Latest news

The cannabis debate
More people in the US take marijuana daily than drink alcohol

In the United States, daily marijuana use is more common than daily alcohol consumption for the first time. This is reported by AP, which took part in national statistics spanning four decades.

Alcohol is still used to a greater extent, but in terms of high-frequency use, marijuana has now become more common.

- Just over 40 percent of cannabis users use it daily or almost daily. The pattern resembles that of typical tobacco users rather than alcohol users, said Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Melon University.

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The exemption at Incarville
Interpol is involved in the hunt - "The fly" may have escaped

French police have involved Interpol in the hunt for 30-year-old drug criminal Mohamed Amra. It is seen as a sign that Amra - who was released in dramatic fashion a week ago - is believed to have fled the country, AFP reports.

Two prison guards were shot dead in connection with the release. Amra, known by his criminal alias Mouche – The Fly – was suspected of a fatal kidnapping.

On Wednesday, a national memorial service was held for the two prison guards, Fabrice Moello, 52, and Arnaud Garcia, 34. The coffins were draped with the French flag and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal gave a speech:

- The attack lasted for three minutes. Three minutes, but to them it was an eternity.

The prison guards have been posthumously honored with the Legion of Honor, France's most prized award.

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The North Korea crisis
South Korea bans pop songs from the North - too poppy

South Korea bans the patriotic North Korean pop song "Friendly father", which has gone viral in the country, the BBC reports.

The video, in which North Koreans dance and sing tributes to dictator Kim Jong-Un, has grown in popularity on Tiktok in South Korea. Users describe how they train and study for the song, and praise the classic pop sound - which has been compared to Abba, among other things.

"The video is typical psychological warfare against South Korea," writes the South Korean regulatory authority.

According to Lars Vargö, former ambassador to South Korea, it is clear that the North Koreans are inspired by the neighboring country's pop wonder. He believes South Korean authorities are concerned about the image the video conveys.

- You want to emphasize that this is nothing you should go for, and perhaps fear that many people do. But I don't think a ban will have the effect they want, he says in SVT's Aktuellt. 

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British postal scandal
Former UK Postmaster General: 'Very, very sorry'

Former UK Postmaster General Paula Vennells has apologized for the scandal that led to the wrongful conviction of hundreds of postal workers.

Around 900 were sentenced for, among other things, embezzlement and accounting offenses since the authority Post Office discovered discrepancies in the accounting. Deviations that were in fact due to an IT error.

On Wednesday, Vennells was questioned as part of the inquiry set up by the British government in 2020. It was her first comment on the scandal in almost ten years.

- I am very, very sorry, Vennells said in his introductory speech.
live The Times reports live.