Novichok | Common News Update

Oct192020 by adminNo Comments

Six Russians charged over hacks targeting Novichok probe, French elections and the Winter Olympics

Technology

The US has charged six Russian hackers over a series of global cyber attacks, including trying to undermine UK efforts to hold Moscow accountable for the Salisbury spy poisoning. Mug shots of the men, aged between 27 and 35, were released on a poster with the words: "Wanted by the FBI". The charging announcement came as Britain accused Russian cyber spies of attacking the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics before they were postponed, and of posing as Chinese and North Korean hackers to target the 2018 games.Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, described the actions of Russia's GRU military intelligence service as "cynical and reckless". Image: It's alleged Russian spies attacked the Olympic Games The UK named the specific group it said was...

Sep32020 by adminNo Comments

What is novichok, the nerve agent used to poison Putin critic Navalny?

World

Novichok has become the focus of international scrutiny once again after a prominent critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin was found to have been poisoned with the nerve agent.Angela Merkel called it an attempted murder and said the Russian authorities would have to explain themselves. A statement from Berlin's Charite Hospital, which is treating Alexei Navalny, said he remains in a serious condition in intensive care and his breathing is being supported.It added that while symptoms are receding, he is expected to suffer a long period of illness.Mr Navalny appears to have been exposed to the same chemicals as the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in 2018. ...

Jun142020 by adminNo Comments

The Salisbury Poisonings: TV drama revisits Novichok attack ‘horror’

Entertainment

Scenes of streets in lockdown, health officials wearing PPE, dangerously contaminated surfaces and a battle with an invisible enemy are set to feature in a new TV drama from Sunday.But the events depicted in BBC One's The Salisbury Poisonings took place two years before the coronavirus pandemic began. The three-part series is based on the events of March 2018, when the Wiltshire cathedral city faced one of the biggest threats to UK public health in recent years.Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped and foaming at the mouth on a city centre bench, having been poisoned with the deadly nerve agent Novichok.The government would later conclude it was an assassination attempt by two agents of Russian intelligence ser...

Jul132018 by adminNo Comments

UK police confirm source of Novichok poisoning

Health

British detectives investigating the poisoning of two people by the nerve agent Novichok in southwestern England said Friday that a small bottle found in the home of one of the victims tested positive for the deadly substance. Dawn Sturgess, 44, and Charlie Rowley, 45, were sickened on June 30 in a town not far from Salisbury, where British authorities say a Russian ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned with Novichok in March. Sturgess died in a hospital on Sunday. Her partner, Charlie Rowley, initially was in critical condition, but has regained consciousness. The Metropolitan Police said the small bottle was found during searches of Rowley's house Wednesday and scientists confirmed the substance in the bottle was Novichok. Police have interviewed Rowley in recent days since he recovere...