Berlin (AFP) – Health minister Karl Lauterbach says that Germany has paved the way to legalising the purchase and possession of recreational cannabis. If so, Germany would become just the second European country to legalise cannabis and its production, after Malta in 2021.
Donetske (Ukraine) (AFP) – Besides the constant shelling, the threat of trench foot and the looming Russian army, Ukraine’s army also has to face the biting cold of its eastern winters. One unit have come up with an ingenious solution: a makeshift sauna.
Tehran (AFP) – Amateur images show Iranian protesters marking 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini, by blocking traffic in a street in the capital Tehran and gathering at her burial place in Amini’s hometown of Saqqez. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police for allegedly violating the dress code.
Moscow (AFP) – Twenty years after Chechen separatists seized a crowded theatre in Moscow, spurring a hostage standoff that ended with over a hundred dead, the survivors remain haunted by the memories and plagued by unanswered questions over how their loved ones died.
Guadalajara (Mexico) (AFP) – Around 130,000 fans gather on one of Guadalajara’s most important avenues to watch an exhibition drive by Mexican driver Sergio Pérez ahead of next weekend’s Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix.
New York (AFP) – Keke Palmer, Simone Ashley, Lily Collins and Ncuti Gatwa, among other honorees, attend the TIME100 NEXT gala in New York, which recognizes each year 100 emerging leaders in their fields, from a range of industries.
Chittagong (Bangladesh) (AFP) – Cyclone Sitrang made landfall in southern Bangladesh on Monday, killing dozens of people. Cyclones — the equivalent of hurricanes in the Atlantic or typhoons in the Pacific — are a regular menace in the region but scientists say climate change is likely making them more intense and frequent.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – In his nightly address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says that he has just gotten off a call with new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and says that he believes “that the partnership between our countries” will continue to strengthen.
Krasnogorsk (Russia) (AFP) – Speaking via video link, US basketball star Brittney Griner appears in a Russian court during her appeal to reduce her nine-year prison sentence, issued on drug charges. Speaking from behind metal bars in a detention center, Griner says that people with “more severe crimes have gotten less”.
Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden warns Russia against using a nuclear weapon in the war with Ukraine, saying such an escalation would be a grave error. Asked by reporters whether he thinks Russia is preparing a dirty bomb attack that it would then blame on Ukraine, Biden says: “Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake if it were to use a tactical nuclear weapon”.
Khartoum (AFP) – Sudanese protesters chant slogans and wave flags during a demonstration in central Khartoum, marking the first anniversary of a coup that derailed a transition to civilian rule and sent hunger and inflation soaring.
New Delhi (AFP) – New Delhi wakes up to toxic smog after Diwali revellers defied a firecracker ban and risked jail to celebrate the annual Hindu festival. According to international monitoring company IQAir, harmful PM 2.5 particles surged to 350 on the air quality index — more than three times the reading a day earlier. The reading for the particulates — so tiny they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream — is more than 23 times the recommended daily maximum set by the World Health Organization.
