Russian activist ‘poisoned, possibly by nerve agent’ while on trip to Europe
The head of an international organisation fighting for democracy in Russia says she thinks she was “poisoned, possibly by some nerve agent”.
Natalia Arno experienced “strange symptoms” while on a recent trip to Europe and on one occasion found the door to her room open when she returned to her hotel.
A post on Ms Arno’s social media says she woke up at 5am the next day in acute pain and decided to fly home to the US on the nearest flight, where she has been recovering.
While it is not yet confirmed what caused her condition, the post says it is being investigated – it’s a story that conjures up memories of the Novichok poisonings of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny and five people in Salisbury in 2018.
‘Embarrassment’ for Putin as Kyiv shoots down ‘undefeatable’ missile – Ukraine war latest updates
Ms Arno, who was forced to leave Russia due to her pro-democracy work, founded the Free Russia Foundation in 2014.
Her Facebook post says she was visiting two European cities in late April and early May when the symptoms started.
“In the second city, after a busy day of discussions and meetings, I returned to my hotel in the evening and found the door to my room slightly open,” the post says.
“I checked my belongings and the room, I did not find any bugs, but immediately felt a foreign and sharp smell of cheap perfumes in the room.”
She left the hotel to attend a meeting and when she returned the smell of perfume had gone.
Five people – including former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal – were poisoned in Salisbury in March 2018
Ms Arno says in her post that she complained to the receptionist who said the maid had forgotten to close the door.
At 5am the next morning she woke up in “acute pain” with “strange symptoms”. She swapped her flights and took an early trip back home to the US.
“During the flight, the symptoms became very strange, walking all over the body and with vivid numbness.”
She went to an emergency room “getting worse” and various doctors took blood samples, the post says.
Alexei Navalny, a well-known critic of Vladimir Putin, was poisoned with Novichok and recovered. He is now in prison in Russia
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Now two weeks later, she feels “much better” but still has some neuropathy symptoms, the post says, as she waits for the results of “various investigations” into what happened.
She wrote: “As far as I understand it, this is not the first story of possible poisoning of Russian journalists and activists.
“And this is not the first case with an open door in a hotel when ‘the maid forgot to close it’.
“I thought it was important to tell in more detail, because I wanted to warn our exiled anti-war, anti-regime, pro-democracy Russian community that we should not lose vigilance, even after leaving Russia, from a country that is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine… and does not forget about us.”
Spain is to legalise about 300,000 undocumented migrants a year – at a time that many European countries are seeking to limit or deter migration.
The policy, approved on Tuesday by Spain’s left-wing minority coalition government, aims to tackle the country’s ageing workforce and low birthrate.
Around 250,000 registered foreign workers a year are needed to maintain the country’s welfare state, according to migration minister Elma Saiz.
The scheme, due to run from May next year until 2027, will allow foreigners living in Spain without proper documentation to obtain work permits and residency.
The exact number of foreigners living in Spain without documentation is unclear.
However, around 54,000 undocumented migrants reached Spain so far this year by sea or land, according to government figures.
Many arrive via the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located off the coast of northwestern Africa.
Spain’s minister of inclusion, social security and migration, Elma Saiz. Pic: AP
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The figure compares to the 30,000 people who have arrived in the UK via small boats across the Channel so far in 2024.
The UK, as well as other European nations, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands, have in recent years taken tougher stances on migration.
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However, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has often described his government’s migration policies as a way to combat the country’s low birthrate.
The government’s new policy simplifies the administrative processes for short and long-term visas and provides migrants with additional workplace protections.
It also extends a visa offered previously to job-seekers for three months to one year.
Many migrants make a living in Spain’s underground economy as fruit pickers, caretakers, delivery drivers, or other low-paid jobs.
Migration minister Ms Saiz said the government’s new policy would help prevent abuse and “serve to combat mafias, fraud and the violation of rights”.
World
Alec Baldwin’s Rust premieres three years after fatal shooting – but cinematographer’s mother refuses to attend
Alec Baldwin’s Western film Rust has premiered at a festival in Poland, three years after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set.
The movie debuted at the Camerimage Festival in Poland, an event focusing on achievements in cinematography, to an audience of a few hundred – a more low-key affair than the typical fanfare of Hollywood releases.
Director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting, said he hoped the completed film would now be a tribute to Ms Hutchins – who died after a prop gun held by Baldwin went off during filming in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021.
Rust director Joel Souza attended the film’s premiere in Poland. Pic: Reuters
Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter and went on trial in July – but the case was dismissed in dramatic fashion during the hearing after the prosecution was accused of concealing ammunition evidence.
The star did not attend the premiere in Poland.
Speaking beforehand, Souza said it “wasn’t an easy decision by any means” to continue the film after Hutchins’s death, “but it became important to me and important to her husband that people see her final work”.
The church scene they were working on when Hutchins was shot has gone from the film, he said.
“It doesn’t exist anymore. We were never going to finish that… I changed the script and so I wiped that out of it.”
Cinematographer’s mother criticises Baldwin
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Pic: Swen Studios/Handout via Reuters
Bianca Cline, the cinematographer who completed the film, also attended the event.
Ms Hutchins’s mother Olga Solovey, who has filed a lawsuit against Baldwin, did not attend and criticised the star for allegedly “unjustly” profiting from the tragedy.
In a statement issued by her lawyer, Gloria Allred, she said she had always hoped to watch her daughter’s “work come alive on screen” alongside her.
However, this opportunity was “ripped away”, she said.
Ms Solovey said Baldwin had not apologised to her and that her pain was increased by his “refusal to take responsibility”. She said there had been “no justice” for her daughter.
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Rust’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez, who was in charge of weapons on the set, was jailed for 18 months earlier this year, after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter during a trial separate to Baldwin’s. She is appealing the sentence.
Rust is billed as the story of a 13-year-old boy who, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after being sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
The Polish festival’s ticketing website reportedly crashed on Tuesday morning due to high demand for tickets to the world premiere.
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