Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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eklavya
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by eklavya »

Jeremy Corbyn is the best hope of the Argentines.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... -argentina

Although the 2013 referendum was pretty clear in its outcome

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklan ... ndum,_2013

Some more background material:

https://www.falklands.gov.fk/self-gover ... argentina/

https://www.economist.com/blogs/economi ... explains-9
Philip
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Philip »

The Argies taking back the Falklands? Just track the reports of the missing sub , built in Germany and allegations of cheap batteries, etc., etc. being why it apparently sank. Their military is in pretty poor shape though the RN today would find it equally tough to put on the same show that Maggie Thatcher did decades ago.They (RN) asininely early retd. all their Harriers, bought lock, stock and barrel by the USMC who will operate the until 2025, and their new QE CV has just 2 or so JSFs! Golden opportunity for the Argies though.New British DDGs racked with engine problems, subs not in good shape and troops slashed due to brutal budget cuts.

Like the Pakis, the Argies would be best advised to send their entire "fishing fleet" with mercenaries- their famous
"gauchos" , who can overwhelm the "sheep- shaggers" of the Falklands! The gauchos with pistolas and knives could do the biz! Argie navy safely in harbour.No future losses like the Gen .Belgrano, perhaps their remaining subs could support spl. forces to take over Port Stanley which has 75% of its population! Supporting the invasion in stealth could be the arrival of two cruise ships filled with Argie and mercenary tourists, a Leo Messi lookalike onboard as a diversion, all coming to see the sheep and penguins! A quick sheep-shagger takeaway for the Argies on the cards what?

As for the Brit counter strike,.Britain has no longer any Vulcan long range bombers with which to bomb the islands and a declining merchant fleet , which a decade ago lost over 1000 regd. vessels over 500t flying the red ensign, also with fewer British crews aboard ."Furriners" would be far less likely to sail into harms' way and suffer the same fate as the Atlantic Conveyor! To avoid being sunk by RN SSNs, resupply of the islands easily done through air transports, with return flights transporting the "sheep- shaggers" back to the mainland as hostages in case the Brits pull a rabbit out of a hat shomehow.

The Argies could offer the UN the Falklands as a temporary home for refugees , earn good money in the bargain, Euro neo- Nazi's would be delighted,and fund the enterprise keeping Europe blonde, blue-eyed and Aryan, after all der Fuhrer actually vonted to send der "untermenschen" to Madagascar originally! Der Falklands are even farther ,mein gott!

You know what, on reviewing the situ today, the Argies should go for it! Choose a time when "Mrs.T", Theresa not Thatcher, is embroiled upto her latest pair of fancy shoes in Brexit negotiations and pull the plug.History as they say may be repeated, but the second time as farce!

PS:Pres. Macri, I would be delighted to offer my services to you as consultant for retaking the Falklands and making it a financial success afterwards!
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by eklavya »

I would trade-in the Falkland Islands (might even throw in Scotland) for this:

Image
ashish raval
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by ashish raval »

Mugambo khus hua

Finally we leapfrog two more western nations.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-globa ... KKBN1EK00F
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by panduranghari »

ashish raval wrote: Correct but Debt or Ireland per person is 3X times more than NI. Affluence does not mean good services. Living under one of the worst weather on earth takes some courage. :twisted:
Ah, you have not yet lived in Cornwall! 4 MONTHS in an year its busy. 8 months its dead. And it rains and rains, almost perpetually. All the interbreeding that happens in that part of the world is crazzee has to have a reason. :eek:
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by panduranghari »

Bart S wrote:
Kashi wrote:I think you'll find that Scottish were equally involved in plundering our punya bhoomi. When it came to stealing from India, English, Scots, Welsh and Irish were probably all complicit.
You are absolutely correct, Scots made up a large part of the more elite military units and Irish were widely complicit and made up much of the 'working class' of the empire. If you go to Sterling Castle for example, which is virtually at the core of Scottish nationalist history and narrative, you find glowing tributes to military units based out of there (in the 19th century) for their military genocides in India. Nobody should absolve them from the horrors perpetrated by the empire or view them as distinct from it.

However that is missing the point in this context. Any fault lines must be ruthlessly and cynically exploited. The British of partition era India knew fully well the role played by muslims in the 1857 war and many other military conflicts that they had to fight. Did this stop them from using them against the rest of the Indian population and helping those very same people split from India?
All the noise made by the Scots about getting independence and ensuring they remain in EU, should remind us of why the union happened in the first place. It goes back to the failed establishment of colony in Darriens Gap in central America. Scots could not survive on their own there and were in severe debt. Scots are not in that level of debt now but Lizzy in Windsor/Buckingham has interests in both places. Unless she agrees it wont happen. Her grandsons have conveniently married a name sake northern lass and the other one will marry name sake black lady. These guys do not fight much traction in the millenials. All these shehnanigans are to keep the fiefdom intact. Lizzy has remained apolitical all through her career and I think she will become political to preserve the union. The family is in reality the only glue holding the union together. What happens after queen is dead? Charles is openly contemptous of the proletraiat.

Scotch whiskey and tourism cannot be the only way a nation can survive. Perhaps Scots would like to be Pakistan next- they will rent themselves out to fight wars for others.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by rsingh »

Philip wrote:The Argies taking back the Falklands? Just track the reports of the missing sub , built in Germany and allegations of cheap batteries, etc., etc. being why it apparently sank. Their military is in pretty poor shape though the RN today would find it equally tough to put on the same show that Maggie Thatcher did decades ago.They (RN) asininely early retd. all their Harriers, bought lock, stock and barrel by the USMC who will operate the until 2025, and their new QE CV has just 2 or so JSFs! Golden opportunity for the Argies though.New British DDGs racked with engine problems, subs not in good shape and troops slashed due to brutal budget cuts.

Like the Pakis, the Argies would be best advised to send their entire "fishing fleet" with mercenaries- their famous
"gauchos" , who can overwhelm the "sheep- shaggers" of the Falklands! The gauchos with pistolas and knives could do the biz! Argie navy safely in harbour.No future losses like the Gen .Belgrano, perhaps their remaining subs could support spl. forces to take over Port Stanley which has 75% of its population! Supporting the invasion in stealth could be the arrival of two cruise ships filled with Argie and mercenary tourists, a Leo Messi lookalike onboard as a diversion, all coming to see the sheep and penguins! A quick sheep-shagger takeaway for the Argies on the cards what?

As for the Brit counter strike,.Britain has no longer any Vulcan long range bombers with which to bomb the islands and a declining merchant fleet , which a decade ago lost over 1000 regd. vessels over 500t flying the red ensign, also with fewer British crews aboard ."Furriners" would be far less likely to sail into harms' way and suffer the same fate as the Atlantic Conveyor! To avoid being sunk by RN SSNs, resupply of the islands easily done through air transports, with return flights transporting the "sheep- shaggers" back to the mainland as hostages in case the Brits pull a rabbit out of a hat shomehow.

The Argies could offer the UN the Falklands as a temporary home for refugees , earn good money in the bargain, Euro neo- Nazi's would be delighted,and fund the enterprise keeping Europe blonde, blue-eyed and Aryan, after all der Fuhrer actually vonted to send der "untermenschen" to Madagascar originally! Der Falklands are even farther ,mein gott!

You know what, on reviewing the situ today, the Argies should go for it! Choose a time when "Mrs.T", Theresa not Thatcher, is embroiled upto her latest pair of fancy shoes in Brexit negotiations and pull the plug.History as they say may be repeated, but the second time as farce!

PS:Pres. Macri, I would be delighted to offer my services to you as consultant for retaking the Falklands and making it a financial success afterwards!
But but but........now that UK has news floating plateform and once water leakage is blocked it will be seaworthy. UK tabloids are shouting that its a game-changing boat
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Philip »

With just 12+ Jsfs which have yet to be battle-tested?The RN does not have the supporting cast for the carriers too but the Argies are in worse shape.Look what happened to their sub.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by kancha »

sunnyP
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by sunnyP »

One of the world's most-wanted terror suspects visited Scotland to urge Muslims to become jihadis years before 9/11, a BBC investigation says.
The Radio Four documentary, The Dawn of British Jihad, discovered that Hafiz Saeed toured British mosques in 1995.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g ... t-42621348
Lisa
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Lisa »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42609057

EU's Juncker: Don't believe Brexit won't happen

"The EU budget commissioner said the UK's departure would leave a hole of about €12-13bn (£11-12bn; $14-$16bn)."

and

"Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger said the budget gap would have to be closed with 50% spending cuts and 50% fresh money. He suggested a Europe-wide tax on plastic products as a source of extra revenue."

Now really, you will wait a year and THEN cut the budget AND tax plastic. Europe!
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by IndraD »

spate of theft/robbery in Indian houses leave their community stunned across UK.
The theft is being done for gold. Police said gang seems to know who are Asians (read Indians) in the locality who could be having gold in the house. These could be gangs from east Europe (Romania) who vanish after committing crime.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-42219772
The police in Milton Keynes declined to comment but the London metropolitan police estimates that roughly £50m ($67m) worth of jewellery was stolen from South Asian, mostly Indian, homes in London alone during the last financial year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-sout ... s-42609092

If you thought this is a new phenomenon..
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan ... n-families
Philip
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Philip »

I saw one such gang in their pick up at work in my friend's neighbourhood.They also look for anything metallic like old gates, etc.A quick raid during the day when all are at work out of the house.This gang were making a second raid post lunch after stealing a neighbour's gate a few days earlier.They looked like Albanians, definitely East Europeans. The cops do b*gger all as there are so many incidents and not enough surveillance in the neighbourhoods.The bandits do their homework v.well..oral of the story, keep genuine gold and jewellery in the bank vaults.Costume jewellery at home.Thete's v.good gold costume jewellery in India which families increasingly use at weddings.Gangs of N.Indians make similar raids across S.India regularly around Diwali and are now raiding ATMs on a regular basis apart from daring armed robberies of houses in the suburbs.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Singha »

This happens in rich desi areas like bay area also
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by AlapArya »

https://twitter.com/faridque/status/956 ... 6440306688

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... y-5040808/

Digusting anti-Hindi, anti-India sloganeering by Khalistanis and Terroristani supporters. Hopefully, Indian MEA brings this up with the UK gov't about how to quell such protests in the future.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Lisa »

^ Who really cares for what they have to say. In India where it really matters they are irrelevant and long forgotten. Parade in London where again no one really knows what they want or who they are.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by ashish raval »

Why don't we allow anti ** rallies on our soil too and see how many foggy bottom get burned..
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by kvraghav »

They need to keep the khalistan and Sikh genocide flag flying else they won't get the asylum visa in UK and Canada.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Hari Seldon »

Does anybody hear about "Free Tibet/Taiwan/Tiananmen/<fill-in-d-blank>" brotests againsg PRC anywhere in the emerged world, including UKstan?

Used to wonder why not but its crystal clear now.

PRC has huge economic heft and muscle to throw around. And knows how to throw it around.

Results? All these gasbag pipsqueaks (UKstan, scatinavia etc) pontificating on faux-liberal/ hyooman rites BS throw their lofty principles under the bus the moment anyone in these places tries censuring PRC in any way or form. Only.

Hopefully, in a decade, when we are large enough too with even better upside growth potential, we'll not need to be as coarse as cheen in throwing weight around. The right hints in the right ears will go a long way, IMHO.

At that time, all this BS will evaporate quicker than an ice-cube in the sahara. Only.

Till then, we just yawn and move on. Only.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Philip »

Ignore these Paki expat zh*ts.These sum do not need the oxygen of publicity.The GOI/MEA should NOT respond to tbis non-UK/HMG sponsored show. It would be a diff. matter if a UK minister was part of the problem.
Scr*w the Paki "Lord, and his bunch of bungholes.

I've said it many a time, Pak is a contagious fatal disease which we should have no contact with.Quarantine it completely along India's border with it.Kick out their diplomats and suspend dpl relations untill terror stops.

We however must protest to the UK govt. about Paki terror attacks against our embassy and other centres in Kabul where the latest Paki/Talib bomb killed over 100 people!The Kabul govt. has blamed the Pakis for it saying that the Talib and Pak are the same.Western govt should be heavily lobbied to treat Pak like NoKo and huge sanctions imposed.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by anupmisra »

kvraghav wrote:They need to keep the khalistan and Sikh genocide flag flying else they won't get the asylum visa in UK and Canada.
Ignore these lunatic isolated fringe groups. They live in the (way) past. I once bumped into a couple in NYC. They did a number on themselves.

The same few dozens whose only "day time job" is to show up, loudly complain and incoherently protest about make believe issues, and collect their bi-weekly wages from the unemployment offices.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by anupmisra »

Philip wrote:Scr*w the Paki "Lord, and his bunch of bungholes.
This mirpuri idiot is just upset that his house got burgled and documents that expose his role in actively supporting terror in cashmere is out in the open.

By the way, remember this? This inbred is more paki than a brit lord.

Lord Ahmed suspended from Labour Party after 'offering £10m bounty for capture of Obama and Bush'
Lord Nazir Ahmed, 53, who in 1998 became the first Muslim life peer, was reported to have made the comments at a conference in Haripur in Pakistan.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -Bush.html
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by komal »

His wikipedia entry makes for fascinating reading.

I don't know anything about British political habits, but how does some like him get the money to go about his political theatrics? He doesn't seem to have any source of income.

The cynic in me suggests ISI.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by IndraD »

Malya living life of opulence in UK
UK Court Allows Three-Fold Increase In Vijay Mallya's Weekly Allowance https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/uk-cour ... ce-1813284

LONDON: Vijay Mallya, the embattled liquor baron wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering, will get over 18,000 pounds weekly - a three-fold increase - as "ordinary living expenses allowance" following a recent UK High Court order.

Vijay Mallya's lawyers had applied to the court for additional living expenses as part of an estimated $1.5 billion worldwide freezing order against the 62-year-old businessman last year.

In an order dated January 30, Justice Robin Knowles permitted the increase in Mr Mallya's "ordinary living expenses allowance" to a maximum of 18,325.31 pounds a week.

"This order does not prohibit the First Respondent (Mallya) from spending 18,325.31 pounds a week, to be aggregated quarterly, towards his ordinary living expenses," the court order states.

The allowance is believed to be a considerable boost on an estimated 5,000 pounds a week figure initially permitted by the court following a judgment of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in Karnataka last year.

The litigation in the Queen's Bench Division of the Commercial Court in England's High Court of Justice dates back to November 24, 2017, and lists 13 Indian banks as claimants - the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Corporation bank, Federal Bank Ltd, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of Mysore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Co. Pvt Ltd.

Vijay Mallya and related concerns Ladywalk LLP, Rose Capital Ventures Ltd and Orange India Holdings are listed as defendants.

The freezing order relates to Mr Mallya and his concerns being restrained from removing from the jurisdiction any of their assets in the jurisdiction up to a limit of 145,000,000 pounds and in any way disposing of, dealing with or diminishing the value of any of their assets whether they are inside or outside the jurisdiction up to the same value.

A full hearing in the case, which falls under the UK's Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933, is so far listed for April 12 and expected to last two days.

The court order of additional living expenses comes in the wake of the UK-based tycoon suffering a legal setback when the UK High Court awarded Singapore-headquartered BOC Aviation an estimated $90 million in claims earlier this month against Vijay Mallya's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Meanwhile, the Indian government's extradition case against Mr Mallya is set to come up for one of its final hearings before Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on March 16, with a judgement expected in May.

The businessman remains on a 650,000-pound bail bond, extended until April 2 at the last hearing in the trial in January.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by panduranghari »

Why has GOI not told the perfidious Brits to tell those absconding from India judiciary to return them or face oblivion for British businesses?
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by NRao »

British defence industry body downs shutters in India

Feb 21, 2018.
Even as New Delhi and London talk up the importance of their “strategic partnership” and exchange top-level political visits, the UK defence industry is thinning out from India.

Business Standard learns that the UK defence industry body ADS Group (the acronym encompasses “aerospace, defence, security and space”), which represents over a thousand defence firms, is shutting down its India office from March 31.

Since 2002, when ADS Group opened an office in New Delhi, it has been only its second foreign station after Toulouse, France. In 2009, ADS Group opened another office in Bangalore. “With its massive defence budget, a booming civil and military aviation market, and ambitious homeland security plans, India is a country one cannot afford to miss”, says the company websight even today.

That enthusiasm has dramatically waned. While no public announcement has yet been made, ADS Group member companies have been informed about the closure of the India office. So have Indian defence companies that joined the British industry body, hoping that would help them connect with small, UK-based, high technology companies, which they could potentially ally with or even buy out.

One of those Indian members was the Pune-based Kalyani Group, which confirms its membership lapsed as it became evident that ADS Group was pulling down the shutters in India.

After March 31, only a handful of large British manufacturers will retain a presence in India – large firms like BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Cobham, which do enough business in India to justify maintaining company offices.

The UK government will continue its support, though, with defence products ranking amongst Britain’s top three exports. This would be done through the UK Department of International Trade, which operates from the British High Commission in Delhi.

Even though India remains the world’s largest arms importer, much of New Delhi’s capital spending goes on government to government buys, or single vendor procurements from global defence giants. “Make in India”, which is what small British defence technology firms would gain business from, has always lagged the rhetoric, even after 2014, when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government portrayed defence manufacture as a key driver of its “Make in India” initiative.

It is understood that Paul Everitt, who heads ADS Group, has concluded that India is a difficult market that does not warrant the expense of a full-time office and staff.

Asked why it was closing its India office, ADS Group did not furnish a response.

Defence industry analyst, Major Karun Khanna (Retired), points out that most of UK defence industry consists of two big primes – BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce – which have their own India offices. With large US and French defence corporations buying into British defence firms in recent years, there is simply not enough UK defence industry left to justify industry body representation in India.

Other industry analysts argue that the high cost of British defence products is forcing its industry towards the exits. In contrast, US, Israeli and French defence firms are enlarging their presence in India, having developed low-cost production models that operate on wafer-thin margins.

In contrast to the bleak industry picture, India-UK political engagement is vibrant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UK in November 2015, which was reciprocated by his counterpart, Theresa May, a year later. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was to visit the UK this week, which was postponed after the terrorist attack in Jammu last week.

The British and Indian militaries do joint training together. Officers train at each others’ establishments. A “Defence Consultative Group Meeting” is held each year at the defence secretary level. Intelligence exchanges are robust.

The next opportunity for defence interaction would be the Defexpo India 2018 in Chennai in April, which the UK minister for defence production is likely to attend.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by arun »

X Posted from the Islamism thread.

From the Islamic Emirate of England, held Scotland, Wales and English Administered Ireland aka UK, news report that head of Christism’s Anglican Sub-Sect and Protestant sect shelves a little bit of pseudo-secular political correctness and says that belief inspired rules of fellow Abrahamic Mohammaddens are incompatible with the laws of the Islamic Emirate of England, held Scotland, Wales and English Administered Ireland as these are based on Christist values:

Archbishop of Canterbury says Islamic rules are incompatible with Britain's laws which have Christian values
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Singha »

the bear never forgets and never forgives... :oops:

ibnlive

London: Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who was convicted by Russia of betraying agents to British intelligence, was critically ill on Monday after exposure to an unidentified substance in Britain, two sources close to the investigation told Reuters.

British police said two people, a 66-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, had been found unconscious on a bench in a shopping centre on Sunday in the southern English city of Salisbury after exposure to the unknown substance.

Both are critically ill in intensive care. Police declared a major incident.

Skripal, once a colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence service, was convicted in Russia of treason in 2006 but exchanged as part of a Cold War-style spy swap in 2010 on the tarmac of Vienna airport. Skripal is 66 years old.

British police did not release the names of those who were being treated but two sources close to the investigation told Reuters that the critically ill man was Skripal. It was unclear what the substance was, they said.

"This has not been declared as a counter-terrorism incident and we would urge people not to speculate," Wiltshire police's Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden told reporters.

"However, I must emphasise that we retain an open mind, and that we continue to review this position."

Relations between Britain and Russia have been strained since the murder of ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210 in London in 2006, a killing which a British inquiry said was probably approved by President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing.

Litvinenko, 43, an outspoken critic of Putin who fled Russia for Britain six years to the day before he was poisoned, died after drinking green tea laced with the rare and very potent radioactive isotope at London’s Millennium Hotel.

It took some time for British doctors to discern the cause of Litvinenko's illness.

SPY SWAP

Skripal, who was arrested in 2004 by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of betraying dozens of Russian agents to British intelligence, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006.

But he was later pardoned in 2010 by then-President Dmitry Medvedev as part of a spy swap to bring 10 Russian agents held in the United States back to Moscow.

The swap, one of the biggest since the Cold War ended in 1991, took place on the tarmac of Vienna airport where a Russian and a U.S. jet parked side by side before the agents were exchanged.

One of the Russian spies exchanged for Skripal was Anna Chapman, who was greeted as a hero by the Kremlin. She was one of 10 spies who tried to blend in to American society in an apparent bid to get close to power brokers and learn secrets. They were arrested by the FBI in 2010.

Putin, himself a former KGB officer, sang patriotic songs with the returned spies.

Since finding refuge in Britain, Skripal kept largely out of the spotlight until he was seen making strange movements on a bench in Wiltshire on Sunday.

"On the bench there was a couple, an older guy and a younger girl. She was sort of leant-in on him, it looked like she'd passed out maybe. He was doing some strange hand movements, looking up to the sky," witness Freya Church told the BBC.

"They looked so out of it that I thought even if I did step in I wasn't sure how I could help, so I just left them. But it looked like they'd been taking something quite strong."
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Philip »

Another "Litvinenko" case? On the face of it it looks similar,to the ex-Russian low level spy who defected then some years later was found to have been poisoned with polonium. Despite the best efforts of the British,who tried to personally pin the blame on Vlad-the-Bad-Putin,it failed,as Litvi was found to have been also working for sev. western intel agencies and disgraced oligarchs enjoying the London air. It was found that the oligarchs had been plotting to defame Putin and were on behalf of their western sponsors,trying to overthrow him. Putin had little reason to hit a low-level agent long past his sell-by date for any outdated info he could've possessed. It appeared to be an oligarch sponsored hit in the conspiracy to overthrow Putin.The word John le Carre would've used is to build a fake "legend" of Putin's misdemeanours in the hope that ordinary Russians would vote him o"ut".Unfortunately,they've repeatedly voted him "in" with massive majorities!

Now this case.With so much controversy over the first,why would a second hit be made in similar fashion? The answer is Putin's latest challenge to the US/West a few days ago where he unveiled Russia's new strat. weaponry,supposedly "invulnerable",in a pre-election campaign for the Russian Presidential eletction coming up soon,where he is bound to be re-elected with a whopping majority.US and Western (read British) establishments want to oust Putin by any means.They tried the Russian hacking during the US elections,using an ex-MI-6 officer who supplied (dodgy) dossiers to US intel and lawmakers,in a similar fashion as the Iraq assessment of Saddam's intentions,which were "s*xed up",to make them appear more disturbing,now known as the "dodgy dossiers",the fictional handiwork of Tony B. Liar and his then chief of staff.

Putin openly condemning the West/NATO's advancing physically in Europe towards Russia's boundaries and stationing missiles and ABM system in former Warsaw pact nations,as well as unilaterally abandoning strat. arms agreements, was the last straw,which made him unveil Russia's secret weaponry. This case will inevitably be used by the Brits to defame Putin and Russia again,to punish him for challenging the West just before the Russian elections.In fact the Russians had complained about US interference in the Russian election just days ago.The Brit dirty tricks dept. must've planned this a long time ago. Two controversial British deaths involving the "suicide" of Dr.Kelly,its chem warfare expert and a young agent who was found dead in a zipped up bag at his flat, have never been properly explained.Kelly's "suicide" was done in a bizarre fashion,The unbiased assessment is that Kelly was murdered because he was going to openly say that Saddam had no chem weapons.
In fact the UN head of the team looking for Saddam;'s alleged WMDs,Hans Blix ,openly stated that he didn't have any WMDs .
The false threat of Saddam's missiles reaching Britain in just 15 mts. is what pushed its parliament to go to war. Tony B.Liar is now a utterly disgraced ex-PM whom the British public hold in the utmost contempt for his chicanery and falsehood and the huge pay-offs to him via the talking circuit which has made him a multi-millionaire.
Debate still surrounds Hutton's conclusion that Kelly committed suicide. The inquiry found that Kelly died after cutting an artery, had taken an overdose of painkillers and had heart disease which left his arteries "significantly narrowed". Thus, said experts, less blood loss may have killed the scientist than that needed to kill a healthy man.
Among those who have called for an inquest or have doubts it was a suicide are former Tory leader Michael Howard, and Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker, who wrote a book saying Kelly was most likely murdered.
A group of doctors say Hutton's findings should be discarded and a new inquest held. Dr Stephen Frost said: "We have lots of evidence … No coroner in the land would reach a verdict of suicide as Lord Hutton did."
Watch this story,its going to be fascinating stuff,Litvinenko redux!
Russian spy fighting for life after being 'poisoned' by unknown substance in Salisbury
Robert Mendick, chief reporter Hayley Dixon Victoria Ward Roland Oliphant
5 MARCH 2018 • 11:00PM
A Russian agent convicted of spying for Britain was fighting for his life last night amid suspicions he was poisoned in a shopping centre in Wiltshire.

Sergei Skripal, 66, was in intensive care after being exposed to a mysterious substance as he sat on a bench in the centre of Salisbury. A 33-year-old woman who was with him, is also in critical condition. Both had collapsed and were unconscious when they were discovered.
Reports suggest Col Skripal had recently gone to police claiming he was fearing for his life.

The incident comes a little over a decade after the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian agent who was poisoned by radioactive polonium in a London hotel.

Chemical suit is worn by emergency response in Salisbury
The Salisbury A&E shutdown followed an incident on Sunday in the Maltings shopping centre, where firefighters and police were in attendance CREDIT: SOLENT NEWS
Colonel Skripal, 66, a former Russian intelligence agent with the FSB, was jailed in Moscow for spying for Britain but had arrived in the UK in 2010 as part of a prisoner exchange. Anna Chapman, a Russia-born secret agent who had acquired British citizenship and who was detained by US authorities, was sent back to Russia along with nine other agents.

Litvinenko’s widow Marina Litvinenko told the Telegraph last night: “It looks similar to what happened to my husband but we need more information. We need to know the substance. Was it radioactive?”

A still from historic footage showing Sergei Skripal being arrested in by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB)
Colonel Skripal and his female companion was discovered on Sunday afternoon. An eyewitness told how she saw the pair seemingly "frozen" in place.

Georgia Pridham, 25, had been for a hen do lunch and was walking back to her friend’s car when she saw the couple slumped on a bench.
She told the Telegraph: “He was quite smartly dressed, which caught my eye. He had his palms up to the sky as if he was shrugging and was staring at the building in front of him.

He was conscious but it was like he was frozen and he was slightly rocking back and forward
Georgia Pridham, witness
“He had a woman sat next to him on the bench who was slumped on his shoulder. She looked grey and had her hood up.
“I thought 'that is quite odd, they must be on something'. I remember looking back at him thinking he would catch my eye but he was staring dead straight. He was conscious but it was like he was frozen and he was slightly rocking back and forward.

"She was just slumped onto his shoulder. She had a Parka jacket on with her hood up. I thought maybe she was asleep or passed out. He had a jacket and some smart trousers on. He didn’t look like the type to get high.”

The couple were unconscious when they were rushed to Salisbury District Hospital. Authorities later declared a major incident and its Accident & Emergency unit had to be closed.

On Monday night police said Zizzi restaurant, which was close to where Col Skripal and the woman were found, was closed in connection with the incident following consultation with Public Health England, suggesting one or both of them may have dined there beforehand.

Police inside a Zizzi restaurant in Castle Street, Salisbury, which has been closed in connection with the incident

Police wearing protective suits on Monday night were examining the area around the bench where the couple had collapsed. One well-placed source told The Telegraph a number of police officers who had initially attended the scene had also been treated for possible contamination although this newspaper was unable to verify that.
One report suggested a ‘specialist chemical response unit’ had removed an ‘unknown substance’ which had been wrapped in several protective layers.

The prospect of a state-sponsored assassination on Colonel Skripal was immediately raised by opponents of President Putin. :rotfl:
Garry Kasparov, the former chess world champion and high profile critic of the Russian leader, tweeted: “After the UK’s pathetic response to Litvinenko’s assassination with polonium in London, why wouldn’t Putin do it again?”

Colonel Skripal is thought to have been living quietly in Salisbury for the past seven years. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2006 after being found guilty of “high treason in the form of espionage” in a Moscow military court.

Russia alleged that Colonel Skripal had been paid $100,000 by MI6 in exchange for passing them the identities of Russian secret agents operating in Europe. He was branded a traitor and a disgrace.

Roads leading to Salisbury A&E closed on Monday

A Russian nuclear expert Igor Sutyagin, who had been convicted of spying in 2004, was also sent to the UK with Colonel Skripal as part of the spy swap. Dr Sutyagin, now a senior research fellow with the Royal United services Institute in London, last night said he only knew Colonel Skripal for the duration of their flight from Moscow.
*(RUSI,British leading strat. thinktank)

“If everything points to these people, then that’s a problem for them,” he said.

Dr Andrew Foxall, Director of the Russia and Eurasia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, said: “If confirmed, this would be the second case of a former Russian ‘spy’ being exposed to an unknown substance in the UK. The first, of course, was Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned by polonium-210 in 2006.

“While it is too soon to attribute responsibility, it would be foolhardy if the authorities were not to explore the Russia connection in relation to Mr Skripal’s illness.”

The Russians have more animus towards ‘traitors’ than dissidents, as it were
Mark Galeotti, Russian secret services expert
In a statement, temporary Assistant Chief Constable, Craig Holden of Wiltshire Police, said: “The two people – a man aged in his 60s, and a woman aged in her 30s – were found unconscious on a bench in The Maltings in Salisbury.

“Police officers, as well as colleagues from the ambulance and fire services attended the scene and cordons were put in place.”

The statement continued: “The pair, who we believe are known to each other, did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital. They are currently being treated for suspected exposure to an unknown substance. Both are currently in a critical condition in intensive care.”

“Because we are still at the very early stages of the investigation, we are unable to ascertain whether or not a crime has taken place.”

Sergei Skripal speaks behind bars
But the incident will inevitably raise concern that Russian assassins had struck again, 11 years after Litvinenko was murdered in 2006.

Mark Galeotti, an expert on the Russian secret services, said: “The Russians have more animus towards ‘traitors’ than dissidents, as it were.”

But he said it would be unusual to target an ex-spy who had been jailed debriefed and exchanged, adding: “One thing that made Alexander Litvinenko a target was that he was still working with the security services here and with others.

“If there was a belief, rightly or wrongly, that Skripal was working for the security services, or done something else to make him a person of interest, it would put him back in the cross hairs.”

Anna Chapman
Swap: Anna Chapman, the Russia-born secret agent who had acquired British citizenship, was sent back to Moscow along with nine other agents in
Miss Chapman, 36, who had married an English husband and had lived in London, had been arrested on spying in the US in 2010. The spies were swapped at Austria’s Vienna airport in scenes reminiscent of exchanges from the Cold War.

Early reports suggested that colonel Skripal and the unnamed woman may have been exposed to the synthetic drug, Fentanyl, which is up to 10,000 times more powerful than heroin and has been linked to scores of deaths in the UK.
*(Fentanyl linked deaths in the UK "scores"? Does this then mean they were all hit by the Russians? :rotfl: )

Authorities declined to speculate as investigations continue.

'Nothing had changed,' says widow of Alexander Litvinenko
The widow of Alexander Litvinenko has said she fears the discovery of a former Russian spy critically ill near his home after being exposed to an unknown substance bears similarities to the assassination of her husband.

Marina Litvinenko said if Sergei Skripal was found to have been poisoned, it showed “nothing has changed” since her husband was murdered.
A public inquiry found Mr Litvinenko was probably murdered in 2006 on the direct orders of Vladimir Putin.
The former KGB officer who died from radiation poisoning was killed by two Russian agents, Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, the inquiry report said.

Alexander Litvinenko, the former KGB spy who died following the presence of the radioactive polonium-210 in his body
WEITSZ/GETTY
There was a “strong probability” they were acting on behalf of the Russian FSB secret service, the report added.

Mrs Litvinenko told the Telegraph: "It looks similar to what happened to my husband but we need more information. We need to know the substance. Was it radioactive? We don't have enough information about what definitely happened."
She added: "I cannot say I am worried but it is really strange but I need to know what has happened and why. Logically it is very strange to do this before a presidential election. It is really difficult to know who might be behind this. The only thing I can say is if this is a poisoning it is just nothing has changed since my husband died."

Poisoning was also behind one of the most notorious UK mysteries of the Cold War, when the Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was poisoned on the orders of his country’s secret service, using the tip of an umbrella in central London.

Alexander Perepilichny was a Russian whistleblower found dead by his Surrey home in November 2012
More recent high-profile deaths of Russians in the UK have led to accusations of more assassinations.

An inquiry is ongoing into the death of Alexander Perepilichny a Russian whistleblower who fled to the UK after lifting the lid on a $230 million tax fraud by corrupt Russian government officials.

Mr Perepilichny died while out jogging in Surrey in 2012. Surrey Police and his wife do not believe his death was suspicious, but an inquest has heard his stomach showed traces of a rare deadly plant poison.

An inquest into the death of Boris Berezovsky a billionaire critic of Valdimir Putin found hanged at his UK home, in 2014 recorded an open verdict after experts disagreed over whether he could have been killed.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/0 ... substance/

What is a common factor with these suspicious deaths is that they've all happened to low grade defectors long after their usefulness,which beggars the Q that they were no longer of much use to the British intel community and were expendable.How come no recent defector has been bumped off before he or she could spill their secrets? That would make it arguably more probable that a Russian hand may have been the cause.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 41121.html
The former intelligence officer was flown to the UK, alongside Igor Sutyagin, another Russian national convicted of spying. Mr Sutyagin maintained his innocence.

Mr Sutyagin last night told The Independent he only knew Mr Skripal “for a few hours” during the transfer but he described the former military officer as being relieved to get out of Russia and reunited with his family – “not happy, glad”.

Mr Sutyagin said it was too early to speculate about the causes of Mr Skripal’s illness. However, he said it would be a “strange” time for the Kremlin to conduct such a risky operation on British soil, given the constant stream of bad news stories about Russia in the West. “They are mad, but not entirely stupid,” he added.
Singha
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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UK seems to be where russian oligarchs park and launder money through various ventures like real estate, stock market and football clubs.

why not paris, rome, zurich or berlin i wonder...
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Philip »

Ha!Ha!Ha! That's how London is the world's financial capital,capital from anywhere,any source,made any which-way! The world's most notorious and odious scumbags gather together in "Club Londinium",to bank their ill-gotten gains and live it up thanks to "Her Majesty's govt."!
Everything that's nice is available for a price,fancy a throw of the dice,at luxurious mansions free from lice and mice,even curry and rice,sugar and spice with lashings of vice ,delivered in a trice !
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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:roll:
Tom Symonds
@BBCTomSymonds
Sergei Skripal’s 43 year old son died last year in St Petersburg while on holiday with his girlfriend after being admitted to hospital with liver failure.

3:55 PM - Mar 6, 2018
Singha
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Singha »

i learnt yesterday(from a amazon prime series no less) that florida has a homestead exemption law that prohibits law enforcement from seizing real estate even if the owner is convicted. so a lot of white collar criminals invest in real estate there. different ethnic gangs operate there - cubans, haitians, mehicans , puerto ricans, russians, brazilians..... port of miami is the highest for all types of contraband smuggling...
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by Vips »

Yes even if you declare bankruptcy in other parts of the United States, no one can touch your Florida properties.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

Post by panduranghari »

Singha wrote:UK seems to be where russian oligarchs park and launder money through various ventures like real estate, stock market and football clubs.

why not paris, rome, zurich or berlin i wonder...
Why did LBMA go public?

Ever notice how many important middle eastern people keep a residence in London. It's not because of the climate. The most powerful banks in the world today are the ones that trade oil and gold. It is in the "city" that the deals are done by people who understand "value"!
http://www.usagold.com/goldtrail/archives/another1.html
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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BoJo has already jumped the starter's pistol accusing Russia o the foul deed even before an inquiry has been set up and the substance allegedly used on the victims has yet to be identified.Talk about kangaroo courts.Britain attracts the scum of the earth,the drug barons,arms dealers,shady oligarchs and "oilygarchs" from despotic Arab nations,and scumbags like Mallya,Modi and Modi from our shores too.If you land ashore in the British Isles with a load of cash,no questions are asked.you are welcomed as a famous pirate like Sir Francis Drake,and other famous pirates of yore who were celebrated when they brought their loot back to England centuries ago! Today,these shady scamsters buy up football clubs of the EPL and the English cry hooray!

Let's assume just for argument's sake that Russia was responsible for bumping off a traitor,does the West and Britain ever squeal when the Mossad bumps off enemies of israel,who've betrayed it or are working against the Jewish state? No.Mossad's victories are celebrated.What would be our reaction too if one of our covert services bumped off the R&AW traitor Rabinder Singh,who defected to the CIA,now living under an assumed name somewhere in the US? We would cheer from the rooftops! So too if those responsible for the naval war room leak hiding allegedly in the UK also 'croaked" or "kicked the bucket"? If Putin did indeed say that those Russian traitors who betrayed their country,their comrades and their people,would "choke on their 30 pieces of silver",I salute him!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/0 ... emergency/
Russian spy poisoning: 'More is known' about substance used on Sergei Skripal, Amber Rudd reveals

Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, continue to fight for their lives in hospital
Danny Boyle Jack Maidment, political correspondent
7 MARCH 2018 • 12:06PM
Police are close to a breakthrough in the Russian spy poisoning case, the Home Secretary has suggested, as she revealed "more is now known about the substance" used against Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Speaking after a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Amber Rudd said Scotland Yard will be revealing more details on the Salisbury investigation later on Wednesday.

She had been chairing a meeting of Cobra in Whitehall to discuss the crisis as Col Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, continue to fight for their lives in hospital.

know more about the substance and the police will be making a further statement this afternoon to share some of that."

Scotland Yard counter-terror officers further extended cordons in the city overnight, while scientists at Porton Down, the UK's military research facility, continue their investigation. One theory being explored was that the substance could be the deadly nerve agent, VX, which was used last year in the murder of Kim Jong-nam.

The high-profile investigation is entering its fourth day after Col Skripal and Yulia were found unconscious shortly after 4pm on Sunday. They are thought to have been exposed to an unknown substance as they sat on a bench outside a shopping centre.

A police officer in a protective suit and gas mask in Salisbury on Tuesday evening CREDIT: PETER MACDIARMID/LNP
In an update on Wednesday morning, detectives urged anybody who visited Salisbury town centre on Sunday afternoon or who visited a Zizzi restaurant or the Bishop's Mill pub to come forward.

A bridge in Salisbury, Wiltshire, was shut on Tuesday evening, while police were on Wednesday morning seen at Zizzi restaurant, where the pair are said to have eaten on Sunday.

The developments came as it emerged that Vladimir Putin had vowed to kill Col Sergei as he was being sent to the UK in a spy exchange.

The emergence of Mr Putin's warning will reinforce ministers' belief that the attack was state-sponsored and perpetrated by the FSB Russian intelligence agency.

Police outside the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury near to where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was found critically ill
Police outside the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury on Wednesday morning CREDIT: ANDREW MATTHEWS /PA
It came amid rising diplomatic tension between Moscow and London as Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, threatened fresh sanctions against Russia.

The home affairs select committee has called for a review into 14 deaths that were not treated as suspicious by UK police but were reportedly identified by US Intelligence officials to Buzzfeed as linked to Russia.

It also emerged last night that Col Skripal's daughter Yulia had previously expressed contempt for Mr Putin in social media posts, accusing him of being "the worst president in the world". She also remarked "nice" when a friend said he hoped to see the president jailed.

Colonel Sergei Skripal was given refuge in the UK as part of a spy swap
Scotland Yard said detectives were "keeping an open mind as to what happened", and that the incident had not been declared a terrorist incident - adding that it would not "provide a running commentary" on the investigation.

But it forced the Government into calling a meeting of Cobra on Wednesday morning.

The cross-departmental meeting - previously held after terror attacks to plot the Government's response to national emergencies - comes as relations between the UK and the Kremlin soured after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson went on the offensive in the House of Commons.

Home of former Russian Spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.
Police outside the home of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury CREDIT: EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Addressing MPs about the "disturbing incident", Mr Johnson noted that this case had "echoes" of the death of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident who was fatally poisoned in London in 2006.

He said: "While it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation, I can reassure the House that should evidence emerge that implies state responsibility, then Her Majesty's Government will respond appropriately and robustly."

In a fresh sign of the deterioration in relations between the countries, Mr Johnson also claimed Russia is "in many respects a malign and disruptive force".

The Russian Embassy said it was "completely untrue" to suggest the country's special services were involved and criticised Mr Johnson for speaking "in such a manner as if the investigation was already over".

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in nearby Porton Down, which has state-of-the-art equipment to look for trace amounts of substances, is believed to be involved in examining what could have caused Mr Skripal and his daughter to fall ill.

Mr Skripal was convicted in 2006 of passing state secrets to MI6 before being given refuge in the UK as part of a spy swap.

Video: CCTV shows 'persons of interest' in Salisbury

The former colonel in Russian military intelligence, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison, was among four convicts who were given pardons and one of two sent to Britain in 2010 in a deal that was said at the time to be the largest exchange since the Cold War.

He was found along with his daughter on a bench in The Maltings in Salisbury after police were called by a concerned member of the public at around 4.15pm on Sunday.

The pair did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital, where they are being treated in intensive care for "suspected exposure to an unknown substance".

Officers subsequently "secured" a number of scenes - including the Zizzi restaurant on Castle Street and the Bishop's Mill pub in The Maltings.

Police cordon in Salisbury on Tuesday
Police cordon in Salisbury on Tuesday CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
At least two people left a contamination tent inside the cordon wearing protective suits and gas masks on Tuesday night.

People could also be seen inside Zizzi's restaurant wearing protective gear and masks.

Two police vans were parked outside Zizzi's restaurant on Castle Street early on Wednesday, blocking the windows, but the lights inside the Italian chain pizzeria were lit.

Was deadly VX nerve agent used in Salisbury?
Government scientists are analysing the substance at the centre of the Russian spy attack, amid fears it was a deadly nerve agent used in previous high profile political assassinations.

Experts from the government's chemical defence laboratory at Porton Down, just six miles from where Sergei Skripal was targeted in Salisbury, are understood to be urgently trying to identify the chemical.

One theory being explored was that the substance could be the deadly nerve agent, VX, which was used last year in the murder of Kim Jong-nam - the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The chemical was first developed by the British firm, ICI, in the 1950s, but was put to deadly use by Saddam Hussein in an attack against the Kurds in 1988.

Kim Jong-nam was killed last February at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, when two women approached him and smeared cloths soaked with VX nerve agent across his face.

The fast acting toxin began to attack his nervous system and despite being able to alert officials, he was dead within 20 minutes.

The United States formally concluded on Tuesday that North Korea ordered the murder of Kim Jong-nam with the VX nerve agent.

VX, which is the most deadly of all nerve agents, was first developed in the 1950s and is a tasteless and odorless liquid, which can be fatal for humans on skin contact.

It penetrates the skin and disrupts the transmission of nerve impulses, leading to a loss of consciousness, paralysis and eventually fatal respiratory failure.

Alexander Perepilichnyy, who died in mysterious circumstances CREDIT: PA
Counter terror police, who are now leading the investigation into the Salisbury poisonings, will also be examining the 2012 death of Russian whistleblower, Alexander Perepilichnyy, who died in mysterious circumstances.

He was initially thought to have died of natural causes while out jogging but traces of a deadly chemical was later found in his stomach.

'Traitors will kick the bucket': How Putin threatened Russians double agents
Vladimir Putin threatened that Russians who betrayed secrets to the West would die, during a television interview at the time of the Col Skripal spy swap.

The Russian President’s threats came after a Russian spy ring was broken up in the US in 2010, leading to the exchange of agents held by Moscow, including Mr Skripal who had been convicted in 2006 of spying for the British.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued the threat on television CREDIT: MIKHAIL SVETLOV /GETTY
Asked on Russian television at the time who might have betrayed the US spy ring, Mr Putin said: “Traitors will kick the bucket. Trust me.

“These people betrayed their friends, their brothers in arms. Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them.”

Col Skripal was living under own name in Salisbury after pardon
Mr Skripal had not adopted a new identity and was living under his own name in Salisbury after being released in the 2010 spy swap, reports Ben Farmer.

Another Russian, Igor Sutyagin, who came to Britain in the same exchange also retains his identity. Both had been pardoned after the swap by the then president, Dmitry Medvedev.

Kier Giles, a Russia expert at the Chatham House think tank, said: “In the context of this particular spy swap, that does seem to be the norm.

“They were living openly under their own names. They reached the conclusion, with or without advice from the British government, that it was safe to do so. They possibly thought the state pardon that they received under the president Medvedev was an additional indication that no one would be coming after them.”

But he said the Medvedev pardon “would not hold much water when it comes to the FSB deciding what it wants to do about things”.

In earlier Cold War incidents, Russian spies who defected to Britain were given entirely new identities and lived in hiding.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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the russi mafia seems to have been partly weaponized to act as proxies for such projects

cnn

Alexander Perepilichnyy was a financier who provided evidence of alleged fraud against Russian tax officials. He died suddenly in 2012 at the age of 44 while jogging back to his home in Surrey, southwest of London.
It first appeared that the whistle-blower had died of natural causes, but evidence has emerged over recent years suggesting he may have been poisoned.
In 2015, plant toxicology experts from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew told a coroner's court that traces of a rare plant poison, gelsemium, were found in his stomach.
In 2017, evidence emerged that he may have had poison slipped in his sorrel soup, a popular Russian dish he had eaten shortly before his death.
Police would say later, that they found no evidence that he was poisoned.
Perepilichnyy was helping in a case to uncover a multimillion dollar Russian money-laundering operation at the time of his death.
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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IBnlive
This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent," London Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters. "I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically."

Rowley said government scientists had identified the specific nerve agent but he would not say what it was because it was part of the investigation. He also declined to give any details about how it was administered to Skripal, 66, and his daughter
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Re: Indo-UK News & Discussions- June 2017

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The "tooth" is slowly outing! The ex-Ru. spy,pardoned by Russia,exchanged for Anna Chapman and others,was not enjoying a quiet retd. life but had resumed his former career as a "freelance" agent.This std. practice by Brit./Western intel entities so they can wash their hands off any involvement should the op go sour.The same tactic was used in the anti-Trump campaign,where a dodgy dossier was allegedly prepared by an ex-MI-6 agent,for use by Trump's opponents.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/cr ... 46686.html
Sergei Skripal: Former double agent may have been poisoned with nerve agent over 'freelance' spying, sources say
DS Nick Bailey praised as hero after being made seriously ill while helping victims

Kim Sengupta, Lizzie Dearden 16 hours ago
Members of the emergency services reposition a tent over the bench where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found Getty
The Russian double agent poisoned in Salisbury may have become a target after using his contacts in the intelligence community to work for private security firms, investigators believe.

Sergei Skripal could have come to the attention of certain people in Russia by attempting to “freelance” for companies run by former MI5, MI6 and GCHQ spies, security sources say.

Mr Skripal, who remains in hospital in a critical condition alongside his daughter, Yulia, had kept in touch with members of the intelligence community, past and present. Investigators are examining whether he was using those contacts for work.

There are large numbers of private security firms in the UK which are actively involved, for commercial as well as state clients, in researching the activities of powerful individuals with links to the Kremlin power structure.


Sources close to Orbis, the business intelligence firm run by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, who was behind a dossier of compromising allegations against Donald Trump, said Mr Skripal did not contribute to the file. But they could not say whether Mr Skripal was involved in different investigations into the US President for other interested parties.

The developments came as Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was named as the police officer who was also admitted to hospital after exposure to the nerve agent. A total of 21 people were affected by the poison, police said last night.

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Security officials told The Independent that 66-year-old Mr Skripal was no longer an active MI6 asset and was not regarded as being under threat, meaning he was not given a new identity and lived openly under his own name.

Investigators are looking at the possibility that the attackers may have flown into Britain to carry out their mission and then left, possibly individually, afterwards. It is possible, say security sources, that the attack was carried out by ‘sleeper’ agents, but this is believed to be an unlikely scenario.

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Skripal during his trial in Moscow, 2006 (AP)

The Home Secretary told the House of Commons both Mr Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter remain unconscious, in a critical but stable condition.
Amber Rudd said the nerve agent used was “very rare” but declined to name the precise chemical and emphasised that the risk to the public was low.

Investigators are considering the possibility that instead of an overtly physical assault, a package containing the nerve agent may have been delivered to Mr Skripal and opened it in the presence of his daughter, exposing them both.

Forensic tests are focusing on his home in Salisbury, a branch of the Zizzi restaurant chain and The Mill pub in Salisbury, where witnesses say Mr Skripal began to behave in an agitated manner.

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“Samples from the victims have been tested by experts at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down,” Ms Rudd said, referring to the secretive military facility where nerve agents have been developed and tested over decades of controversial research.

“The use of a nerve agent on UK soil is a brazen and reckless act. This was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way.”

She said DS Bailey was “conscious, talking and engaging” from his bed at Salisbury District Hospital, praising his “selfless” actions.

Kier Pritchard, the temporary Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, said the officer should be “back on his feet and back at work very soon”.

After visiting DS Bailey in the intensive care unit, where his wife was by his bedside, the officer said: “I’ve known Nick for many years, he’s a great character, he’s a huge presence in Wiltshire Police – well liked, well loved, a massively dedicated officer.

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DS Nick Bailey is in hospital after being poisoned by the nerve agent (Wiltshire Police)

“He’s well, he’s sat up. He is not the Nick that I know but of course he’s receiving a high level of treatment.”

DS Bailey, who joined Wiltshire Police in 2002, was given a formal commendation in 2016 for his work putting a serial rapist who targeted victims over four decades behind bars.

Temporary Chief Constable Pritchard said he was “massively proud” of the officer and all his staff for their response, which will be the subject of a church service at St Thomas’s, in Salisbury city centre next month.

“We’ve had multiple officers involved, there’s been a total of 21 people including the main two index patients… a number of those have been through the hospital treatment process,” the officer added.

“They’re having blood tests, they’ve having treatment, support and advice provided.”

The investigation continued to widen on Thursday as officers raced to establish how Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned, and who by.

New police cordons were erected around the gravestone of Mr Skripal’s wife Liudmila, who was buried in 2012, and the memorial stone of his son, Alexander, who was cremated last year.

They are located at separate sites in the London Road Cemetery with each guarded by a police officer.

Counter-terror police are believed to be looking into the deaths, as well as that of Mr Skripal’s elder brother Valeri, a former paratrooper in Russian forces who died two years ago after sudden weight loss.

The cause of 59-year-old Ms Skripal’s death was recorded as endometrial cancer and Alexander, 44, was said to have suffered liver failure while on holiday.

Mr Skripal’s wife passed away in the UK but Alexander and Valeri died in Russia and any fresh probe into the circumstances will need the cooperation of the authorities in Moscow.

Tom Tugdenhat, a Conservative MP, claimed “it wasn’t just Mr Skripal that was [attempted to be] murdered, it looks likely that his wife was murdered a year or so ago, his son was murdered in 2007 and now his daughter too”.

Security sources, however cautioned against making assumptions before investigations have been carried out.

Suspicion has turned to the Russian government, which jailed Mr Skripal for “treason” in 2006, or former spies he betrayed while working for MI6 during his time as a colonel in the GRU military intelligence service.


Theresa May declined to say whether she held Russia responsible for the attack, in the wake of high-level Cobra and National Security Council meetings.

“We need to let the police have the space and time to conduct their investigating so that we get the best possible evidence of what has happened in this particular case,” the Prime Minister said.

“Of course if action needs to be taken then the Government will do that. We’ll do that properly, at the right time, and on the basis on the best evidence.”

Mr Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a nearby bench in The Maltings shopping centre at around 4.15pm, where a passing doctor described Yulia “vomiting and fitting” after losing control of her bodily functions.

The woman, who asked not to be named, told the BBC she moved Ms Skripal into the recovery position and opened her airway, as others tended to her father.

The nerve agent used would have been difficult to obtain and could have only been manufactured in a specialist laboratory, according to a Whitehall official with knowledge of the investigation.

The substance would, it is claimed, have been relatively easy to make but the relative rarity of the material and the damage it can cause points towards the production taking place in state controlled facilities and tracing it could point towards those who wanted Mr Skripal murdered.

Preliminary tests do not indicate that the substance used was sarin, which has been used in a Tokyo subway attack and the Syrian civil war, or deadly VX, which was developed at Porton Down and used to kill the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Malaysia last year.
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