CLOAK AND DAGGER.
Here are the key dates in the continuing affair of former Russian intelligence officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, who died in London on November 23 after apparently being poisoned by the radioactive isotope polonium-210.
November 1: Former Russian security officer and vocal Kremlin critic Aleksandr Litvinenko meets two Russians for tea in a central London hotel, then meets an Italian contact, Mario Scaramella, in a sushi restaurant. Shortly after, Litvinenko starts to feel ill.
November 16: Police are informed that Litvinenko is in a serious condition in hospital in Barnet, north London.
November 17: Litvinenko is transferred to University College Hospital in central London.
November 19: British newspapers break the story of his poisoning, initially thought to be caused by radioactive thallium.
November 20: Litvinenko is transferred into intensive care. A photograph is released showing him bald and wearing a green hospital gown. Antiterrorism police take over the probe. Moscow rejects claims that it was behind the poisoning.
November 21: A key doctor says Litvinenko may have been poisoned with thallium. Scaramella says that he and Litvinenko were targeted on a hit list.
November 23: Doctors rule out thallium as the poison, leaving the cause unclear. Litvinenko dies at 9:21 p.m. local time.
November 24: In a death-bed letter, Litvinenko blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for his demise. Putin condemns the claim as politically motivated. Health authorities say Litvinenko was probably poisoned with polonium-210, in an "unprecedented" attack in Britain. Polonium-210 found Litvinenko's London home, the hotel, and sushi bar he visited. The government's top security committee, COBRA, meets to discuss the situation. The Foreign Office says it has raised the case with the Russian Embassy.
November 25: Scaramella alleges the Kremlin was behind the Russian's killing. British authorities urge people who were in the contaminated sushi bar or hotel to contact them. COBRA meets again.
November 26: Hundreds call emergency health hotline to report symptoms, while a government minister, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, laments the "murky" death of Litvinenko.
November 27: Traces of radioactivity are found in two new locations. Scaramella is taken into protective police custody.
November 28: Authorities confirm traces of radioactivity at five locations. Russian prosecutors in Moscow offer to cooperate with British police.
November 29: Prime Minister Tony Blair pledges there will be "no diplomatic or political barrier in the way of that investigation." British Airways says it has found low levels of radioactivity on two aircraft, including one flown back from Moscow to London. Former acting Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is reported to be in hospital after falling ill in Ireland, triggering speculation of a link.
November 30: U.K. Home Secretary John Reid announces that traces of radioactivity have been found in around a dozen locations. Four aircraft are grounded pending radiation checks. One is given the all-clear. Reid says the authorities may also be interested in a fifth Russian jet.
December 1: Scaramella tests positive for polonium-210 and is hospitalized. Doctors say he is "well," with symptoms less serious than the ones that led to Litvinenko's hospitalization. A specialist postmortem examination of Litvinenko's body takes place. Litvinenko's friend Alex Goldfarb says he has given British police scans of letters he says were written by a jailed former Russian intelligence officer showing the existence of a secret squad targeting Litvinenko and others. Ireland's nuclear watchdog assists police investigating Gaidar's mystery illness.
December 2: Scaramella shows "no evidence of radiation toxicity" in early tests. Three British Airways planes are cleared for use again. Ireland's health authorities find no traces of radiation at the hospital where Gaidar was treated.
December 3: U.K. Home Secretary John Reid says the Litvinenko investigation will likely widen to Europe.
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