World News for Students of English

07-09-2020 15:00

On August 20, Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was poisoned, and it is suspected that he drank the poison in tea while he was flying back to Moscow, Russia, from Tomsk in Siberia.

The 44-year-old leader fell ill on the flight, which was diverted to Omsk in Russia, and Navalny was transferred to Berlin, Germany. He has been in coma since the poisoning, and doctors say that his condition is serious.

The German government has announced that Navalny’s poisoning was unequivocally caused by Novichok, which is an advanced nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union. It is the same nerve agent that British authorities identified in a 2018 attack on a former Russian spy. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is demanding Russia to provide an urgent explanation.

Supporters of the anti-corruption campaigner have accused the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of the attack. However, Putin denies all allegations.

Difficult words: unequivocally (with no doubt), nerve agent (a chemical that is toxic to people, and it is often used as a chemical weapon), allegation (a claim without proof).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.