Joran van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama woman Natalee Holloway, arrived in the US on Thursday to face charges for trying to extort money from her mother.
Van der Sloot was extradited to the US from Peru, where he has been serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of a Peruvian woman, Stephany Flores.
He is wanted in the US on one count each of extortion and wire fraud — the only charges to have linked the Dutch citizen to the disappearance of Ms Holloway,18, on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
On Thursday, he was flown to the US accompanied by nine members of the FBI, police said.
"He is in perfect health, he is calm," Interpol Peru chief Carlos Lopez, who handed Van der Sloot over to the FBI, told AFP.
Once his trial in the US is over, the Dutchman will be returned to Peru to complete his sentence, Mr Lopez said.
Last month, Peru granted America's request for temporary extradition, which it had previously said would have to wait until the end of Van der Sloot's sentence.
The indictment says Van der Sloot demanded $25,000 from Ms Holloway's parents in exchange for information on their daughter's whereabouts. He fled to Peru when he received the money.
Ms Holloway was on a high school graduation trip with classmates to Aruba when she vanished. She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot in 2005.
Van der Sloot was questioned in her disappearance but never charged.
Her body has never been found.
Agencies contributed to this report
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The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
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- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
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We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
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How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
