Daily Archives: November 21, 2006

The Litvinenko Affair gets more complicated. The Guardian is reporting via the Associated Press reports that London doctors are now saying that “thallium poisoning is an unlikely cause of [Litvinenko's] current condition.” Well, isn’t that interesting. The entire article reads:

Doubts over cause of spy’s illness

Press Association

Tuesday November 21, 2006 5:58 PM

The illness of the Russian former security agent Alexander Litvinenko is unlikely to have been caused by thallium poisoning, the hospital doctors treating him have said.

Dr Amit Nathwani, the consultant caring for Mr Litvinenko at University College Hospital in London said further tests would be conducted to establish the cause of his condition.

The latest twist in the extraordinary Cold War-style saga came after a leading toxicologist claimed that Mr Litvinenko could have been poisoned with “radioactive thallium”.

In a ..read more

If Anna Politkovskaya’s murder was a tragedy, the investigation and events surrounding it are a farce. Nothing says this more than the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, 41, in a London sushi restaurant. Litvinenko is a former FSB agent turned critic of the Kremlin. Toxicology reports show that he has traces of thallium in his blood, a tasteless, odorless chemical that is the favorite of cloak and dagger assassinations because a lethal dose is around a dash of salt. According to reports, there is some confusion as to who Litvinenko met. The LA Times says he met with “a former KGB associate” who claimed to have secret information about Politkovskaya’s death. While Kommersant says he met with an Italian named Mario Scaramella. Litvinenko told the Moscow business daily the following:

“[Scaramella] sent me an e-mail from Italy ..read more