UK to hold public inquiry into Novichok poisoning death of Dawn Sturgess
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British woman Dawn Sturgess died after a contact with Soviet-developed
military grade nerve agent Novichok in 2018 in London. Three Soviet spies who
had come to the UK have been charged but they have already left the country
and there is no extradition treaty. The Government has authorized a public inquiry
to examine any possible Russian involvement in the death.
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LONDON, Nov 18: UK's Home Secretary Priti Patel has declared that a public
inquiry will be held into the death of British woman Dawn Sturgess, who died
after coming into contact with Soviet-developed nerve agent Novichok in 2018.
The Government has authorized a public inquiry to examine any possible Russian
involvement in the death.
Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner, Charlie Rowley, had collapsed in Amesbury
in in Wiltshire, southwest England, after coming into contact with a discarded
fake perfume bottle containing Novichok, a military grade nerve agent. Sturgess
died in July 2018, but her partner survived. It has been reported that they
came into contact with the bottle accidentally.
The coroner who held the inquest into Sturgess's death, Heather Hallett, had
said in September that a public inquiry is needed for a fair investigation.
A public inquiry is more comprehensive than investigation. The public inquiry
will allow judges to examine more evidence than in an inquest, like Soviet involvement.
Patel said the inquiry would be done "as soon as is reasonably possible in 2022."
"I hope this inquiry will bring comfort to (Ms. Sturgess's family and others
affected) through a greater understanding of the circumstances of Ms. Sturgess's
death and recognize the bravery and resilience of those who responded," Patel
said in a letter to the coroner.
Three months before Sturgess's death, Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his
daughter had taken ill due to Novichok contact in Salisbury, a nearby town.
An ex-police officer Nick Bailey was also targeted but all the three survived.
Three Russian men working for Russia's military intelligence service, GRU, were
identified and charged for Skripal poisoning. They are Denis Sergeev, Alexander
Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga. They were in the UK under their aliases: Sergey
Fedotov, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. They said: 'We were just tourists.'
Novichok traces were found in the hotel in London where they stayed before
visiting Skripals. After the incident they had flown back to Moscow. They had
smeared Novichok on the door handle of Skripal's home with a view to eliminating
him. The UK has no extradition treaty with Russia.
How the fake perfume bottle brought from Russia found its way to Amesbury is
not confirmed so far.
Recently, Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poioned with Novichok
while he was campaigning in the election in Serbia.
Novichok is a chemical weapon that enters the body through the skin instantly.
It is more powerful than sarin and other volatile nerve agents. Novichok binds
to acetylcholinesterase. Acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme that breaks down
the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The result is the neurotransmitter builds
up, leading to convulsions, paralysis and respiratory arrest.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has supported the
UK's efforts.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
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UK's House of Commons votes to legalise assisted dying: What it means | |
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
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Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line brings Kashmir Valley on India's rail map |
- The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line provides Kashmir with all-weather connectivity and integrates the Valley with the rest of India.
- The saying 'Kashmir to Kanyakumari' is now a dream come true.
- The Chenab bridge on the line, an engineering marvel, is the world's highest
railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower. (Video: File)
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
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Trump slaps ‘kind’, ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on trading partners; a 'lenient' 26% on India!
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ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
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Trump signs order to shut Education Dept - And the contrast with India
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PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
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