Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who Germany says was poisoned by a weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent, is now out of a medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation, the Berlin hospital treating him said Monday. "He is responding to verbal stimuli," Charite hospital said in a statement, reporting that the 44-year-old's condition "has improved". hmn/mfp/txw