Briefly world

A Saudi prince accused of murdering his domestic help in Britain could face the death penalty in his homeland over allegations of homosexuality

Saudi prince could face death for abusing help,killing him: Court

London: A Saudi prince accused of murdering his domestic help in Britain could face the death penalty in his homeland over allegations of homosexuality,a London court heard on Friday. Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir al Saud,34,who is a grandson of Saudi Arabias King Abdullah,is accused of killing Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz in a top London hotel on February 15 after abusing him for weeks. The prince is alleged to have murdered the help in a ferocious attack with a sexual element.

NATO allowed Taliban movement to Kabul

LONDON: US Gen David Petraeus has confirmed that NATO has provided safe passage for top Taliban leaders to travel to Kabul for face-to-face negotiations with the American-backed Afghan government. Petraeus declined to provide details of the alliances role in the clandestine talks discussions that he described as preliminary. Petraeus told reporters at the United Services Institute on Friday that it would not be the easiest of tasks for a senior Taliban leader to make his way to the capital,Kabul unless NATO forces permitted it.

Nepal govt says no Maoist-LeT connections

Kathmandu: The government of Nepal has come to the rescue of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists UCPN-M and denied reports of a possible nexus between the Nepal Maoists and terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba. The reports by the Indian media that the UCPN-M and the Lashkar-e-Toiba may have some connections are false and there is no relation between the two,said a Home Ministry statement issued on Friday.

China targets Nobel winners friends

Beijing: Dozens of Chinese who openly agreed with imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo say they have been detained,roughed up,harassed or kept from leaving their homes in recent days. Some of Lius supporters say they received threatening phone calls from police before they released a letter on Thursday calling for Liu to be freed. Beijing police have not immediately responded to a faxed question about the complaints.

Sweden: 2 charged for plotting terror attacks

Stockholm: Swedish prosecutors have filed terror charges against two men accused of plotting suicide attacks in Somalia. Investigators say the men,aged 22 and 26,belonged to the Somali al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group al-Shabab. They were charged on Friday at the Goteborg District Court in southwestern Sweden for plotting to commit suicide attacks causing widespread destruction. The younger suspect is a Swedish citizen,while the nationality of the other was not clear.

Fort Hood soldier told to delete rampage video

Fort Hood: A US soldier who captured a deadly 2009 rampage at Fort Hood with his cellphone camera testified on Friday that he was ordered to erase the video by his commanders. The video could have provided key evidence at the trial of Major Nidal Hasan,a US Army psychiatrist who faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.