is of Albanian heritage, was a record company executive in London and the brother of a reality TV star, Misse Beqiri, who was on the Real Housewives of Cheshire progamme.

He grew up in the city of Malmo and was once associated with a Swedish drugs gang called Los Suecos, or "the Swedes", who operate on the Costa del Sol and were allegedly led by Amir Faten Mekky, who was arrested in a sting in Dubai in June.

Beqiri, who lived in Battersea Church Road, south-west London, was once one of Sweden’s most wanted men over a $2.35 million international drugs trafficking case and he allegedly knew several victims of recent gangland murders.

Mekky was one of Europe's most wanted criminals as an alleged gangland leader and the “financier” of accused Dutch drugs lord, Radwan Al Taghi, who was arrested in Dubai last December and is in custody awaiting trial for murders.

Although he is Danish, Mekky is claimed to be a central figure in the underworld in Malmo, in the south of the country, close to the border with Denmark.

if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

Visas

Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.

Bio:

Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour

Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people 

Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite food: Fish and vegetables

Favourite place to visit: London

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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The Facility’s Versatility

Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
 
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
 
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
 
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
 
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
 
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press

Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

Men's quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm

Women's exhibition

Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm

Friday December 28

5th place play-off 3pm

Men's semi-finals

Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm

Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

3rd place play-off 5pm

Men's final 7pm

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

MATCH INFO

Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)

Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14

Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)

Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31

Bangla Tigers win by six wickets

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Profile Periscope Media

Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)

Launch year: 2020

Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021

Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year

Investors: Co-founders

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now