German authorities announced Dec. 10 that they are investigating a Russian businessman in Hamburg after finding traces of polonium-210, the same radioactive substance that killed former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko Nov. 23 in London. The Hamburg traces date to Oct. 28, while the earliest polonium contamination in London dates to Nov. 1. Investigators now speculate the polonium could have been carried from Moscow to London via Germany.

RUSSIA

Forty-five women died of asphyxiation in a fire at a Moscow drug-treatment facility Dec. 9 because they were unable to escape from a locked ward. Officials investigating the case suspect arson and cite gross safety violations as the main reason behind the high death toll. The room's windows where the women were staying were barred. Forty-three of those killed were patients; three were hospital workers.

UK

A tornado tore through northwest London Dec. 7, injuring at least 6 people and damaging some 100 houses. Authorities say the tornado was completely unexpected and lasted about 10 minutes. Approximately 33 tornadoes touch down in the United Kingdom each year.

ITALY

Unmarried heterosexual couples and homosexual couples are allowed to formally register as families as of Dec. 7 in Padua, the first Italian city to grant them this right. The Vatican and Italy's right-wing parties protested the decision, with Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano calling its proponents "hypocrites."

SPAIN

The town of Lepe in southern Spain will have a white Christmas for the first time in more than 50 years. As part of holiday festivities that kicked off Dec. 5, Lepe City Hall officials brought in two specially converted cannons to bombard the town square with artificial snow for 15 minutes every night until Jan. 6.

BELGIUM

The U.S. Army's Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, former overseer of the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and commander of the U.S. Southern Command, was sworn in as NATO's supreme allied commander Dec. 4 at a ceremony in Mons, southern Belgium. Craddock replaces Gen. James L. Jones of the U.S. Marines.

TURKEY

Turkey agreed to limited trade with Cyprus Dec. 7 in an effort to address one of the obstacles that has been stalling talks about its future European Union membership. The move, however, has done little to change the mixed opinion within the EU about Turkey, analysts say. Since the 1974 Turkish invasion, Cyprus has been divided, with Turkey the sole nation to recognize the country's northern government. Cyprus' southern part joined the EU in 2004.

UN

In an effort to placate objections from China and Russia, officials from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, China and the United States agreed on a revised draft UN resolution on sanctions against Iran Dec. 8, following weeks of talks. The revised draft now only mentions activities clearly associated with the making of nuclear weapons, allowing Iran to pursue nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

GREECE