As Egyptians were coming to terms with the chaos and bloodshed that blighted the holy month of Ramadan, a number of the country's wealthiest businessmen sat down for a dinner of lamb kebabs and stuffed courgettes.
Among them were two of Egypt's most prominent television moguls; Mohamed el-Amin, head of the hugely popular CBC channel, and Ahmad Bahgat, the magnate behind Egypt's first-ever private station, Dream TV. Hosting them all in his Cairo home was Hassan Rateb, another wealthy TV channel boss.
But one of Mr Rateb's invitees did not quite fit the profile of the assorted businessmen and anti-Islamist politicians who were present that evening – Murad Mowafy, Egypt's former spy chief and the man who is now being courted by influential powerbrokers to become the country's next president.
Just two years after Egyptians revolted against the military-backed regime that held power for sixty years, the Independent can reveal that powerful business figures are now pushing for an army man to make a bid for power.
According to a source who was present during the dinner, Mr Mowafy was on the guest list that evening because TV channel bosses were trying to persuade him to run for Egypt's top job at the coming elections.
"They were telling him to go for the presidency," said the source, speaking to The Independent. "They were saying he would have their total support if he did."
The source, who asked not to be identified, said Mr Mowafy neither confirmed to his hosts nor denied that he would be considering a run to succeed Mohamed Morsi. "He seemed to be declining more than accepting, but he never said anything directly." The Independent tried to contact the TV bosses who were present but received no response. But the revelation that Egypt's ex-intelligence chief – along with other rumoured military figures – is being touted as a candidate has triggered a wave of soul-searching and debate among some liberal and secular politicians, most of whom realise the enormous implications of replacing Mr Morsi with a former military man.
"If the next President of Egypt is from a military background then this will be a negative sign," said Ahmed Khairy, a liberal politician. "Critics will say to us, 'you said this was not a military coup, but now you have a President from the military'."
Following the toppling of Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, Egypt's generals appeared at great pains to emphasise that the coming transition would be civilian-led. A former judge was immediately anointed as the new interim President – part of the point-by-point transitional road-map that was quickly announced.
Since then, the initial hopes that officers would steer clear of politics have begun to dissipate. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's commander in chief and leader of the coup that toppled Morsi - who also holds two cabinet posts – gave a speech last month in which he called on Egyptians to grant him a mandate to crack down on 'terrorism' by staging mass rallies across the country.
Some observers questioned why Adli Mansour, the interim President, had not been tasked with delivering the speech.
General al-Sisi himself has been touted as a prospective presidential candidate. A mild cult of personality has begun to develop among those Egyptians who credit him with rescuing them from the perceived threat of Brotherhood rule. Other names whirling around the political party rumour mill include Sami Anan, the former chief of staff who was also dismissed by Morsi after his election, and Hossam Khairallah, a former air force captain who ran for the Presidency last year.
The prospect of a military candidacy would be met with met by incredulity among some Egyptian revolutionaries. "The Egyptian revolution was about overthrowing the power of a military which had governed for itself for 60 years," said Aalam Wassef, a film-maker who has taken part in rallies opposing army intervention in Egypt.
It would also land Egypt's liberal and secular parties in a quandary. Many are currently debating whether to rally around a single candidate to maximise their chances of a non-Islamist victory. If a credible military contender emerged, it would leave them juggling the temptation of electoral triumph with the implications of backing a traditionalist war horse.
Yet with the military's stock on a high amid the perpetual unrest, what might have been unpalatable last year now seems a realistic prospect.
"Having someone with an army background is not a reason to reject him," said Shehab Wagih, a liberal politician. "We will not deal with a military guy who is still in the army, but if we are dealing with someone who is retired we are dealing with an average citizen."
Likely leaders: Top brass
Sami Anan
Sami Anan was the chief of staff dismissed by Mr Morsi. He was the right-hand man of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who led the military council which ruled Egypt.
Murad Mowafy
For those who can still remember the 2011 revolt, Murad Mowafy may be the old regime candidate. He was the former head of the notorious mukhabarat, or secret police.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Not a likely contender right now – but if he ran, he would win by a landslide. Egypt's top soldier has been tipped as a possible candidate, but has so far remained tight-lipped.
Egypt's former army chief of staff testifies in Mubarak's case
Egyptian judges are set to hear the testimony of the former chief of staff Sami Anan on killing and financial corruption charges brought up against the formal leader along with his two sons.
World Bulletin / News Desk
The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was resumed on Sunday as judges are set to hear the testimony of the former chief of staff Sami Anan on killing and financial corruption charges brought up against the formal leader along with his two sons, several Interior Ministry officials and business tycoon Hussein Salem.
A medical helicopter carrying Mubarak from a military hospital in southern Cairo had already landed at the eastern Cairo courthouse where the former chief of staff is delivering his testimony in the case, according to Anadolu Agency correspondents.
The same court listened to the account of former defense minister field marshal Hussein Tantawi on the charges on Saturday.
Mubarak, his two sons and the Interior Ministry officials are accused of killing hundreds of peaceful demonstrators upon the January 25 uprising that brought his three-decade autocracy to an end in early 2011. Mubarak, his two sons and Salem are also accused of being embroiled in financial violations in relation to a natural gas exportation deal to Israel.
Former military police commander, Hamdi Badeen, who is now Egypt's military attaché in China, is also due to testify in the same case on Monday.
The sources noted that a media blackout would continue to be imposed on the trial for national security reasons.
This is the fifth session in the trial since Mubarak's release in August in a case of financial corruption. The ex-president currently stays at a military hospital in southern Cairo.
تعليقنا:
* في رأينا، لن يكون لهذا الحكم أي تأثير مباشر على العمليات في شركتي حديد عز أو عز الدخيلة.
* ولكن لدينا مخاوف حول تأثير هذه الأخبار على نظرة المستثمرين للسهم على المدى القريب؛ حيث يمتلك أحمد عز حوالي 66٪ من شركة حديد عز.
* ومن الجدير بالذكر، إن محكمة جنايات الجيزة قضت في يونيو الماضي بسجن أحمد عز لمدة 37 عامًا ودفع غرامة مالية قدرها 2 مليار جنيه، وذلك في القضايا المتعلقة بغسل الأموال وإهدار المال العام.
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The state of emergency allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants Egypt's government says it is lifting the country's three-month state of emergency and night-time curfew.
The move comes two days earlier than expected, after a court ruling.
An aide to the prime minister said the measures had ended at 14:00 GMT, but the government later said it was still waiting for the text of the ruling.
The measures were introduced on 14 August after security forces forcibly ended sit-ins in support of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
They had been due to last a month, but the government extended them for two more months on 12 September.
New protest lawAn adviser to Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi told the BBC that both the state of emergency and the 01:00-05:00 curfew were lifted with effect from 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
This followed the ruling by the administrative court that said the decree extending the measures should only be effective for two calendar months.
However, a cabinet statement then said Cairo was still waiting for the text of the ruling before implementing it.
The statement also stressed that the army-backed government would abide by the verdict.
The state of emergency and the curfew allowed the authorities to make arrests without warrants and search people's homes.
Many people have also blamed the curfew for a fall in business in Cairo - at a time when the government is trying to create jobs and revive the economy.
The measures were introduced after hundreds of people died following the clearing of the pro-Morsi camps in the capital.
Mr Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army in July following widespread demonstrations against his rule.
He is currently on trial for allegedly inciting the killing of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012.
Egyptians lived under a state of emergency - which gives extra powers to the security services - for more than three decades, until President Hosni Mubarak was forced from power amid mass protests in 2011.
Even with Thursday's moves, Egypt's military-backed government will still be keeping a tight grip, the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo reports.
The authorities say security forces will be deployed on main streets and in city centres across the country to tighten control, our correspondent says.
And she adds that stringent new limits on freedom of movement are expected to be introduced soon, in a law regulating public protest.
Human rights campaigners say the proposals will give police the power to ban protests outright.
A draft legislation - currently being considered by Interim President Adly Mahmud Mansour - requires protest organisers to notify police in advance of any meeting of more than 10 people, in public or in private.
By Kevin Connolly BBC News, Cairo 
Demonstrators faced riot officers outside the hearing at the Police Academy In Egypt, the trial of Mohammed Morsi is also a trial of strength pitting the military-backed authorities against the Islamist president they ousted in the summer.
The main charge - of responsibility for the deaths of protesters during his time in office - is something of a secondary issue. This is about who rules Egypt, now and in the future.
The Muslim Brotherhood, cowed but not defeated by the violent crackdown on dissent over the last few months, will be desperate to show that it still has the capacity to bring its people onto the streets.
The new government will be equally keen to show that it has the political will - and the grip on power - to go ahead with a trial, which will be intensely controversial.
It took all the obvious steps to ensure that Morsi supporters would find it difficult to use the trial as a trigger for renewed demonstrations.
Seize the momentThe proceedings were not televised, to deprive the ousted president of any opportunity to grandstand for a live nationwide audience.
And to keep the crowds away, they were conducted more than an hour's drive from the centre of the Egyptian capital at the high-walled campus of the national Police Academy out beyond the dusty ring-road.
Mr Morsi did what he could to seize the moment.
His supporters updated their Facebook pages as the proceedings unfolded to claim that he had caused a delay by refusing to wear prison clothing.
Protesters outside the hearing were passionate but largely peaceful And they claimed there was a temporary adjournment when he told the judge: "I am your president. You have no legitimacy."
At that point we were told the other Islamists charged alongside him began chanting "Down with the military".
Displaying defianceIf that is an accurate reflection of how the proceedings went, it shows that Mr Morsi understands the importance of using this hearing as a platform to rally the beleaguered supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been out-manoeuvred by the Egyptian army in recent months.
A small number of demonstrators did make their way out to the Police Academy for the hearing - one of them angrily told a group of policemen on security duty outside the compound that they too would one day find themselves on trial.
The demonstrators were few in number but they were passionate and angry.
When they overheard a reporter from a pro-government television station broadcasting live from their midst, they chased him and his team away.
A hail of rocks followed the satellite truck as it fled with the cameraman still filming from a precarious platform on the top.
The crowd, though, was largely peaceful.
Among them we found Ahmad, a 37-year-old pharmacist, who told us it was wrong to see Egypt's current crisis as a straightforward clash between the military authorities and political Islam.
He voted for Mohammed Morsi but told us: "This is not about the return of Morsi. This is about the return of freedom in Egypt.
"We want to know when we can have our voices and our freedom back. I don't know why they won't tell me that."
Chaotic daysThe truth is, though, that a power struggle between the army and the Islamists is under way in Egypt, and the Morsi trial is merely the latest chapter in it.
Very few Egyptians ever expect to see him back in office, whatever the outcome of the court proceedings.
His supporters will feel that by displaying defiance and by insisting that he remains Egypt's rightful president he will have preserved some dignity at a humiliating moment and reminded the wider world that the Brotherhood in Egypt has not gone away.
Supporters of Mohammed Morsi still staged rallies in the capital There were protests in central Cairo but the military authorities will be quietly pleased if the day passes without major confrontations and widespread violence.
All in all though, these are chaotic days in Egypt.
It says a good deal about the breakneck pace of change here that the trial of one ousted president - Mr Morsi - is beginning before the trial of his predecessor Hosni Mubarak on similar charges has been completed.
Egyptians tell a joke which sums it up.
When you get elected here, they tell you, you serve two terms.
One in the presidential palace, then one in prison.
Mr Mubarak has already been released from prison - although he still faces a retrial. Mr Morsi, who replaced Mr Mubarak in the presidential palace, will now be hoping he doesn't replace him in jail after his trial is finally over.
Abu Anas al-Liby's sons say he was kidnapped from this street near Tripoli The statement made by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, that the kidnap of Abu Anas al-Liby complied with United States law is correct - but that will not stifle criticism that the seizure was a flagrant breach of international law.
Mr Kerry's confident assertion will, no doubt, have been bolstered by a reminder from State Department legal advisers that a 21-year-old Supreme Court ruling seems to settle the question of whether kidnapping on foreign soil is legal.
Anas Al-Liby was a "legal and appropriate target," according to John Kerry The case concerned a Mexican gynaecologist accused of participating in the torture and murder of an American narcotics agent in Mexico in 1985. The man was abducted by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and flown to Texas to stand trial.
By a majority of 6-3, the Supreme Court ruled the kidnapping lawful, despite the existence of an extradition treaty between Mexico and the USA.
This decision confirmed earlier precedents in which judges in the United States have declined to concern themselves with the manner in which a suspect was brought to the sovereign territory of the US to stand trial.
Eichmann kidnapThese precedents were famously cited in a Jerusalem court in 1961 to reject a claim by lawyers for the Nazi, Adolf Eichmann, that his kidnapping by Israeli agents in Argentina rendered the prosecution unlawful.
Adolf Eichmann was seized by Israeli agents on Buenos Aires street in 1960 Abu Anas al-Liby was indicted by a federal court in Manhattan in 1998 in connection with the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and there are outstanding international warrants for his arrest. So, John Kerry's argument that he was a "legal and appropriate target" is well-founded.
However, the accepted route for bringing to court suspects who are living outside of the jurisdiction of the requesting state is extradition, not kidnapping.
There is no extradition treaty between the US and Libya and, even if there was one, it is not all certain that the US government would have chosen that option because of its lack of confidence in the rule of law in Libya.
Anas al-Liby has been indicted by a US court in connection with the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa, which killed more than 220 people An international law expert, who wished to remain anonymous because he is acting in a Libyan case, said:
"What is critical here is the degree of involvement or collusion of the Libyan authorities in this kidnap.
"There are rumours or allegations that al-Liby was seized by a local militia, but if it was done with the knowledge or approval of the government, that might be used to mitigate what would otherwise plainly be an illegal act under international law.
"You just can't go around lifting people in other sovereign states."
Bounty huntersYet, the United States has a history of seeing things differently.
US lawyers, or those representing the US government abroad, have been known to quote the 19th Century practice of bounty-hunting to justify the forcible seizure of suspects abroad to stand trial in the United States.
Abu Anas al-Liby had a $5m (£3.1m) price on his head; US jurisprudence is likely to see his capture in the same light as that of any wanted out.
Supporters of Mohammed Morsi have demanded that he be reinstated Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi is to go on trial on 4 November on charges of inciting murder and violence, state media report.
The charges relate to the deaths of at least seven people during clashes between opposition protesters and Muslim Brotherhood supporters outside a presidential palace in Cairo last year.
Mr Morsi will stand trial with 14 other senior figures from the Brotherhood.
He has been detained at a secret location since being deposed on 3 July.
Hundreds of people demanding his reinstatement - mostly Brotherhood supporters - have since been killed in clashes with security forces.
More than 50 died at protests held in several cities on Sunday.
InvestigationsOn Wednesday, the Cairo Appeals Court ruled Mr Morsi and the other 14 defendants, including Mohammed al-Beltagi and Essam al-Erian, could be tried before a criminal court, the Mena state news agency reported.
State prosecutors had announced last month that they had been charged with incitement in connection with the violence outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo's Heliopolis district on 5 December 2012.
Opposition leaders accused the Muslim Brotherhood of organising the clashes in December In the incident, thousands of people held a sit-in outside the palace to protest against Mr Morsi's decision to call a referendum on a draft constitution rushed through by an Islamist-dominated assembly.
Brotherhood supporters subsequently responded to a call to rally outside the palace to prevent it being overrun.
Police were accused of doing nothing to intervene as people on both sides threw rocks and fire-bombs. Firearms were also reportedly used.
At least 10 people were killed and hundreds injured. Most of the casualties were Brotherhood supporters.
Mr Morsi is also being investigated over allegations related to his escape from prison during the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011, including that he conspired with the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, an offshoot of the Brotherhood.
He is also reportedly suspected of having insulted the judiciary by accusing it of helping Mr Mubarak rig the 2005 parliamentary elections.
At least 50 people have been killed and scores hurt in Egypt in clashes between police and supporters of the deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
More than 200 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested in Cairo, where most of the deaths were reported.
Supporters of Mr Morsi marched in several cities, as the military-backed government marked the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Morsi supporters say he was deposed in a military coup in July.
'Critical time'Hundreds of people had gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to celebrate the anniversary.
Jets and Apache helicopters flew overhead in formation, as part of a grand display of military hardware by the government.
The crowd cheered the flypasts, a number of people carrying portraits of defence chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Some want him to stand as Egypt's next president.
But the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Cairo says supporters of Mr Morsi also took to the streets in their thousands, trying to make their way to the square and calling Gen Sisi a murderer.
Security forces used tear gas and fired into the air to stop them.
The rival protests in Cairo turned into running street battles 
More than 200 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested in connection with the violence, an Egyptian security source told BBC Arabic. 
Supporters of the military have been converging on Tahrir Square to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war 
President Mansour laid a wreath as part of planned commemorations 
Egyptian society remains polarised by the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July. In the upmarket Dokki district, a number of protesters were hit by live rounds, some by birdshot. In return they threw rocks at police and soldiers, our correspondent says.
The street battles raged for hours, with small fires burning and black smoke rising in several parts of the capital.
But the military succeeded in keeping the rival supporters apart, our correspondent says.
The interior ministry earlier warned it would confront any "attempts that may disturb the 6 October celebrations", the Mena state news agency reported.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi described it as a "critical time" for the country and urged Egyptians to "stand together, be optimistic about the future".
The health ministry said that in addition to the Cairo deaths, one person was killed in Delga, about 300km (190 miles) south of Cairo, and another in Bani Suef, 80km south of the capital.
There were also clashes in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya.
Hundreds of Islamist protesters have died in violence since the Egyptian military deposed Mr Morsi in July, 13 months after he was elected as president.
He and other senior Brotherhood figures have been imprisoned and face trial.
The authorities are moving to seize the movement's assets after its activities were banned as part of a crackdown.
However, Brotherhood supporters have continued to take to the streets to protest - albeit in smaller numbers than before.
A Moroccan boy and girl have been arrested for posting a photograph of themselves kissing online.
The couple - aged 15 and 14 - had their picture taken outside their school by a 15-year-old friend outside their school in the north-eastern town of Nador and posted it on the social networking site Facebook.
They were held for violating public decency after a local newspaper printed the photo, causing a public outcry. A complaint lodged with the police resulted in an investigation.
The three are due to appear before a juvenile court next week.
The issue has also been taken up by preachers in several mosques in Nador. They have urged parents to keep a closer eye on their children to prevent a repetition.
Ibtissame Lachgar, co-founder of the Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (MALI) has launched a campaign to post one million copycat photos online in support of the teenagers.
She has posted online a photo of herself kissing a male fellow activist.
Comments on the case on Facebook and Twitter vary wildly. Some decry the police's response, urging them to focus on more serious crimes.
Others accuse society of hypocrisy for castigating a young couple for copying what they see on TV.
Other internet users have called the couple names. A few blame the couple's parents for failing to teach them well.
South Africa has been hit by a wave of strikes this year A South African union representing car workers has agreed a new pay deal, ending a month-long strike that has crippled the industry.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa accepted a 10% pay rise this year and 8% in the next two years.
The strike in the car components industry caused severe disruption, especially to exports.
Last week BMW said it had stopped "all future plans" to expand in South Africa because of the industrial action.
Under the deal, pay at small-to-medium-sized car parts firms will only rise wages by 9% in the first year, followed by 8% in the subsequent two years.
"The strike was very hard for us," Irvin Jim, the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), told reporters.
The car components' strike followed industrial action by workers at car manufacturers themselves, which hit production at BMW, Ford, Nissan and General Motors and cost an estimated $2bn (£1.24bn) in lost output.
This year, the mining, construction and aviation sectors have also been hit by strikes, raising concerns about the impact on South Africa's economic growth.
Last week, Bodo Donauer, managing director at BMW South Africa, said the company had been unable to produce 11,000 cars while its workers were striking.
"But more important than these 11,000 cars is the sustainable damage which this [the strike] has made," Mr Donauer said.
On Sunday, Mr Jim said BMW's decision to stop future investment was "blackmail" which would be "rejected with the contempt it deserves".
Rights groups claim at least 50 people have been shot dead in days of violence. Security forces in Sudan have shot dead at least 50 people in days of protests over fuel subsidy cuts, human rights groups have said.
Police fired tear gas to disperse more protesters on Friday, witnesses have told the BBC.
Officials say fewer than 29 people have died, and they insist that the subsidy was unaffordable.
Protesters have accused President Omar al-Bashir's government of corruption and called on him to quit.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies and Amnesty International say people have been killed by gun shots to the chest or head, citing witnesses, relatives, doctors and journalists.
A 14-year-old boy was said to be among the victims, who were mostly aged between 19 and 26, the groups said in a statement.
Hundreds had been detained, they added.
"Shooting to kill - including by aiming at protesters' chests and heads - is a blatant violation of the right to life, and Sudan must immediately end this violent repression by its security forces," said Lucy Freeman, Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International.
Hospital sources have told the BBC that about 60 people have been killed.
Sudanese officials have not commented on the claims but Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman said on Thursday that any death tolls higher than 29 were inaccurate.
BBC Arabic's Mohammad Osman in Khartoum says that around 500 people took to the streets of Jabra, an area in the southern part of Khartoum, chanting "peaceful, peaceful" to stress their non-violent nature.
Eyewitnesses have told the BBC that the security forces fired tear gas against the protestors and made several arrests.
Reuters news agency reports that trucks with mounted machine guns were parked at main roads and near large mosques across Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman ahead of Friday's protests.
Our reporter says internet is still available despite reports that access has been cut for the second time in a week.
The unrest began on Monday when the government lifted fuel subsidies to raise revenue. Austerity measures have recently escalated fuel prices, hitting people on low incomes.
The demonstrations began south of Khartoum and have now spread to the capital and other cities.
Sudan's economy has been in trouble since South Sudan ceded in 2011, taking with it 75% of the oil reserves that had fuelled an economic boom.
The Sudanese government reduced some fuel subsidies in July 2012, prompting several weeks of protests and a security crackdown.
Politicians, including President al-Bashir, have defended the austerity drive, saying the only alternative would be economic collapse, according to local media reports.
Despite efforts to mobilise opposition activists, Sudan has not seen a wave of anti-government unrest on the scale of that experienced in neighbouring Egypt or other countries in North Africa or the Middle East.
Meshael Alayban smiled as her lawyer told her she was free Charges have been dropped against a Saudi princess who was accused of human trafficking after a Kenyan maid said her passport was taken and she was forced to work for meagre pay.
On Friday, prosecutors in the US state of California said they were unable to corroborate the allegations against Meshael Alayban, 42.
Ms Alayban's lawyers said the maid's claims were a scam to remain in the US.
The charges carried a penalty of up to 12 years in prison.
Friday's announcement came during what was originally supposed be Ms Alayban's arraignment.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told the judge the evidence did not support charges against Ms Alayban and moved to dismiss the case.
Ms Alayban, reportedly one of six wives of a scion of the Saudi royal family, had been free on $5m (£3.1m) bail posted by the Saudi consulate.
'Forced labour'The unnamed Kenyan woman alleged she was forced to work 16 hours a day and paid far less than what she was originally promised.
She had begun working for Ms Alayban last year in Saudi Arabia under a two-year contract with an employment agency.
That contract guaranteed her $1,600 a month for eight-hour work days, five days a week, California officials said.
Instead she was paid $220 a month and forced to work twice as long, according to prosecutors.
The 30-year-old Kenyan woman also alleged her passport was taken from her when she arrived in Saudi Arabia. It was only returned to her long enough for her to travel to the US with Ms Alayban.
In California, she said she was forced to perform household chores for at least eight people in four units at the same block of flats where she was allegedly held captive.
When she managed to escape, she flagged down a bus driver and later went to police.
At the time of Ms Alayban's arrest in July, the district attorney described the situation as "an example of forced labour".
Steve Barick, a lawyer for the accuser, said: "My client was a slave to this woman."
Li Tianyi was previously detained over a traffic altercation A court in China has convicted the son of two high-profile army singers and sentenced him to 10 years in jail for rape, state media say.
The court said it had shown leniency to Li Tianyi, 17, because he was a juvenile, despite the fact he was the ringleader.
Li and four others raped the woman at a Beijing hotel in February after drinks.
He had denied any sexual relations with the woman, whom he alleged was working as a prostitute, previous reports say.
Li Tianyi is the son of Li Shuangjiang, who has the rank of general and is known for his renditions of patriotic songs on television. Li's mother Meng Ge is also a well-known singer in China's People's Liberation Army.
Many Chinese have watched the case closely, shocked by the behaviour of the children of China's elites, and the way the police and courts often give them favourable treatment, the BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing reports.
Li, who was 16 at the time of the rape, plans to appeal against his conviction.
"I think this verdict is unjust," one of his lawyers, Chen Shu, told journalists, AFP news agency reports. "This decision is based on evidence that is delayed and verbal testimony. This type of verbal testimony is unreliable."
Three other teenage defendants and a man were also found guilty by the Haidian Court in north-west Beijing.
It said it was giving Li Tianyi a lighter sentence because juvenile offenders should be given a chance to correct and reform their behaviour.
Two of the teenagers who took part in the rape, one aged 15, had their sentences suspended because, the court said, they had confessed, showed remorse and apologised to their victim.
The one man who took part was given a 12-year sentence because he too had regretted his actions and been co-operative.
This was not the first time that Li Tianyi, also known as Li Guanfeng, was involved in an incident that sparked a public outcry. In 2011, he was sentenced to detention for a year over a road rage incident.
He was behind the wheel of a BMW car with no licence plates in Beijing when he confronted a middle-aged couple in another vehicle blocking his way.
He assaulted the couple and shouted at shocked bystanders, telling them not to "dare to call the police".
His father apologised to the couple over the incident.
The case of Li Tianyi inflamed public anger at the children of the political elite, who are often seen as spoilt and above the law, correspondents say.
