Ex-pope Benedict XVI goes home to Bavaria to visit ailing brother

Opponents of Minsk strongman Alexander Lukashenko say they hope the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to activist Ales Bialiatski might help precipitate his release from prison.

Despite the pandemic and a huge crisis in the aviation industry, Lufthansa has launched a new airline. Eurowings Discover flies to holiday destinations in Africa. Staff are paid less than at parent company Lufthansa, but are happy to have work after the pandemic.

More and more Iranian students, including schoolchildren, are joining the protest wave. Iranian security forces are resorting to increasingly brutal measures to quell the demonstrations.

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres says Russia and Ukraine must cease military activity near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and agree on a security zone. He warned that any damage could "spell catastrophe" for the region and beyond.

The decision by the OPEC+ oil cartel to lower global production to 2 million barrels per day starting in November has prompted the US to dip into its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to dampen prices. An upcoming price cap on Russian oil could also add more inflationary pressure if Moscow decides to respond by cutting supply to participating countries.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he won't cause a deep recession but that "pain" is necessary to fight inflation. To curb the largest price increases in four decades, the US Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates this year.