Alexander Litvinenko, an ex-KGB Colonel, was thought to have been poisoned after meeting an academic in a West End sushi bar. Mr Litvinenko, 50, who fled Russia after criticising President Vladimir Putin's regime, was last night seriously ill in London's University College Hospital under armed guard. It is thought Mr Litvinenko was fed a colourless rat poison, thallium, in his food at the restaurant on November 1." Source: SundayMirror.co.uk - SPY IN POISON RIDDLE
More in The Herald Tribune: "Police suspect former Russian spy was poisoned in London"
Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian security agent fighting for his life in a UK hospital after allegedly being poisoned, has been a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin since before he became president in 2000. MORE ABOUT HIM AT THE BBC