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HARD NUMBERS

70,000: China agreed to crack down on exports of the illicit drug fentanyl and its chemical precursors as part of a deal to diffuse trade tensions agreed with the US last weekend, at least according to the Trump administration. A record 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year – many of them from opioids laced with fentanyl. Some critics questioned whether China will follow through on a promise it's made to previous administrations.


125: The world's largest Orthodox cathedral, which opened in the Romanian capital of Bucharest last week, is turning heads. Along with its height of 400 feet, the $125 million price tag, about three quarters of which was funded by taxpayers, has ruffled feathers in one of Europe's poorest countries.

78: With campaign season in full swing, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is set to face off against a record 78 opponents in an election seen as a referendum on his handling of a lackluster economy and the violent insurgency of Boko Haram. All things considered, he could maybe use a few more body doubles.

8: It's been eight months since the US has had an aircraft carrier stationed in the Persian Gulf – the longest such lull in nearly two decades. That will change in a few days when the USS John C. Stennis steams into the region for a two-month deployment amid rising US pressure on Iran.