GERMANY: German lawmakers approved a government plan today to liberalise rules on cannabis, paving the way for the country to decriminalise limited amounts and allow members of “cannabis clubs” to buy it for recreational purposes.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the government’s aim is to “fight the black market” and better protect young people. He said current laws in Germany have failed, with consumption rising and increasing problems with contaminated or overly concentrated cannabis.

SPAIN: Firefighters and army experts were calculating the risks today of entering a residential block that was destroyed by fire in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia, killing four people and leaving 14 missing.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

CANADA: Nathaniel Veltman, who was found guilty in November of using his pick-up truck to kill four members of the Afzaal family, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison as a Canadian judge ruled that the actions of the admitted white nationalist amounted to terrorism.

Mr Veltman has also been sentenced to a concurrent life sentence for the attempted murder of a boy who survived the 2021 attack on the Muslim family.

HUNGARY: The prime ministers of Hungary and Sweden concluded a defence industry agreement today that will expand Budapest’s fleet of Swedish-built fighter jets, paving the way for Hungary’s likely ratification of Sweden’s long-delayed Nato bid.

The meeting in Budapest between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, came after months of tensions between the two countries over Hungary’s refusal to give its backing for Sweden to join Nato.