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6 | Afghanistan GAINS IN THE DRUG WAR Could Afghanistan's opium boom be over? According to a U.N. report, poppy cultivation has crashed over the past year, with prices down a third since last summer to their lowest level since the late 1990s. Farmers planted 22% fewer acres in 2009, but U.N. officials say Afghan poppies are now higher-yielding: overall production dipped only 10%, prompting the report to call the NATO campaign to eradicate opium crops a "failure." Afghanistan produces the raw opium for more than 90% of the world's heroin.
7 | New York Cheating the Poorest Low-income workers regularly earn less than minimum wage and are often denied proper overtime pay, according to one of the largest recent studies of wage-law violations. Interviews with nearly 4,400 people in sectors such as retail and child care found that on average, workers did not receive 15% of their rightful pay. Employees injured on the job also reported widespread pressure not to file for workers' compensation.
8 | Saudi Arabia Assassin Targets Saudi Royal Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that unsuccessfully targeted Saudi Arabia's Deputy Interior Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. Al-Qaeda, which has sworn to topple the Saudi royal family, described the attack as "the first-ever intelligence and security penetration of its kind" in the kingdom--prompting fears that additional offensives may be launched against other royals.
9 | Istanbul War of Words On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia agreed to establish diplomatic ties for the first time, a rapprochement that could thaw a dispute dating back to World War I. The heart of the feud has been Istanbul's refusal to acknowledge the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks as "genocide"--a near unanimous designation among scholars. Turkey prefers a term that means "mass deportation."
10 | Luxembourg Record Job Losses in the E.U. Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro as their currency reached a 10-year high of 9.5% in July, though the pace of increase has slackened since earlier this year. Spain has been battered by the crunch--nearly 1 in 5 adults, and 38.4% of citizens under the age of 25, are jobless--while the Netherlands has weathered the downturn nicely, with just 3.4% of its residents out of work. Analysts say the figures underscore the growing gap between more economically stable euro-using countries, such as France and Germany, and more vulnerable members, like Italy and Ireland.
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Europe's highest unemployment rates
SPAIN
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
IRELAND
SLOVAKIA
U.S.
SOURCES: EUROSTAT; BLS
* | What They're Hoarding in Europe: Before the European Union's ban on incandescent lightbulbs went into effect on Sept. 1, consumers across Europe raided stores to stockpile the familiar bulbs. Under the new rules, retailers can continue to sell what they have in stock but won't be able to buy or import more. The policy forces shoppers to switch to environmentally friendly compact fluorescent lamps, which use 80% less electricity. But fans of the traditional lights argue that the new bulbs don't glow as warmly--and that they cost more than twice as much.