Two drug kingpins have been killed in Europe, one of whom was to have been a witness in the trial of alleged Dutch crime lord Ridouan Taghi.
Mr Taghi, who was arrested in Dubai in 2019, is facing trial over a number of alleged murders in the Netherlands and has been accused by prosecutors of plotting a violent prison break and ordering killings from his cell.
Bledar Muca, 39, was shot dead outside his apartment in Antwerp, Belgium, on Saturday.
He is believed to have been the right-hand man of two prominent Albanian drug dealers and had been living in London under fake British identity documents until 2020.
The fatal shooting comes a week after the killing of Utrecht drug trafficker Ebrahim Buzhu, 52, who was known as “the butcher".
He was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a burnt out car in Cadiz, Spain.
Buzhu was believed to be Mr Taghi’s rival and had reported him to the police in 2015.
He was to be an important witness in his trial.
Mr Taghi, along with 16 others, is alleged to have been part of the crime group known as the “Mocro Mafia” and is accused of murder and attempted murder.
He was arrested in Dubai in 2019 after a raid on his luxury apartment and was sent to the Netherlands to face trial.
Police and prosecutors believe he has continued to order killings from his prison cell and allege that he was planning a jailbreak.
He is being held in the Extra Secure Institution in Vught, the Netherlands, where military personnel have been drafted in to help guard him.
Court documents allege Mr Taghi gave one of his lawyers, his cousin Youssef Taghi, instructions for escape plans.
It is alleged he was planning to hire a commando of Balkan mercenaries to try to free him and had given instructions for three separate escape plans.
Mr Taghi’s lead lawyer Inez Weski denies the claims.
Last week Youssef Taghi was charged with abusing legal privilege by passing messages from the prison to the criminal underworld. He denies the charges.
Dutch police have increased security for Prime Minister Mark Rutte to protect him over fears of an attack or a kidnap attempt after he vowed to purge the Netherlands of drug gangs when prominent investigative reporter Peter R De Vries was gunned down in July 2021.
Mr De Vries had been advising the key witness, Nabil Bakkali, a former gang member, in Mr Taghi's trial when he was killed.
It came after the killing of Mr Bakkali's lawyer Derk Wiersum in 2019 and his brother Reduan Bakkali in 2018.
It is alleged that Mr Taghi ordered the killing of Reduan Bakkali after his testimony.
Officials in Belgium say the drug operations are run out of Amsterdam and the majority of the cocaine arriving in Antwerp is then taken to the Netherlands.
Latest figures show the majority of Europe's drugs are smuggled through Belgium, with a turnover of up to €130 billion ($145bn) a year, the UN says.
Gothia Cup 2025
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1,942 teams
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15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
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Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
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Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
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Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
