A retired army major-general tested positive for a radioactive substance after two men suspected of poisoning former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko had visited his offices, an inquiry heard.

A long-awaited inquiry into the death of Russian former spy Alexander Litvinenko opened with the revelation that the KGB agent turned Kremlin critic may have been poisoned with radioactive polonium not once — as authorities initially thought — but twice.

An inquiry into the death of the Russian fugitive has finally opened. But those who say that justice delayed is justice denied have doubts that the truth will ever emerge, writes Mary Dejevsky

The death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko gives rise to issues of “utmost gravity” including allegations of state-sponsored assassination, the chair of a public inquiry has said.

A long-awaited public inquiry into the death of poisoned spy Alexander Litvinenko is finally set to open today, more than eight years after his death.

A Russian production company has hired a man charged with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko as a consultant on a TV series about the mysterious death.

Britain’s ambassador to Russia said today that the Government will continue to press for the extradition of the main suspect in the killing of Alexander Litvinenko despite his probable membership in Russia’s new parliament, Russian news agencies reported.

The former KGB officer suspected of involvement in the death of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London last year dismissed concerns today that his recent election to Russia’s parliament was a spit in the face of the West.

Vladimir Putin’s party won a crushing victory in Russia’s parliamentary elections, paving the way for the leader to remain in control even after he steps down as president.

The former KGB officer named as a suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London last year said today the British Government’s case against him has collapsed and called the dead man a “traitor”.

THE sole suspect in the radiation poisoning death of Kremlin foe Alexander Litvinenko has been nominated to run for parliament on a pro-Kremlin ultra-nationalist party’s ticket, its leader said yesterday.

RUSSIAN prosecutors yesterday said they have officially refused Britain’s request to extradite a businessman accused in last year’s fatal poisoning of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko.

A Russian who met Alexander Litvinenko in London with the man British authorities accuse of murdering the former KGB spy said in an interview that he could also be accused.

A Russian who met Alexander Litvinenko in London with the man British authorities accuse of murdering the former KGB spy said in an interview broadcast tonight that he could also be accused.

A Russian who met Alexander Litvinenko in London with the man British authorities accuse of murdering the former KGB spy said in an interview broadcast tonight that he could also be accused.

The British ambassador today handed Russian authorities a request for the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, the suspect in the killing of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, a British Embassy spokesperson said.

Russia's top prosecutor told his British counterpart today that Russia could prosecute the chief suspect in the Alexander Litvinenko killing if Britain presents sufficient evidence, the Interfax news agency reported.

TWO businessmen who had met with former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko in London on the day he fell ill said yesterday they would seek compensation from a charity created by his friends and widow.

The man reported to be a suspect in the murder of a former Russian agent in London hit out today at “lies, provocation and government propaganda”, denying any role in the radiation poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko.

A businessman linked to the poisoning death of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko today said he had been released from a Moscow hospital where he was reportedly being treated for radiation exposure.

A key witness in the poisoning death of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko today faced a second round of questioning by British investigators, news reports said.

A key witness in the investigation into the radiation death of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko denied involvement in the poisoning today, saying he is being unjustly accused in the media.

A key witness in the radiation death of former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko claimed the poisoning took place earlier than is widely believed, a newspaper in Russia reported today.

Interpol has joined the investigation into the killing of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, the Interfax news agency reported today.

GERMAN investigators have confirmed a car used by a contact of a fatally poisoned ex-KGB agent before the two men met was contaminated with the rare radioactive substance polonium-210, police said.

Family and friends of poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko are unlikely to cooperate with a Russian investigation into his death, it was claimed tonight.

Russia has opened a criminal case in the poisoning death of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko and for the attempted killing of associate Dmitry Kovtun, the Prosecutor General’s office said today.

Ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died last month after being poisoned, was scheduled to be buried in London today, his friends said.

Russian investigators said they have begun questioning in the radiation poisoning death of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, a case that has left radiation traces from a London soccer stadium to the British Embassy in Moscow.

Experts have found minor traces of radiation at the British Embassy in Moscow but they presented no health risk to the public, an embassy spokesman said today.

A key witness in the radiation poisoning case of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko said he would meet with British investigators today, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

British police investigating the poisoning death of a former KGB agent have officially requested assistance from their Russian counterparts, prosecutors said, as officers arrived in Moscow amid rising diplomatic tensions.

Detectives in the UK investigating the death of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko were tonight planning to fly to Moscow in their hunt for clues into the dissident’s poisoning, sources have confirmed.

An Italian academic feared to have been another victim of the Russian hit squad which killed ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko remains under close observation in hospital today.