The Economist Latin America April 24, 2021

Politics Deep into a second wave of covid-19 infections, the government in India lowered the age for inoculation to 18, liberalised the approval of vaccines, handed more power to the states and redirected oxygen supplies. New recorded cases have soared past 300,000 a day, up from 20,000 in early March. Australia and New Zealand inaugurated a travel bubble, allowing passengers to travel between the two countries without the need to quarantine. A fully vaccinated employee at Auckland airport tested positive for covid-19 a day after travel restarted. An Indonesian submarine carrying 53 sailors went missing while participating in a training exercise near Bali. The navy lost contact with the vessel soon after granting permission for a dive. An oil spill has been found nearby. Vladimir Putin used his stateof-the-union speech…

The EU’s medicines agency recommended that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should carry a warning about blood clots being a very rare possible side effect, but reiterated that the benefits of the jab far outweigh the risks. A regulatory body in Brazil approved the emergency use of a cocktail of medicines to treat mild and moderate cases of covid-19. The treatment is thought to reduce the chances of hospitalisation significantly. The country’s death toll surpassed 380,000. Sweden’s government warned that it might introduce stricter restrictions. “There is no room now to start living as if the pandemic is already over,” said the health minister. The State Department updated its travel advice for American citizens. Its “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory will apply to 80% of the world’s countries. → For our latest coverage…

The EU’s medicines agency recommended that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should carry a warning about blood clots being a very rare possible side effect, but reiterated that the benefits of the jab far outweigh the risks. A regulatory body in Brazil approved the emergency use of a cocktail of medicines to treat mild and moderate cases of covid-19. The treatment is thought to reduce the chances of hospitalisation significantly. The country’s death toll surpassed 380,000. Sweden’s government warned that it might introduce stricter restrictions. “There is no room now to start living as if the pandemic is already over,” said the health minister. The State Department updated its travel advice for American citizens. Its “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory will apply to 80% of the world’s countries. →…

Politics Deep into a second wave of covid-19 infections, the government in India lowered the age for inoculation to 18, liberalised the approval of vaccines, handed more power to the states and redirected oxygen supplies. New recorded cases have soared past 300,000 a day, up from 20,000 in early March. Australia and New Zealand inaugurated a travel bubble, allowing passengers to travel between the two countries without the need to quarantine. A fully vaccinated employee at Auckland airport tested positive for covid-19 a day after travel restarted. An Indonesian submarine carrying 53 sailors went missing while participating in a training exercise near Bali. The navy lost contact with the vessel soon after granting permission for a dive. An oil spill has been found nearby. Vladimir Putin used his stateof-the-union speech to warn the West…

ONE MAN commands a police state. The other is locked up and close to death. Nonetheless, Vladimir Putin fears his prisoner. Alexei Navalny may be physically weak: after most of a month on hunger strike, he was moved to a prison hospital on April 19th, perhaps for force-feeding. Yet he is still Russia’s most effective opposition leader. His jocular, matter-of-fact videos resonate with voters. One, a guided tour of a gaudy palace that Mr Putin denies owning, has been viewed more than 116m times. Mr Navalny has built a movement by mocking the Kremlin’s lies, and challenges Mr Putin’s party at elections. That is why he was poisoned last year, and then jailed on bogus charges. It is why his organisation has been branded “extremist” and is being ruthlessly shut…

ONE MAN commands a police state. The other is locked up and close to death. Nonetheless, Vladimir Putin fears his prisoner. Alexei Navalny may be physically weak: after most of a month on hunger strike, he was moved to a prison hospital on April 19th, perhaps for force-feeding. Yet he is still Russia’s most effective opposition leader. His jocular, matter-of-fact videos resonate with voters. One, a guided tour of a gaudy palace that Mr Putin denies owning, has been viewed more than 116m times. Mr Navalny has built a movement by mocking the Kremlin’s lies, and challenges Mr Putin’s party at elections. That is why he was poisoned last year, and then jailed on bogus charges. It is why his organisation has been branded “extremist” and is being ruthlessly shut…