UK police say cannot offer safety guarantees after Novichok death
LONDON:British
police on Monday said they could not rule out further contaminations after a 44-year-old mother of three died in southwest England following exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.
“I simply cannot offer any guarantees,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Britain’s counter-terror police, which is leading the investigation, told reporters.
While Basu emphasised that public health authorities had said the risk was “low”, he added: “I do, however, recognise there will still be people in the local area with concerns.” Dawn Sturgess died on Sunday and her 45-yearold partner Charlie Rowley is still critically ill in hospital after the two collapsed at Rowley’s home near Salisbury on Saturday.
Police have now launched a murder investigation. Salisbury is where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the same Soviet-made toxin four months ago before recovering. Britain blamed Russia for the poisoning -- a charge strongly denied by Moscow which has challenged British authorities to show the evidence. Basu said the two “must have got a high dose” and police were seeking a “container” they are believed to have handled. REUTERS
A court in Myanmar on Monday charged two jailed Reuters journalists with obtaining secret state documents, moving the landmark press freedom case into its trial stage after six months of preliminary hearings.
Yangon district judge Ye Lwin charged reporters Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, with breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Both journalists pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, telling the judge they had “followed journalistic ethics”.
Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Wa Lone said he and Kyaw Soe Oo had committed no crime and would testify to their innocence in court. “Although we are charged, we are not guilty,” he said, in handcuffs, as officials ushered him into a police truck. “We will not retreat, give up or be shaken by this.”
Chief prosecutor Kyaw Min Aung left the courthouse before reporters were able to ask him questions.
The case has attracted global attention. Some Western diplomats and rights groups say it is a test of progress towards full democracy under the administration of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a country where the military still wields considerable influence.
The United States embassy in Yangon said it was “deeply disappointed” by the court’s decision.
YANGON: