N.S. authorities investigating after report of fentanyl in cannabis - CityNews Halifax

Skip to mainSat, October 17, 2026 at 12:03 a.m. UTCHealth care and other front-line workers received the Ervebo vaccine on Friday in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, which has proved effective in previous outbreaks caused by the more common Zaire strain of Ebola. As of Wednesday, the country had recorded The Health Ministry reported 9,066 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths, according to government figures.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are still the single biggest driver of overdose deaths in the US. They were involved in around 38,000 of the roughly 70,000 deaths recorded in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Europe’s figures are of a different order. In 16 countries that reported data, fentanyl and its derivatives were linked to a total of around 210 drug-induced deaths in 2024, up from about 130 in 2023. Most of that rise may involve medicines rather than illicitly made fentanyl.

CommentaryGuest CommentaryFederico Varese16 October 2026clock8 Minute ReadOpioid threat: Italian Armed Forces and Carabinieri involved in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking in San Pasquale. Image: NurPhoto SRL / Alamy StockItaly’s low fentanyl death toll reflects Europe’s distinct opioid market history, not mafia restraint – but synthetic opioids such as nitazenes are a growing threat. Italy has recorded very few deaths involving fentanyl. A September 2026 article in The Economist invokes The Godfather films to suggest that ‘the country’s mafias seem to have collaborated to keep fentanyl out of their territory,’ protecting their established markets from a substance that kills customers and attracts police attention. Such a hypothesis had already been put forward by Roberto Saviano in La Repubblica. While it is an intriguing theory, there is no evidence for it. To understand the absence of an American-style fentanyl crisis in Italy as well as in other parts of Europe, we need to look at the history of opioid markets, rather than assume that godfathers hailing from unnamed ‘mafias’ are out there to protect their fellow countrypeople.

CommentaryGuest CommentaryFederico Varese16 October 2026clock8 Minute ReadOpioid threat: Italian Armed Forces and Carabinieri involved in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking in San Pasquale. Image: NurPhoto SRL / Alamy StockItaly’s low fentanyl death toll reflects Europe’s distinct opioid market history, not mafia restraint – but synthetic opioids such as nitazenes are a growing threat. Italy has recorded very few deaths involving fentanyl. A September 2026 article in The Economist invokes The Godfather films to suggest that ‘the country’s mafias seem to have collaborated to keep fentanyl out of their territory,’ protecting their established markets from a substance that kills customers and attracts police attention. Such a hypothesis had already been put forward by Roberto Saviano in La Repubblica. While it is an intriguing theory, there is no evidence for it. To understand the absence of an American-style fentanyl crisis in Italy as well as in other parts of Europe, we need to look at the history of opioid markets, rather than assume that godfathers hailing from unnamed ‘mafias’ are out there to protect their fellow countrypeople.

New cases of mpox have been reported in Hong Kong, according to Since August, 21 new infections have been recorded, accounting

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