From Eastern Europe to right outside your window, the world’s ready to let the good times roll.

Happening in the World: Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian civil rights campaigners have been jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Ales Bialiatski, a jailed rights activist, has been honoured for his work in Belarus, while human rights organizations Memorial, in Russia, and Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties have been praised for their “outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power.” (BBC)

Happening in the US: President Joe Biden announced yesterday that he will offer pardons to everyone convicted of federal crimes involving simple marijuana possession. This was a move he said would ease the obstacles faced by thousands of Americans who are denied jobs, housing, and educational opportunities due to their criminal records. Biden called on the nation’s governors to take similar action, and said that he has also ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. (US News)

Happening in NYC: The NYC Department of Sanitation and Economic Development Corporation have awarded a $4 million contract to consulting firm McKinsey & Company to study the city’s waste containerization needs and design a pilot program for effective trash collection. McKinsey will study other cities that use containers, such as Paris and Amsterdam, and identify what types of bins would work best for New York City. (Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: Join your fellow students and the Chinese Students Club today for Night Market 2022: “Homecoming, Chinatown”, from 6 to 10 pm on Low Plaza. This event will be filled with food from restaurants across NYC, and performances by various student groups at Columbia.

Festival of Lights via Wikimedia Commons