Regulators could soon issue their first formal warnings about AstraZeneca’s vaccine and rare blood clots, which threaten to tarnish the critical global rollout of a cheap and easy-to-store vaccine after a senior European Medicines Agency vaccines official apparently announced it was a link .

The agency said it would meet this week to consider updating its guidelines, but hasn’t changed its formal advice issued last week that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks.

By the numbers: The blood clots are exceptionally rare, with 44 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, 14 of which are fatal, in 9.2 million people who received the vaccine – a risk for one in 100,000 people under the age of 60 who were given the vaccine has been.

Amazing emails detailing the intricate efforts of Ikea executives in France to gather information about employees, applicants and even customers are now at the center of a criminal case that has caught the public eye in France.

Prosecutors accuse the French arm of Ikea, the Swedish furniture giant, and some of its former executives, of having developed a “spy system” from 2009 to 2012. A former military employee was hired to perform some of the more elaborate operations.

The deputy prosecutor of Versailles is seeking a € 2 million fine on Ikea France, a minimum of one year imprisonment for two former company officials and a private investigator, and fines for some business executives and police officers. A total of 15 people were charged. A jury judgment is scheduled for June 15th.

Background: The case aroused outrage in 2012 after the emails leaked to the French news media and Ikea promptly fired several executives in its French unit, including the former CEO. There is no evidence that similar surveillance has taken place in other countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now has a possible way to stay in office despite being on trial on corruption charges after Israel’s president Reuven Rivlin gave him 28 days to try to form a new coalition government.

Netanyahu, a political survivor and Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has served the past 12 years. After four inconclusive elections in two years, however, he and his allies have not received enough support to ensure a parliamentary majority that could decisively end the country’s political deadlock.

“The results of the consultations, which were open to all, led me to believe that no candidate has a realistic chance of forming a government that has the confidence of Parliament,” said Rivlin in a televised address. But he added, “The law obliges me to appoint one of the candidates to form a government.”

Next Steps: To put together a right-wing government, Mr Netanyahu needs both the support of another small right-wing party and the far right flank of his potential coalition to rely on the support of a small Arab Islamist party that has become a potential kingmaker. The other possibility is that Mr. Netanyahu is wooing defectors from the camp across the street.

  • Honduras has barely begun to recover from two hurricanes that occurred late last year. With relatively little disaster aid from the USA, many Hondurans head for the border.

  • Aleksei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader who has been on hunger strike in a penal colony for almost a week, showed signs of a respiratory illness and was transferred to a prison hospital, according to prison doctors.

  • Negotiations are ongoing in Vienna trying to bring both the US and Iran back into line with the 2015 nuclear deal. The talks are designed to restore Iran’s strict nuclear enrichment controls to ensure the country cannot build a nuclear weapon. In return, the US would lift the sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump.

  • Prince Hamzah bin Hussein employees and staff of Jordan were still in custody Tuesday, their relatives said, doubting the royal court’s claims it had solved an unusually public rift.

Millions of people displaced from their homes during the ten year civil war in Syria are crowding an area in the northwest of the country controlled by a rebel group.

Our reporter made a rare visit to Idlib Province above, where shocked and impoverished Syrians are trapped in a bleak and often violent limbo.

After a year of delay, the Tokyo Olympics appear to resume this summer, albeit under the most unusual of circumstances. Here’s what we know about the games. And here is an event schedule.

Will the 2021 Olympics be canceled?

No. After a one-year delay due to the pandemic, the Summer Games are currently taking place from July 23rd to August 8th. The Paralympics will take place from August 24th to September 5th.

Polls show that 70 to 80 percent of people in Japan think the Games shouldn’t be this summer.

But is it still called Tokyo 2020?

Yes, although I’m a year late. Branded items will reflect this.

Will there be someone in the stands?

Japanese fans can now take part in events. However, most international visitors are not allowed to come to Japan for the Olympics. Getting the ticket money back may take a while.

Who is the mascot

Miraitowa is the mascot of the Games and Someity is the mascot of the Paralympics. The name Miraitowa is derived from the Japanese words for “future” and “eternity”. Someity’s name comes from a type of cherry tree. You have to judge for yourself what animals or creatures they resemble.

Where will future games be held?

Beijing will host the Winter Games in 2022, making it the first city to host the Summer and Winter Games. The Summer Games will take place in Paris in 2024 and in Los Angeles in 2028.

How often did Tokyo host the Games? Pandemic aside, is the city ready?

Once before, in 1964. In Japan, the 1972 Winter Games also took place in Sapporo and in 1998 in Nagano.

Unlike other hosts, particularly Rio de Janeiro in 2016, it appears that Tokyo has its stadiums and infrastructure in order, although there are sometimes surprises when athletes arrive.

What are the new sports and events?

Baseball and softball return after 13 years of absence. The new sports are karate, surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding. (Participants will be surfing in the ocean off Shidashita Beach, approximately 60 km from Tokyo.)

Making croissants at home is difficult – but it brings miraculous results. Here is our guide.

In “Peaces” by award-winning British-Nigerian author Helen Oyeyemi, young lovers and their pet mongooses take a Wes Anderson-style train to nowhere.

Tarot cards are less about predicting the future and more about thinking about your life. Here’s how to get started.

Here’s today’s mini crossword puzzle and a hint: Food that can be ordered: “Anything with Nothing” (five letters).

You can find all of our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. Thank you for coming to me. – Natasha

PS Frank Bruni resigns from his post as Times Opinion columnist and joins Duke University in June. He will continue to write his newsletter.

The latest episode of The Daily is about online revenge.

Reach out to Natasha and the team with comments, questions, and croissant success stories at briefing@nytimes.com.

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