October 29, 2026
As Afghan farmers struggle with high operating costs and low crop prices, more are taking a risk by illegally growing poppy to feed their families. Poppy is a key ingredient in opium – which can then be used to make heroin – and Afghanistan has long been a major producer. Before the Taliban banned cultivation in 2022, the country supplied more than 80% of the world’s opium. Now, farmers hide poppies among tall cereal crops, harvest them secretly, and sell them on the black market. The surge could have consequences far beyond Afghanistan: a growing supply could drive down drug prices across Asia and Europe.
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Last week, the US’s fertility rate hit a record low: CDC data for 2025 showed that for every 1000 women aged 15 to 44, only 53 gave birth each year, down from 54 the previous year.
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Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro disembarks from a plane after arriving at Opa-locka Executive Airport near Miami, Florida, U.S., October 28, 2026.
REUTERS/Eva Marie Uzcategui
Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-winger who lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to incumbent lefty Lula on Sunday, landed in the Magic City with his family on Wednesday morning.
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On the ground at COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, Eurasia Group's María José Valverde looks beyond the speeches and negotiations at the practical initiatives these conferences can produce: funding Indigenous-led conservation, researching cattle that produce less methane, and attracting investment to restore degraded farmland.
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