Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist, was attacked with the nerve agent Novichok — a calling card of the Russian security services — Germany's government announced on Wednesday.
State of play: Navalny remains in a coma in a Berlin hospital two weeks after falling ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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"Boomerang workers" — those who've returned to their home towns to do remote work — rose with the pandemic, but the phenomenon shows signs of sticking around beyond it.
The big picture: Workers typically have to move to where the jobs are, centralizing top talent in big coastal cities. But as COVID drove rapid adoption of remote work, many people who were able to opted to return to their roots to be closer to family, raise kids in familiar settings or simply escape big city life.
Latin America and the Caribbeanhave the highest weekly death rate per capita of any region in the world, and it could climb, with vaccinations difficult to come by and hospitals still short on staff and equipment like ventilators and oxygen tanks.
Why it matters: Fewer than 10% of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since immunization campaigns started in December, mostly due to the low availability of doses.
What they’re saying: “The region is an epicenter for COVID-19 suffering. It should be an epicenter for vaccination, too,” says Carissa Etienne, head of the Pan American Health Organization.
Details: Latin America and the Caribbean mostly depend on vaccine donations and purchasing the more affordable and easier-to-store Chinese, Russian and AstraZeneca vaccines.
The intrigue: Vaccination campaigns in Chile and Uruguay have managed to get at least a first dose to more than 50% of their populations, making their programs some of the most successful in the world, yet contagion per capita in those countries remains high.
State of play: Many wealthier Latin Americans have skirted the lack of vaccines in their countries by traveling to the U.S. for immunization, so-called vaccine tourism.
The latest: Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil and Uruguay have now reported cases of black fungus or mucormycosis, an infection that can make COVID-19 cases deadlier.
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