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Britain Tag

In March, ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the UK. He became the 15th exiled Russian poisoned in the UK, which set off new investigations into the previous deaths. Russian whistleblower Alexander Perepilichny was one of those who received a lot of attention after his death in 2012. Officials opened an inquest into his death after Skripal was poisoned. People have long thought someone poisoned Perepilichny, but a cardiologist told the inquest it could have been bad seafood. Really?

Following President Trump's announcement that the United States, the United Kingdom, and France had launched a joint missile strike in Syria, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow told her audience that the strikes might be motivated as a means of distracting from domestic problems Trump is facing.  Apparently, she is concerned that even this impression will "taint" military operations. In her best "no, you are not dreaming Trump really won" voice, Maddow announced that the timing of the strikes and her sense that it seems to be a diversion weakens our military's "impact and effectiveness."  National security, she intones, is at risk.

British intelligence officer Mark Sedwill penned a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the country's investigation into the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The letter includes reasons why the UK believes Russia performed the attack, but also says that the Kremlin spied on Yulia's emails for years.

With the Islamic State (ISIS) heading for collapse, Belgium is bracing for the return of hundreds of jihadi fighters deserting the ranks of the Islamic Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. The western European country, which pursued a liberal immigration policy in recent decades, produced the highest number of foreign ISIS fighters per capita of EU countries -- up to 700 in total.