Nerve agent victim released from UK hospital after poisoning

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Nerve agent victim released from UK hospital after poisoning

2018-07-21 12:29 Last Updated At：12:29

Nerve agent victim Charlie Rowley has been released from the hospital after three weeks of treatment since being poisoned, U.K. officials said Friday.

Lorna Wilkinson, the director of nursing at Salisbury District Hospital, said Rowley, 45, had been discharged after making substantial progress in recent days.

"Charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us could never imagine," she said. "Today is a very welcome milestone in his recovery."

Officials say Rowley and his partner Dawn Sturgess fell ill June 30 after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok when they handled a small bottle containing the nerve agent. Officials believe the substance was from the same batch used in the March nerve agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Sturgess, 44, died in the hospital on July 8, eight days after she became violently ill at Rowley's home in Amesbury in southwestern England. Rowley became ill several hours later with similar symptoms. Police initially thought the two had taken contaminated heroin or crack cocaine but tests indicated they were poisoned by Novichok.

Novichok was produced by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Britain has blamed Russia for poisoning the spy and his daughter, who both recovered after lengthy hospitalizations, as well as accidently poisoning Rowley, Sturgess and a police officer who aided the Skripals.

Russia has strongly denied the charges. The poisoning of the spy ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled from Russia and Western nations.

The second round of nerve agent poisonings put the towns of Amesbury and Salisbury, where Sturgess lived, on edge as more than 100 counterterrorism officers searched for the source of the Novichok.

Nursing director Wilkinson said "many people" had come to the hospital concerned about possible exposure to Novichok but that only the five victims already identified had been exposed to the lethal nerve agent.

She said Public Health England has determined that Rowley "poses no risk to the public" now that he is out of the hospital.

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said police will work with local agencies to make sure Rowley gets the support he needs as he continues to recover.

British officials have taken the Skripals to a secret location for their own protection.

Defending champs Alcaraz and Sabalenka win opening matches at Madrid Open

2024-04-27 01:37 Last Updated At：01:41

MADRID (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz didn’t need to put his tender right arm to the test to ease to a victory in his opening match at the Madrid Open on Friday.

The two-time defending champion was playing for the first time in nearly a month after his injured arm ruled him out of Monte Carlo and Barcelona. And after doubting this week he would be good to go in Spain’s capital, Alcaraz admitted he could afford to hold up just a bit in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Alexander Shevchenko.

“I didn’t hit my forehand 100%. I hit it softer than I used to hit it, but I think it helped me, you know, to, let’s say, stay relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “But the first thing that I was thinking about when I was stepping on the court is to stay healthy.

“I was really happy to not feel anything in the forearm, and after that I could increase my intensity a bit. It was great for me this match."

Defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka faced tougher resistance in her opening match while beating Magda Linette 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on the Caja Magica clay.

This was Alcaraz’s first match since the Miami Open quarterfinals nearly one month ago. Madrid is the Spaniard's first appearance on the European clay court swing — he struggled in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in February — as he aims to win his first French Open title next month.

“Right now I’m thinking to be better or get better every day, and I’m thinking to be closer to my 100% here in Madrid." the two-time major champion said. "Let’s see how it’s going to be the next few weeks. But the main thing is to be ready for next tournament and obviously to Roland Garros.”

In Madrid, the third-ranked Alcaraz is seeded second behind Jannik Sinner and both enjoyed first-round byes.

Alcaraz played with a compression sleeve on his right arm from his wrist up past his elbow. But he looked pretty much like the same aggressive player who has dominated here for the past two years and given Spanish tennis fans hope there is life after Rafael Nadal.

Alcaraz broke Shevchenko’s serve four times and will next face Thiago Seyboth Wild of Brazil.

Seyboth Wild upset Daniil Medvedev at last year's French Open and should offer a stiffer challenge to Alcaraz in the round of 32.

Seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating Facundo Bagnis 6-1, 6-4. Rublev’s last win came at Indian Wells in March.

Tommy Paul got past qualifier Lukas Klein 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4 in his first clay match of the season after missing Monte Carlo due to injury.

Eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz beat Jack Draper 6-1, 7-5, while Denis Shapovalov, Francisco Cerdundolo, Alejandro Davidovich, Daniel Altmaier, and Sebastian Baez also moved on.

SABALENKA'S SLOW START

The second-ranked Sabalenka struggled with her serve at times against Linette, but the two-time Australian Open winner struck her 10th ace on match point.

Sabalenka got some help from the net to get a key break and go up 5-3 in the third set when Linette was unable to reach a shot by the Belarusian that clipped the top of the tape.

Sabalenka has either won it all in Madrid as she did in 2021 and last year, or gone out in the first round as she did in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

“Hopefully it’s going to be a good sign and I will keep it like that,” she said. “I either lose in the first or I win (the title).”

Fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-3 to take her season-leading win haul to 27 as she seeks her fourth title of 2024.

Rybakina will next face Egypt’s Mayar Sherif after she upset Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round.

Fifth-seeded Zheng Qinwen, who lost the Australian Open final to Sabalenka, withdrew with a right thigh injury while trailing Yulia Putintseva 7-5, 2-0.

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who made her breakout at Madrid last year, bettered Linda Noskova 4-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Carolina Garcia, and Jasmine Paolini also advanced.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis