Poisoned Door Handle Hints at High-Level Plot to Kill Spy, U.K. Officials Say

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Poisoned Door Handle Hints at High-Level Plot to Kill Spy, U.K. Officials Say Photo Police officers searched the home of Sergei Skripal, a former spy, in Salisbury, Britain. He and his daughter were poisoned last month. Credit Jack Taylor/Getty Images LONDON — British officials investigating the poisoning of Sergei V. Skripal, a former Russian double agent, believe it is likely that an assassin smeared a nerve agent on the door handle at his home. This operation is seen as so risky and sensitive that it is unlikely to have been undertaken without approval from the Kremlin, according to officials who have been briefed on the early findings of the inquiry.
This theory suggests that an assassin, who Britain believes was working on behalf of the Russian government, walked up to the door of Mr. Skripal’s brick home on a quiet street in Salisbury on March 4, the day that he and his daughter, Yulia, were sickened.
Mr. Skripal, who was freed in a spy swap with the United States in 2010, is sti..

Fire in Mexican Prison Kills at Least 6 Police Officers

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Fire in Mexican Prison Kills at Least 6 Police Officers
VERACRUZ, Mexico — Six police officers died on Sunday from smoke inhalation after prisoners started a fire while resisting an effort to transfer dangerous inmates out of a prison in Mexico’s Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, the authorities said.
Gov. Miguel Ángel Yunes of Veracruz said a seventh person had died, but it was unclear whether that person was an inmate or a prison guard.
Mr. Yunes said four “highly dangerous” inmates had been helping run criminal networks in the area around La Toma prison in the town of Amatlán de los Reyes, so officials had decided to transfer them to a maximum-security federal prison.
The governor did not name the criminal gang involved, but the area was long dominated by the Zetas cartel.

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When local police officers, in support of the state police, entered the prison to get the four inmates for transfer, they were apparently ambushed by prisoners, who b..

After Gaza Clash, Israel and Palestinians Fight With Videos and Words

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After Gaza Clash, Israel and Palestinians Fight With Videos and Words Photo Israeli sharpshooters taking position on Friday as they were deployed at the border between Israel and Gaza, next to the Gaza town of Beit Hanun. Credit Atef Safadi/EPA, via Shutterstock JERUSALEM — Days after the deadly flare-up along Israel’s border with Gaza, during which Israeli troops killed 15 Palestinians, a new war — of videos and strong statements — has erupted over what happened, and why.
The violence has waned in what was the bloodiest day in Gaza since the war of 2014, but both sides have been pressing their cases to defend their actions.
Palestinians, supported by human rights groups, view the events as a legitimate protest that was met with disproportionate force by trigger-happy Israeli soldiers.
Israel says it acted judiciously to prevent a dangerous breach of its borders and sovereignty led by Hamas, the Islamic group that controls Gaza, and to protect nearby communities. The toll would have be..

Onstage, South Korean K-Pop Stars. In the Balcony, Kim Jong-un, Clapping.

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Onstage, South Korean K-Pop Stars. In the Balcony, Kim Jong-un, Clapping. Photo North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, on balcony, top right center, drew thunderous applause when he appeared for a performance by South Korean musicians in Pyongyang on Sunday. Credit Pool photo/EPA, via Shutterstock SEOUL, South Korea — He clapped and he smiled, even posing for a group photo with a K-pop band.
The appearance by North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, on Sunday at a concert by South Korean musicians in Pyongyang was all the more unusual because his authoritarian government has been struggling to stave off what it sees as an infiltration of the South’s pop culture among his isolated people.
But Mr. Kim shook the hands of members of South Korea’s most popular girl band, Red Velvet, which he and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, watched from a balcony.
After watching Red Velvet perform, Mr. Kim reportedly pronounced the event a “gift for Pyongyang citizens.”
The two-hour show at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater w..