MORE SPY STORIES….

The mass expulsions of Russian and American diplomats following the arrest of spy suspect Robert Hanssen in Washington got the headlines, but there are other spy stories to tell. Last month British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly took President Putin aside at the European Union summit in Stockholm to warn him about the escalation of spying in the UK. A German agency reported that the “number of [Russian] operatives has risen as the number of embassy personnel has grown.” And in Bulgaria, the government asked Moscow to withdraw three of its diplomats, with espionage the unstated motivation. The Kremlin fretted that a row about spying would “damage civilized, normal relations between Russia and Bulgaria,” and then expelled three Bulgarians.