Litvinenko Dies In London Hospital

Former KGB-FSB spy Alexander Litvinenko has died in a London hospital.
Litvinenko had been admitted apparently suffering from the effects of an unknown radioactive poison. He lingered for days as his condition steadily worsened.
At first it was thought to be thalium that he had been given, supposedly at a dinner meeting with someone with information on the recent murder of Russian journalist Ana Politskovaya.
Now the cause death seems to be polonium-210, traces of which was found in his body during a radiological scan. It is considered too dangerous to perform an autopsy. 18 people are to be checked for radiation and traces of the polonium has been found in Litvinenko's apartment and the restaurant where the meeting took place. That restaurant is presently closed.
Litvinenko had been a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is the latest to die in a long string of recent murders of critics of the Putin administration.
The Russian government released a statement denying any involvement and said such charges were a “provocation.”