Top scientist behind Russia's Sputnik V Covid vaccine strangled

Andrey Botikov, one of the scientists who helped to create the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, was strangled to death with a belt at his apartment here and police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder, according to a Russian media report on Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin honoured the virologist with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award for his work on the vaccine.