I have not followed this story and just read it as I was waiting on hold during a phone call, however, I am going to see what else is out there. The gist of it is that former Russian Spy, Alexander Litvinenko, has been hospitalized after being poisoned. It is believed that the poison was a radioactive substance. Fox News has a story, Italian Who Dined With Poisoned Ex-Spy Says Name On 'Hit List' which states that an Italian "defense consultant, Mario Scaramella, held a press conference to say that he had met with Litvinenko the day before he was hospitalized, but that he had nothing to do with his being poisoned. In fact, Scaramella stated that he met with Litvinenko to warn him of a plot to kill him. The report says that Scaramella was surrounded by four bodyguards during the press conference and that the meeting was arranged by text messages to the reporters. He stated that he had been provided a "hit list" - "The information was a list of people — it was a hit list and on that list was his name, my name and Paolo Guzzanti [head of the Italian commission investigating KGB activities in Italy].
UPDATE: Toxicologist, John Henry, who is also treating Litvinenko, said he now thought the thallium might have been in a more deadly radioactive form or mixed with other chemicals. Russia denies any involvement. Litvinenko Poison Baffles Doctors. A little background of Thallium at Wikpedia - for what it's worth. A guess dioxin did not do the job on Victor Yushchenko so time to try some other concoction.
UPDATE II: Fox News is reporting that Litvinenko has succumbed to the poison. The report states,
A highly radioactive material called Polonium 210 was found in the body of dead ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, Sky News reported Friday, as London investigators searched for residual radioactive material in a variety of locations including Litvinenko's house.
In a dying declaration Litvinenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his assassination. The statement read by family friend, Alex Goldfarb, stated "You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life."
The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement in Litvinenko's death. The former spy said he believed he had been poisoned on Nov. 1, while investigating the slaying of another Kremlin detractor — investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.Goldfarb also stated that he had seen the "hit list" that was disclosed by Scaramella. "What's in there confirms what Scaramella said. It lists several targets for assassination, among them are Politkovskaya, Litvinenko, Scaramella, Berezovsky and others," he said. But he refused to say who compiled the document, saying that it could jeopardize the police investigation into the poisoning. It is also interesting that Litvinenko refused to implicate any of the people he met on the day he said he believed he was poisoned.
The BBC website has a story that quotes Security analyst Glenmore Trenear-Harvey who opines that those responsible for Litvinenko's death are former KGB members who work with the Russian Mafia.
"My own belief, and this is speculation, is that it's not inconceivable that Anna Politkovskaya in her search for murderers within the Russian bank system discovered the contract killings were these former KGB people.
"She was killed and if Litvinenko indeed was privy to her investigations then it could well be that they will emerge as his killers."
The Fox News story describes Litvinenko's past work for the KGB as:
Litvinenko worked both for the KGB and for a successor, the Federal Security Service. In 1998, he publicly accused his superiors of ordering him to kill Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky — now exiled in Britain — and a year later spent nine months in jail on charges of abuse of office, for which he was later acquitted, and which prompted his move to London.
The BBC Story describes it as:
"We have to put this in a historical context," he said.
"Litvinenko's last job within the FSB was heading up the anti-corruption unit and he discovered a lot of corruption there and made a lot of enemies within the KGB."
When Yeltsin broke the KGB into different agencies such as the FSB and the SVR, the majority of its members stayed on but some went into the Duma and a third group went into legitimate business, he said.
But a "murky bunch" went into what was known as the Russian mafia.
Other stories: Washington Post
Moscow Times
Rueters
AxisNews
UPDATE III: This story is still out there - Britain Tracing Poison That Killed Spy; Eight Referred To Clinic;
Eight tested over radiation alert
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