http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061120/ap_on_re_eu/britain_russian_spyCondition of former KGB spy worsens
By TARIQ PANJA
LONDON - A former KGB agent turned Kremlin critic who was poisoned three weeks ago was moved into intensive care Monday after his condition deteriorated, and his doctor said the toxin has attacked his bone marrow.
Col. Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB and Federal Security Bureau agent, was under armed guard at a London hospital, as authorities investigated the poisoning that has all the hallmarks of a Cold War thriller.
Prominent Russian exiles claimed Litvinenko was poisoned at the behest of the Kremlin; Russian authorities denied any link to the attack. Police counterterrorism officials have taken charge of the inquiry.
Doctors said Litvinenko was seriously ill after being given the deadly poison thallium — a toxic metal found in some types of rat poison that can cause damage to the nervous system and organ failure. Such poison has been outlawed in Britain since the 1970s, making it highly unlikely any could have gotten into his food by accident.