Alexander Litvinenko

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Court Pins Ex-Spy's Fatal Poisoning on Russia

Former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko was killed in London in 2006

(Newser) - The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday blamed Russia for the killing of Alexander Litvinenko , who died in London in 2006 after drinking tea laced with a radioactive material. A former agent for the KGB and the successor agency FSB, Litvinenko defected from Russia in 2000 and fled to...

4 More Assassinations, Attempts Using Chemicals

One involved a poisoned umbrella

(Newser) - In the wake the news that Kim Jong Nam was, according to Malaysian police, assassinated using the powerful toxin VX , the AP takes a look at four more notable assassinations or attempted assassinations involving poison or chemicals:
  1. Alexander Litvinenko : The former Russian intelligence agent was given tea laced with a
...

Judge: Vladimir Putin Is 'Probably' a Murderer

Inquiry links Russian president to poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko

(Newser) - A British judge declared a remarkable thing Thursday: Vladimir Putin is "probably" a murderer. The finding came after an inquiry into the high-profile death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko , who was fatally poisoned in 2006. Judge Robert Owen said he's certain that two Russian agents laced Litvinenko'...

Poisoned Spy on Deathbed: Putin Ordered My Murder

Litvinenko named Russian leader before death, public inquiry in Britain is told

(Newser) - Well, somebody put poison in Alexander Litvinenko's tea, and before he died, the former KGB agent told police in London that he had a pretty good idea who was behind it, reports the Guardian . And, yes, he named exactly who you think he named:
  • “Having knowledge of this
...

UK Opens Inquiry in Death of Poisoned Ex-KGB Spy

Alexander Litvinenko's widow 'delighted;' more bad news for Russia

(Newser) - The widow of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko has been pressing the UK government for nearly eight years to investigate his death. Today, Marina Litvinenko got her wish: Home Secretary Theresa May announced that London is opening an official inquiry into whether Russia was behind her husband’s fatal poisoning...

Exiled Russian Tycoon Berezovsky Dead at 67

Putin critic had gotten rich after collapse of Soviet Union

(Newser) - One of Russia's famed "oligarchs" who became unimaginably rich after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been found dead in his London home at age 67, reports the BBC . The cause of Boris Berezovsky's death remains unclear, but the news is drawing lots of attention because...

Arafat May Have Been Poisoned

Tests suggest high levels of polonium

(Newser) - Al Jazeera has what could be a bombshell report: Its nine-month investigation raises the strong possibility that longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was fatally poisoned in 2004. The news organization had his personal belongings, including clothes and his toothbrush, analyzed by a lab in Switzerland, and the results turned...

Putin to Snub London Olympics

Medvedev to attend instead

(Newser) - Even though Russia will be hosting the next Winter Olympics in 2014, Vladimir Putin will snub this summer's games in Great Britain, reports the Guardian . Apparently Russia's recently re-elected president is unhappy with Britain for a range of reasons—being accused of human rights abuses, British MPs blocking...

Litvinenko Murder Suspect Halts Mayor Bid

Party says he lacked enough backers for Olympic city race

(Newser) - The UK's top suspect in the killing of Alexander Litvinenko has quit the mayoral race in the Russian city set to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics, Reuters reports. “The leadership of the party took a final decision that my candidacy would not be put forward,” Andrei Lugovoy said,...

Litvinenko Murder Suspect to Run for Mayor of Olympic City

Lugovoy doesn't care if Brits skip 2014 Games

(Newser) - Russia fought hard to win the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, reports the Los Angeles Times, and now a second battle is heating up: the race for mayor of the Black Sea resort town, which is beginning billions' worth of construction. Among the contenders are a media magnate with a...

KGB Radiation Poisoning Suspect Ready to Talk

Lugovoi offers to meet with UK investigators

(Newser) - A former KGB agent accused of poisoning a Russian dissident in England wants to clear his name, he tells the Times of London. Alexander Lugovoi has offered to send a friend to London to speak with investigators, and may travel to the UK himself if officials pledge not to arrest...

Brits: Russia Played Role in Ex-KGB Agent's London Murder

'Clear indications it was state action'

(Newser) - The murder of a former KGB agent in London 2 years ago was carried out with the support of the Russian government, British government sources have told the BBC. There are "very strong indications it was a state action," said one senior official. Alexander Litvinenko, who was mysteriously...

Murder Suspect Unrepentant in Moscow
Murder Suspect Unrepentant
in Moscow
ANALYSIS
May 21, 2008 4:15 PM CDT

Murder Suspect Unrepentant in Moscow

Alleged radiation killer, safely out of UK reach, chats with Guardian

(Newser) - To Britain, he’s a wanted man, a murderer responsible for a diplomatic crisis. To Russia, he’s a respected, successful politician. So it was an unrepentant Andrei Lugovoi who sat down with the Guardian’s Luke Harding. The ex-KGB man insists he did not poison dissident Alexander Litvinenko by...

Litvinenko Wife Defies Brits, Demands Inquiry

Poisoned spy's widow wants to expose Putin's role in his murder

(Newser) - Alexander Litvinenko's widow calls for a public inquiry into the poisoning of the Russian spy in an op-ed for today's Times of London. Both the British foreign secretary and Scotland Yard have sought to dissuade her from petitioning for an inquest, saying it would prejudge a criminal trial against chief...

Medvedev Warns Against NATO Plans
Medvedev Warns Against NATO Plans
Mar 25, 2008 7:46 AM CDT

Medvedev Warns Against NATO Plans

Russia unhappy about bid to accept former Soviet states

(Newser) - Dmitry Medvedev has warned former Soviet states not to join NATO, claiming that their membership would threaten the stability of the region. Georgia and Ukraine are angling to join the military alliance and have received strong support from the US. But in an interview with the Financial Times, Russia's incoming...

Industrial Spying Charges Deepen Russia-UK Flap

Two with ties to Britain arrested for espionage in Moscow

(Newser) - Two brothers, one with ties to a UK-Russia joint oil venture, have been arrested in Moscow and accused of industrial espionage, the BBC reports. Ilya and Alexander Zaslavsky were charged after yesterday's raid on oil giant TNK-BP, but analysts say Russia's interest in the matter goes beyond spying, as the...

UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty
UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty
Mar 4, 2008 10:20 AM CST

UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty

Brown writes to congratulate Medvedev but offers no invite

(Newser) - As Gordon Brown extended only the most cursory congratulations to Dmitry Medvedev yesterday, the frozen diplomatic relations between Russia and Britain seem unlikely to thaw, reports the Times of London. The UK prime minister sent a letter rather than making the usual phone call to a president-elect, and he pointedly...

Georgian Exile Died of Natural Causes: Police

Opposition billionaire had feared government was trying to kill him

(Newser) - Tests on a billionaire Georgian opposition leader found dead yesterday in his London-area home show he died of natural causes, the Telegraph reports. Badri Patarkatsishvili, 52, said in December he had been the target of two assassination attempts, and his death surprised acquaintances, who said he was in good health,...

Brits Close Russian Offices Over Brouhaha

'Cold War' intimidation of cultural centers' staff has minister outraged

(Newser) - After days of what Britain called “Soviet-era” intimidation tactics, the British Council today closed its offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, the Times reports. Britain had tried to keep the cultural centers going, despite Russian orders to close them, but after staff members were subjected to multiple visits—and...

UK Defies Russia in Latest Diplomatic Row

Moscow irate as Brits reopen cultural offices in Russia

(Newser) - Moscow's tit-for-tat diplomatic row with the UK continues to escalate as British officials defied Russian orders to close two cultural offices, the BBC reports. Russia called the reopening of British Council offices in St. Petersburg and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg an "intentional provocation aimed at inflaming tensions,"...

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