ZIMBABWE LEGALIZES POT FOR MEDICAL USE

» Zimbabwe HARARE, ZIMBABWE has legalized the production of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes, making it the rare African country to turn the drug into a source of revenue.

A government notice issued by the health minister says individuals and corporations can apply for licenses to grow marijuana, whose production and possession had brought up to 12 years in prison. Recreational use remains illegal. The decision is a marked shift from the traditionally tough stance on marijuana in the largely conservative country, where members of Parliament who had advocated for legalization often were mocked openly.

The tiny nation of Lesotho last year became the first in Africa to issue a license for medical marijuana. Countries including Malawi and Ghana are reportedly exploring ways to legalize the drug.

A South African court last year ruled that private use of marijuana was legal but the government appealed the ruling at the Constitutional Court.

Much of Africa still criminalizes the production and use of marijuana.

Africa is second only to the Americas in terms of production and consumption of the drug, according to the United Nations’ 2017 World Drug Report.

Two fires strike high-rise planned as Trump hotel.

» Two fires broke out Saturday at a vacant high-rise building in Azerbaijan’s capital that was intended to be a Trump-branded hotel in the former Soviet republic before Donald Trump was elected as U.S. president.

The first blaze burned the 33story building in Baku for three hours before firefighters shooting jets of water from trucks extinguished it. No injuries were reported.

But flames lit up the sky after the tower caught fire again in the evening. It, too, was put out.

After the first blaze, the building had few visible signs of damage to its exterior. Authorities have not given a cause for the fires.

Reflecting the building’s significance in Azerbaijan, Emergency Situations Minister Kamalladin Heydarov was at the scene for the first fire. The ministry said it had started on the 18th floor.

“The fire lasted a long time due to a lack of water,” Deputy Minister Etibar Mammadov said. “The reasons for the fire are being investigated.”

U.N. Security Council team visits Bangladesh to meet Rohingya.

COX’S BAZAR,

» A U.N. Security

BANGLADESH

Council delegation arrived in Bangladesh on Saturday to get a firsthand look at the plight of some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar to escape military-led violence.

The team will visit camps housing the refugees and discuss the crisis with local officials. The delegation also will visit Myanmar after concluding its threeday visit Monday.

Representatives from the five permanent Security Council members — China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States — and 10 non-permanent member states have joined the delegation, which arrived in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar, where the camps are.

Mexican banks are reportedly targeted in cyberattack. Cyberattackers attempted to penetrate Mexico’s electronic payment systems Friday, forcing three banks to enact contingency plans, according to people familiar with the matter.

Three banks experienced incidents in recent days when operating the SPEI, Mexico’s interbank electronic transfer system, and will be connecting to the central bank’s network under “contingency schemes,” Banco de Mexico said. That could cause delays in money transfers, according to the statement, which noted that the central bank’s SPEI infrastructure and client money haven’t been affected.