money Havana syndrome in Colombia, U.S.-Canada and Mexico borders reopening, 'Squid Game' beats Netflix record
Yahoo Finance's Akiko Fujita breaks down today's top stories from around the world.
Video Transcript
AKIKO FUJITA: In our world view today, US embassy staff in Colombia have come down with a neurological condition known as Havana Syndrome. The Wall Street Journal reports five Americans experienced symptoms consistent with the mysterious condition, including dizziness, memory loss, and ringing in the head. The Journal reports one family has been flown out of the country to seek additional treatment.
The development comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to visit Colombia this month. The condition was first detected among US intelligence officials in Cuba five years ago. But since then, the attacks have been reported in half a dozen countries. Just a few months ago, Vice President Kamala Harris delayed her visit to Vietnam after a staffer at the US mission experienced Havana Syndrome.
The US is reopening its northern and southern borders to non-essential travel next month, following a 19-month freeze. The borders with Canada and Mexico have largely been restricted during the pandemic to control COVID infections. New rules in place will allow fully vaccinated travelers to visit starting next month. That will coincide with the lifting of restrictions for international air travel coming into the US.
And "Squid Game" has officially become the biggest series of all time for Netflix. The South Korean thriller reached 111 million homes since debuting in September, according to Netflix. That surpasses the previous record holder, "Bridgerton," which reached 82 million households in the first 28 days. The nine-episode series is number one on Netflix in 94 countries now. It's also the first Korean series to get top billing in the US on the platform.
If you haven't watched it yet, no spoilers here, but the show does revolve around hundreds of people who are in debt. They compete against each other in children's games to win prize money. Much more than that, but that's the basic version.
