Alexei Navalny, the prominent Russian opposition leader, died in prison after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found in Ecuadorian dart frogs, according to claims made by the UK and its allies on Saturday, February 14, 2026. The alleged use of a neurotoxin, classified as a chemical weapon, has been attributed to Vladimir Putin's government.
The UK's Security and Defence Editor, Deborah Haynes, reported on Sky News that the poison is 200 times stronger than morphine, with Germany's foreign minister stating that "victims suffocate in agony." The Sky News report highlighted the "barbaric" nature of the act.
In other news, the US military announced on Friday, February 13, 2026, that it had "eliminated" a vessel allegedly linked to drug trafficking in Caribbean waters near Venezuela, resulting in the deaths of three crew members. Euronews reported that the operation, carried out by Operation Southern Lance, took place along a route identified as a common organized crime corridor, according to the Southern Command's official account on X.
Meanwhile, a security lapse at DavaIndia Pharmacy, a major Indian pharmacy chain, exposed customer data and internal systems. TechCrunch reported that the flaw, discovered by security researcher Eaton Zveare, allowed outsiders to gain full administrative control of the platform, including access to customer order data and sensitive drug-control functions. The bug has since been fixed, and Zveare disclosed his findings to Indian cybersecurity authorities.
In the tech world, 4chan's creator, Chris "moot" Poole, told The Verge that Jeffrey Epstein had "nothing to do" with the creation of the infamous far-right board /pol/. Poole also expressed regret at ever encountering Epstein.
Finally, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a formal statement on Friday, February 13, 2026, condemning a US-funded newborn vaccine trial as unethical. Ars Technica reported that the trial, conducted in Guinea-Bissau, Africa, would withhold an established, safe, and potentially lifesaving vaccine against hepatitis B from some newborns. The WHO concluded that the trial was inconsistent with established ethical and scientific principles. The trial has drawn widespread condemnation from health experts since the US funding was announced in December.
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