VLADIVOSTOK: Russia’s Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that two men Britain suspects of poisoning former spy Sergei Skripal with military-grade nerve agent had been identified as “civilians” and were not criminals.
Putin urged the men to address the media saying there was “nothing criminal” about them, as he spoke at an economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.
“We know who they are, we have found them,” Putin said at the forum attended by Japan’s Shinzo Abe and China’s Xi Jinping.
“They are civilians, of course,” he said, apparently responding to a claim by the British authorities that the two suspects are members of Russia’s military intelligence agency.
“I hope they will turn up themselves and tell about themselves” to journalists, Putin said in comments that hinted they could make a public statement shortly.
“There is nothing special there, nothing criminal, I assure you. We’ll see in the near future.”
British authorities have issued European arrest warrants for Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, two suspected members of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.
They are accused of trying to kill Russian former spy Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the Novichok nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury on March 4, in an attack London believes was sanctioned by the Kremlin.
The president himself had not communicated with the men since they were accused in the case, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
Meanwhile, the Russia 24 state television channel played what it said was a call with suspect Petrov, who said he had “so far no comment, maybe later, next week, I think.”
Russian state media has reported that a man named Alexander Petrov worked for a pharmaceuticals company in the Siberian city of Tomsk and has denied any involvement in the case.
Shortly after Putin’s statement, Britain accused Russia of “obsfuscation and lies.”
“We have repeatedly asked Russia to account for what happened in Salisbury in March, and they have replied with obfuscation and lies,” Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman told reporters.
The British government has said Putin is ultimately responsible for the attack, a claim the Kremlin has furiously denied.
London and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats after the poisoning, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow and plunging relations to a new low.
The Skripals survived the poisoning but a local man, Charlie Rowley, picked up a fake perfume bottle containing Novichok weeks later.
Rowley gave it to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died.
British prosecutors accuse Petrov and Boshirov of conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon.
They said they would not formally demand the men’s extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.
The case has strong echoes of the poisoning of ex-Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in Britain in 2006.
Britain said Russians Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun were behind what it said was a likely Kremlin-backed killing, but the pair have never been tried and Lugovoi has since become a lawmaker in Russia.
Putin says Skripal poisoning suspects are not criminals
Putin says Skripal poisoning suspects are not criminals
- Putin urged the men to address the media saying there was nothing criminal about them
- The British government has said Putin is ultimately responsible for the attack
Kremlin says Estonia's readiness to host nuclear-capable NATO jets threatens Russia
Peskov said such a move would be an obvious threat to Russia
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that Estonia's stated readiness to host NATO allies' U.S.-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow.
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Postimees news outlet on Thursday that Estonia - which borders Russia and is a rotating base for NATO jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace - was ready to host nuclear-capable jets if necessary.
"If some of them, regardless of their country of origin, have a dual-use capability to carry nuclear weapons it doesn't affect our position on hosting F-35s in any way," the outlet cited him as saying.
"Of course we are ready to host our allies."
Pevkur was speaking after Britain, a NATO member, announced it would buy at least 12 F-35A jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads and that they would join NATO's airborne nuclear mission.
Asked about Pevkur's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a move would be an obvious threat to Russia.
"Of course it would be an immediate danger," Peskov told a journalist from Russia's Life news outlet. He said the statement was one of many "absurd thoughts" voiced by politicians in the Baltic region, which comprises Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
"We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse," he said.
Liberia holds funeral for ex-leader Doe decades after assassination
- Samuel Doe’s brutal 1990 torture and murder were an early turning point in the two civil wars
- The circumstances surrounding Doe’s death mark a notorious episode in Liberia’s history
ZWEDRU, Liberia: Hundreds of people gathered Friday in rural Liberia for the state funeral of authoritarian former president Samuel Doe 35 years after his assassination, part of the country’s ongoing reconciliation efforts over its violent past.
Doe’s brutal 1990 torture and murder were an early turning point in the two civil wars that killed around 250,000 people and ravaged Liberia’s economy.
He is being commemorated at his home compound in southeastern Grand Gedeh County alongside his wife, Nancy, who died in May and will be buried at the estate.
Liberians gathered along the route Friday as the couple’s caskets – his symbolic, and hers containing her body – were slowly driven through the county capital of Zwedru on the bed of a truck decorated in bunting in the country’s red, white and blue colors.
The state ceremony is being attended by President Joseph Boakai, who declared a period of mourning this week from Tuesday to Friday, with flags flown at half-mast.
His executive mansion Facebook page said the commemorations are part of a “broader effort” meant to “promote national reconciliation.”
The circumstances surrounding Doe’s death mark a notorious episode in Liberia’s history.
Infamous warlord Prince Johnson, a key player in the civil wars (1989 to 2003), appeared in a video watching his fighters slowly mutilate and torture Doe to death while he calmly sipped a beer.
Various rumors but little concrete information exists as to the fate and location of Doe’s remains following his death.
Doe’s own rise to power was also steeped in violence.
His 1980 to 1990 rule remains divisive, remembered by many Liberians as a brutal dictatorship, while others recall some transformative measures he implemented fondly.
Liberian Mercy Janjay Seeyougar said in Monrovia ahead of the funeral that she remembered how Doe once gave her a candy, and that during street cleanings he would “stop and be with the people who are doing the cleaning.”
In 1980, Doe, then an army sergeant in his late 20s, led a coup assassinating president William Tolbert, the last in a line of leaders from the Americo-Liberian ruling class comprised of the descendants of former US slaves.
Quickly establishing a regime of terror, Doe had 13 members of the government he had overthrown publicly executed on a beach and his regime subsequently jailed or persecuted many of its opponents.
He was elected in a 1985 presidential vote that many observers said was marked by fraud.
The brutality of his regime, combined with declining economic conditions and favoritism toward the Krahn ethnic group of which he was a member, led to increased unpopularity.
Russian missile attack kills five in Ukraine’s southeast
- At least four of the wounded were in severe condition and were taken to hospital
- Officials gave no immediate details on damage in the city
KYIV: A Russian missile attack on Friday killed at least five people and wounded more than 20 in the industrial city of Samar in Ukraine’s southeast, officials said, the second strike on the city in three days.
At least four of the wounded were in severe condition and were taken to hospital, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app.
Officials gave no immediate details on damage in the city, where an attack on an unidentified infrastructure facility on Tuesday killed two people.
Hundreds of kilometers to the south, in the Kherson region, authorities urged residents on Friday to prepare for extended periods without power after a Russian attack hit a key energy facility.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that “Russians decided to plunge the region into darkness.”
In recent weeks Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities, particularly its capital Kyiv, more than three years into the war that followed its full-scale invasion.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 363 long-range drones and eight missiles overnight into Friday, targeting a small western city of Starokostiantyniv, home to an important air base. There were no details on damage.
Oslo police announce rape and sexual assault charges against son of Norwegian crown princess
- Oslo Police Attorney Andreas Kruszewski said Høiby was cooperative during police questioning
- “I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case”
OSLO: Oslo police on Friday announced charges against Marius Borg Høiby, the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess, on multiple counts including rape, sexual assault and bodily harm after a months-long investigation of a case that involved a “double-digit” number of alleged victims.
Høiby, the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon, has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 amid allegations of rape and on preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage.
Oslo Police Attorney Andreas Kruszewski said Høiby was cooperative during police questioning, which is now complete. Evidence in the case was drawn from sources including text-messages, witness testimonies and police searches, the police attorney said.
The charges included one case of rape involving intercourse and two cases of rape without intercourse, four cases of sexual assault and two cases of bodily harm, Kruszewksi said at a news conference.
“I cannot go into further detail about the number of victims in the case beyond confirming that it is a double-digit number,” he said.
Defense attorney Petar Sekulic, in an email to The Associated Press, said Høiby was “absolutely taking the accusations very seriously, but doesn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in most of the cases — especially the cases regarding sexual abuse and violence.”
The case was top news in Norway, where the royals are popular.
Høiby, 28, previously lived with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus, but now lives in a separate house nearby, according to Sekulic.
Høiby remains free pending a possible trial and is entitled to a presumption of innocence until a court rules otherwise.
Norway’s future queen made headlines in 2001 when she married Haakon because she was a single mother who had lived a freewheeling life with a companion who had been convicted on drug charges.
Indian entrepreneurs look to Middle East for further boost amid small business boom
- Micro, small and medium enterprises contribute about 30% to India’s GDP
- Industry players are particularly optimistic about business growth with Saudi Arabia
NEW DELHI: Indian entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to expand into the Middle East as small businesses in India seek to make the most of their strong growth trajectory.
The country boasts around 63 million micro, small and medium enterprises, up from 47.7 million in July 2024, latest government data shows. The sector contributes to some 30 percent of India’s GDP and 45 percent of its exports.
Amid the boom, Indian entrepreneurs seeking to scale up their businesses are now eyeing collaborations across various sectors with their counterparts in the Middle East.
“We are working with, at present, with … Bahrain, you know, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, by attending various exhibitions, fairs organized by these countries. We are taking world-class Indian MSME delegations to these countries, hundreds of MSMEs, for (business) matchmaking,” Vijay Kumar, director general of the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises, told Arab News at the 2025 MSME Day in New Delhi.
He added he was particularly optimistic about the potential for growth for Indian businesses and their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, saying that they were already collaborating.
"(The) future is very good for Saudi MSMEs and Indian MSMEs,” he said. “I’m sure in the coming years not only things will be multiplied … (but) thousands of Saudi MSMEs and Indian MSMEs (will) start (feeling the) benefits and become the global partner(s) for export and providing employment to their own countries.”
The rising interest toward the Middle East is due to the region’s business landscape and its wealth of opportunities, according to Naveen Sharma, chairman of Athena Ventures.
“The reason for Indian MSMEs’ expansion is that nowadays Indian MSMEs are doing very well. They are now flushed with funds, they have the right technology, they have good processes. So they are very keen to expand, and (the) Middle East is a very fertile business environment in which Indian MSMEs can really flourish,” he told Arab News.
“Already many of them have invested there, and as you may be knowing because of the free trade agreements, because of the liberal trade policies, liberal tax policies, many Indian MSMEs are also making Gulf countries their hubs for billing and logistics, all those things.”
The government has described small and medium businesses as the “backbone” of the Indian economy and a key pillar of growth as the sector has emerged as the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture, generating more than 281 million jobs.
Rimjhim Saikia, an entrepreneur and WASME’s joint director, said small and medium enterprises were contributing to transform India into a developed nation.
“We are progressing towards that and a big role is being played by the MSMEs,” Saikia told Arab News.
She said she had witnessed more engagements between India and the Middle East in her sector, adding that there was “a lot of scope for Indian MSMEs to join hands” with their counterparts from the region.
“This is the right time, I would say, for Indian SMEs to actually look towards the Middle East,” she said.
Many small and medium businesses are collaborating with Middle Eastern countries in prominent sectors, including hospitality, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
Having brought over two dozen Indian entrepreneurs to Saudi Arabia herself last September, she said the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation project in particular held massive potential.
“(The) 2030 vision is very important for Saudi, but that also holds a lot of importance for Indian MSMEs because, with the Vision 2030 opens up a plethora of opportunities … both in the manufacturing and the trading sector,” she added.
“I think for everyone, every MSME, there is a lot of hope for a very good … future in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi (Arabia) for expanding their business.”
