Drugs on fire: Cocaine seized from cartel incinerated in Honduras

Portuguese authorities seize a 5.2-tonne haul of cocaine from a Spanish-registered sailing ship, arresting two Spanish citizens and a Peruvian. of on the docks

Blast and fire kill 16 at Russian chemicals plant

Facebook began this week by announcing more than $9 billion in quarterly profits, an increase of about 17 percent. The social media giant also announced that it now has close to three billion users. But all is not well on the Facebook front as Mark Zuckerberg’s platform has been facing a deluge of scathing reports.

Prosecutors labeled it "the largest haul discovered so far this year" as Rotterdam becomes a favorite European entry point for cocaine. Europol said the Netherlands and Belgium are becoming hubs for cocaine trafficking.

The boy had stolen the cannabis from his father and, along with friends, set it alight, police said. The father is being investigated for drug possession.

African and Western nations have called for an urgent halt to fighting in Ethiopia as the conflict in Tigray marks one year. The US has sent a special envoy to the capital to push for cease-fire talks.

The council's 15 member countries released the statement as Tigrayan rebels threatened to capture the capital, Addis Ababa, a year into the fighting. Twitter also has disabled the trends section on Ethiopia.

At least 25 primary school children were killed when their thatched-roof classrooms caught fire in southern Niger on Monday the council of ministers said in a statement. Fourteen more children were injured, including five in a critical condition, the statement said. The school is in the town of Maradi, more than 600 km (370 miles) east of the capital Niamey. Classes have been suspended and three days of mourning declared in Maradi.

The Arizona Republican released a video featuring images of him violently killing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword and then holding it to President Joe Biden's head. Democrats and the White Hose condemned the video.

The International Criminal Court said it was suspending the investigation it launched in September to look into a deferral request by Manila. Human rights groups slammed the decision, urging it to continue work.

Protesters in the Solomon Islands called on the prime minister to resign as riots took place for a second day. Australia said it would send a peacekeeping force to the Pacific nation seized by inter-island tension.

Twenty years ago, Portugal was plagued with heroin addiction and HIV infections. The country decided to take a new approach to the problem, becoming the first in the world to decriminalise drug taking. Since then, drug users are no longer treated as criminals to be locked up in jail, but as people who need medical care and supervision. The gamble has paid off, as our team found out.