Britain braced for a showdown with Russia on March 14 after a midnight deadline set by Prime Minister Theresa May expired without an explanation from Moscow about how a Soviet-era nerve toxin was used to strike down a former Russian double agent.
Reuters: Britain and Russia brace for showdown over nerve attack on ex-spy
British Police Community Support Officers stand on duty outside a residential property in Salisbury, southern England, on March 6, 2018, believed to have been cordonned off in connection with the major incident which started at The Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury on March 4.British police raced on March 6 to identify an unknown substance that left a former Russian double agent fighting for his life, in what a senior lawmaker said bore the hallmarks of a Russian attack. Moscow said it had no information about the "tragic" collapse of the man, identified by the media as Sergei Skripal, in the quiet southern English city of Salisbury on Sunday, but said it would be happy to cooperate if requested by British authorities. Specialist officers from the counter-terrorism squad are helping investigate the incident, which also left a 33-year-old woman -- reported to be Skripal's daughter Yulia -- in a critical condition in what is feared to be a poison plot. / AFP PHOTO / Chris J Ratcliffe
