Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


British Man's Condition Upgraded After Nerve Agent Poisoning

by VOA News

   A British man who was poisoned with a nerve agent is no longer in
   critical condition, an official at the London hospital that is treating
   the victim said Wednesday.

   "Charlie Rowley is made further progress overnight," said Salisbury
   District Hospital nursing director Lorna Wilkinson. "His condition is
   now serious but stable ...," she added.

   The 45-year-old Rowley and 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess, both British
   nationals, became sick on June 30 in the town of Amesbury after being
   exposed to Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent produced in the
   Soviet Union during the Cold War.

   Sturgess died and British police have opened a murder investigation.

   British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson told parliament on Monday
   that Russia was responsible for Sturgess' death, a charge that Russia
   has denied.

   Metropolitan Police Assistant Police Commissioner Neil Basu said there
   is no definitive proof that the Novichok that poisoned Rowley and
   Sturgess was the same batch used in March against former Russian spy
   Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.