Second Abramovich superyacht docks in sanctions-free Turkey

Bermuda-flagged luxury yacht “My Solaris,” belonging to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, is docked at the Aegean coastal resort on Bodrum district of Mugla on Monday. (AFP)
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Updated 22 March 2022
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Second Abramovich superyacht docks in sanctions-free Turkey

  • Western governments have targeted Abramovich and several other Russian oligarchs with sanctions
  • Eclipse, which is one of the world's biggest yachts at 162.5 metres, docked in the resort of Marmaris

DUBAI: A second superyacht linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich docked in a Turkish resort on Tuesday and sources familiar with the discussions said he and other wealthy Russians were looking to invest in Turkey given sanctions elsewhere.
Western governments have targeted Abramovich and several other Russian oligarchs with sanctions as they seek to isolate President Vladimir Putin and his allies over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
While strongly criticizing the invasion, Turkey has said it opposes sanctions imposed by its NATO allies on principle. That could set it up as a possible safe haven for Russians seeking to make investments and preserve assets.
Eclipse, which is one of the world’s biggest yachts at 162.5 meters (533 feet), docked in the resort of Marmaris in southwest Turkey after skirting Greek islands, according to a Reuters witness and tracking data. It sails under a Bermuda flag.
The vessel is reported to have two helipads, nine decks, a swimming pool and built-in missile defenses.
Solaris, another superyacht linked to Abramovich, arrived a day earlier in the resort of Bodrum some 80 km (50 miles) away, after having also avoided the waters of European Union countries that have sanctioned the oligarchs.
They are among a string of yachts owned by Abramovich, according to reports in luxury goods publications SuperYachtFan, SuperYacht and Forbes.
Abramovich, the owner of English football club Chelsea, was in Istanbul briefly last week, according to flight tracking data and people familiar with the travels. There was no indication he was aboard either yacht.
A source in Ankara with knowledge of recent conversations with Abramovich said he and other wealthy Russians were looking to invest in Turkey given the sanctions imposed elsewhere.
“He wants to do some work and may buy some assets,” the source said, adding that the oligarch already had some assets in Turkey. The source did not give details.
Another source in Ankara said Turkey was not currently considering joining sanctions action and expected wealthy Russians to purchases assets and make investments.
“We act sensitively on issues such as bringing the oligarchs’ money to Turkey,” the person said.
A spokesperson for Abramovich did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The foreign and interior ministries did not immediately comment on whether Western governments had requested that Turkey seize sanctioned assets. Last week, the banking regulator told Reuters it was monitoring sanctions applied on Russia but had not instructed banks to limit citizens of any country.

BOAT PROTESTERS
A small group of people on a motor boat protested in front of Solaris as it docked, holding Ukrainian flags emblazoned with the words “no war,” footage shared by the expat association “Ukrainians in Bodrum” showed.
With the arrival of Eclipse and Solaris, Abramovich has for now stationed upwards of $1.2 billion of his fortune in Turkey, with each vessel estimated to be worth $600 million or more. Russian-linked yachts are stuck in several countries including Italy, Spain and Germany.
Sanctions are delicate for Turkey, which has close trade and diplomatic links with both Russia and Ukraine. Critics of President Tayyip Erdogan’s government have said the balancing act could leave it vulnerable internationally.
“The anchoring in Turkish marinas of yachts embargoed in European countries may leave Turkey in a difficult situation in the international arena,” Utku Cakirozer, an MP from the main opposition CHP party, told Reuters.
After meeting Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he supported Turkey’s role in maintaining dialogue with both Ukraine and Russia.
“Turkey is doing everything that it can do. It is one of the few open lines we have with both,” he told a news conference.
“We would very much favor for Turkey to implement all the sanctions but I think we also have to be happy with the fact that Turkey is playing its diplomatic role.”
Russia calls its invasion a “special military operation” aimed at disarming Ukraine and removing what it says are dangerous nationalists in government. Ukraine and Western allies say that is a false pretext for an unprovoked war.
Turkey has sought to mediate a cease-fire and peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
The 140-meter (460-foot) Solaris, which also sails under a Bermuda flag, remained moored in Bodrum on Tuesday, a week after it left Montenegro’s Adriatic resort town of Tivat.


Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria

Updated 3 sec ago
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Suicide bomber kills at least 10 in a restaurant in northeast Nigeria

The suicide bomber was able to slip through unnoticed because of a heavy downpour
No group has claimed responsibility for the

ABUJA: A suicide bomber in Nigeria’s northeast state of Borno killed at least 10 people and injured several others in an explosion in a restaurant, police said Saturday.

The blast occurred in the Konduga area late Friday, police spokesperson Nahum Daso told The Associated Press.

The suicide bomber was able to slip through unnoticed because of a heavy downpour, said Ismail Ahmed, a resident of Konduga. The town is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Local media reported that those injured in the attacks have been taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. They also reported that the bomber was female.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Nigeria’s northeast has been hit by attacks carried out by Islamic militants from the Boko Haram group and its splinter, the Daesh West Africa Province.

Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown militants, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict also has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors.

Some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million displaced in the northeastern region, according to the UN

Despite promises by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address Nigeria’s security challenges, the violence has persisted.

Where does India stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

Updated 10 min 47 sec ago
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Where does India stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

  • Middle East situation shows India deviating from its traditionally pro-peace foreign policy, experts say
  • Indian foreign ministry called both sides ‘to avoid any escalatory steps,’ engage in dialogue

NEW DELHI: India is on a path of non-involvement in the growing conflict in the Middle East, experts said on Saturday, as they warned Delhi’s silence could have serious implications for the region.

Israeli attacks on Iran started on June 13 when Tel Aviv hit more than a dozen sites — including key nuclear facilities and residences of military leaders and scientists — claiming they were aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

After Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the two countries have been on a tit-for-tat cycle of bombing.

Israel’s attacks on Iran have reportedly killed at least 639 people and wounded 1,329 others, while Iranian missile strikes have killed 24 people and injured hundreds more in Israel.

India has yet to join other Asian nations — such as China, Japan, Pakistan and Indonesia — in condemning Israel’s initial strikes against Iran.

It was also the only country in the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization which did not endorse a statement issued by the bloc, condemning Israel’s military strikes on Iran. SCO is a political and security body that includes China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Central Asian nations.

In a statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs urged “both sides to avoid any escalatory steps” and engage in dialogue and diplomacy “to work towards de-escalation.”

“India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” the ministry said.

Talmiz Ahmad, an Indian diplomat who served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, described the statement as “a very low-key remark and is meant for the record.”

“India is not interested in engaging itself with serious matters pertaining to regional diplomacy. India is not interested in pursuing ways in which we could promote security and stability,” he said.

Historically, India’s ties with countries in West Asia — a region that includes the Middle East — have been bilateral and transactional, lacking engagement “with the region in a collective sense.”

“With regard to the Israeli-Iran issue we have taken a position of non-involvement … (but) silence in this matter where Israel has initiated a conflict that could have potentially horrendous implications for the region, is another and is something which India should be very concerned about,” Ahmad said.

“There is no justification whatsoever for India to be so indifferent to the flames that are now gathering speed and strength right in our neighborhood.”

India is Israel’s largest arms buyer and Israel is India’s fourth-largest arms supplier. According to a report from Reuters, India has imported military hardware worth $2.9 billion over the last decade.

Delhi also has strategic interests in Iran and has invested around $370 million in a port development project in the Iranian port of Chabahar, aimed at hastening trade and connectivity links to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Moreover, there are over 10,000 Indian nationals living in Iran, the majority of whom are students. Delhi has prioritized safely evacuating them since Israeli attacks began last week.

Peace in the region should be within India’s strategic interest, according to Delhi-based foreign policy scholar and researcher N. Sai Balaji, who highlighted the 9 million Indians living and working in West Asia.

“Not only that these (9 million) Indians contribute to billions of dollars in terms of remittances (but) India’s energy needs are met from West Asia,” Balaji told Arab News. “Any conflict with Iran or any conflict in West Asia does not only destabilize its financial stability in forms of remittances but also energy security.”

He said the Indian government was “taking sides clearly by not calling out the aggression of Israel.”

“India is not only abdicating its historic responsibility but also changing its foreign policy to accommodate Israel,” Balaji added.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, who served as an advisor to India’s former premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said the country had shifted its traditional approach in foreign policy.

“India has always stood for peace in the world … Therefore, it is deeply painful that Narendra Modi’s government has deviated from this traditionally pro-peace foreign policy of India,” Kulkarni told Arab News.

“It is wrong for the government to keep silent in the face of Israel’s naked aggression against Iran … Under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, Israel is the aggressor. It has violated international law. Iran is the victim. Iran has the right to defend itself.”


Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges

Updated 30 min 2 sec ago
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Ukraine says received Russian bodies in war dead exchanges

  • Zelensky accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending
  • “Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports“

KYIV: Kyiv received the bodies of 20 Russian soldiers instead of Ukrainian ones during exchanges of war dead with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks made public Saturday.

He accused Russia of “not checking” who they were sending, and suggested Moscow might be doing it on purpose to conflate the number of Ukrainian bodies they had.

The repatriation of fallen soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war has been one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring sides since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Moscow and Kyiv agreed earlier this month during talks in Istanbul to exchange the bodies of 6,000 soldiers each.

“It has already been confirmed during repatriations that the bodies of 20 people handed over to us as our deceased soldiers are Russian,” Zelensky said in remarks released on Saturday.

“Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports,” he added.

An “Israeli mercenary” fighting for Moscow was also among those sent, he said.

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since the war began. Neither country regularly releases information on military casualties.

Zelensky said there were currently “695,000 Russian troops” on Ukrainian territory.


Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN

Updated 21 June 2025
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Iran-Israel war must not become refugee crisis: UN

  • UNHCR said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries
  • “This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement,” said Grandi

GENEVA: The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying once people fled there was no quick way back.

UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries.

Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it said, with some people crossing into neighboring countries.

Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad.

“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.

“The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there’s no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.”

Israel said on Saturday it had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran.

Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.

Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world — around 3.5 million — mostly of them from Afghanistan.

If the conflict persists, Iran’s existing refugee populations would also face renewed uncertainty and yet more hardship, UNHCR said.

The agency called for an urgent de-escalation in the conflict and urged countries in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety.

The Israeli government says the unprecedented wave of attacks it has launched at Iran since June 13 is aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran strongly denies.

Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.


Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials

Updated 21 June 2025
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Aviation regulator orders Air India to remove officials

  • Airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability”
  • Air India crash in June 12 in Ahmedabad killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground also perished

NEW DELHI: New Delhi’s civil aviation regulator has ordered Air India to remove three officials from their roles over “systemic failures,” according to a directive seen by AFP Saturday, as the carrier comes under scrutiny after a deadly crash.

The instruction from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) did not detail whether it was linked to the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board. At least 38 others on the ground were killed.

The DGCA directive noted that the airline’s voluntary disclosures “point to systemic failures in crew scheduling, compliance monitoring, and internal accountability.”

“Of particular concern is the absence of strict disciplinary measures against key officials directly responsible for these operational lapses,” said the order, which was issued on Friday.

“These officials have been involved in serious and repeated lapses,” it said.

The regulator has directed Air India to remove three officials named in the order “from all roles and responsibilities related to crew scheduling,” take disciplinary action, and report on steps taken within 10 days.

Future violations could also result in “license suspension.”

The airline said on Saturday it had implemented the order.

“Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices,” it said in a statement.

Investigators are attempting to find out what caused the airline’s London-bound plane to hurtle to the ground moments after takeoff in Ahmedabad.

Air India said on Thursday that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was “well-maintained” and that the pilots were accomplished flyers.

The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have been recovered from the crash site.