The United Kingdom and its allies announced that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed using a poison derived from an Ecuadorian dart frog toxin, a neurotoxin classified as a chemical weapon, according to Sky News. The extraordinary announcement, made at a security conference in Munich, was deliberately timed to grab global headlines, as reported by Sky News.
Navalny died in prison in Russia, and the UK and its allies believe he was poisoned. The toxin, which is 200 times stronger than morphine, causes victims to suffocate in agony, according to Germany's foreign minister, as reported by Sky News. Sky News understands the toxin was likely manufactured in a laboratory rather than taken directly from the frogs.
The timing of the announcement, at a security conference, was strategic. Naming the alleged responsible party in a political assassination, if the claim of poisoning is substantiated, is a form of information weapon, according to Sky News. The Russian state has a history of using exotic poisons to murder its opponents, including nerve agents and radioactive isotopes, as noted by Sky News.
In other news, a young man, Quentin D, died in a hospital in Lyon, France, from a traumatic brain injury after being violently attacked on Thursday, according to Euronews. The attack occurred on the sidelines of an event held by LFI MEP Rima Hassan.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has been increasing pressure on tech companies to identify the owners of social media accounts that criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to The New York Times, as reported by TechCrunch. The department has been sending hundreds of administrative subpoenas to tech companies like Google, which do not require a judge's approval.
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