In the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, business leaders are so concerned about spiraling drug cartel-related violence that they have asked the United Nations to send in peacekeeping soldiers to restore calm.
Afghanistan's reputation as the world's leading narcotics supplier is well-known, but in a squalid ruin in Kabul, the country hides a darker secret -- a huge home grown drug addiction problem now on the brink of fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Afghanistan's opium production dropped dramatically this year partly because of new aggressive drug-fighting tactics in the country, a United Nations study found.
Asia is a major source of opium and heroin for the world market, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Consequently, across Asia, most countries have adopted a severe stance against drug-related crime, and heavy penalties -- including capital punishment -- have been widely adopted.
Sexual exploitation and forced labor are the most common forms of human trafficking in the world, a new report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said.
The United Nations' anti-drugs chief has denounced celebrities such as pop star Amy Winehouse and supermodel Kate Moss, saying that their alleged drug use was helping devastate West Africa.
The United Nations is calling on NATO to do more to stop the Afghan opium trade after a new survey showed how the drug dominates Afghanistan's economy.
In a small district in southern Afghanistan, U.S.-backed Afghan drug forces opened fire on farmers who were blocking roads and throwing rocks to protest the destruction of their poppy fields earlier this year. Scores were injured in the firefight.
In the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, business leaders are so concerned about spiraling drug cartel-related violence that they have asked the United Nations to send in peacekeeping soldiers to restore calm.
Afghanistan's reputation as the world's leading narcotics supplier is well-known, but in a squalid ruin in Kabul, the country hides a darker secret -- a huge home grown drug addiction problem now on the brink of fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Afghanistan's opium production dropped dramatically this year partly because of new aggressive drug-fighting tactics in the country, a United Nations study found.
Asia is a major source of opium and heroin for the world market, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Consequently, across Asia, most countries have adopted a severe stance against drug-related crime, and heavy penalties -- including capital punishment -- have been widely adopted.
Sexual exploitation and forced labor are the most common forms of human trafficking in the world, a new report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said.
The United Nations' anti-drugs chief has denounced celebrities such as pop star Amy Winehouse and supermodel Kate Moss, saying that their alleged drug use was helping devastate West Africa.
The United Nations is calling on NATO to do more to stop the Afghan opium trade after a new survey showed how the drug dominates Afghanistan's economy.
In a small district in southern Afghanistan, U.S.-backed Afghan drug forces opened fire on farmers who were blocking roads and throwing rocks to protest the destruction of their poppy fields earlier this year. Scores were injured in the firefight.
NATO troops should take on a greater role fighting the flourishing opium business in Afghanistan, which is helping to fuel the Taliban's insurgency, the head of the United Nations drugs agency said Wednesday.
Afghan opium poppy cultivation has exploded to a new record high this year, with the multibillion dollar trade fueled by Taliban militants and corrupt officials in President Hamid Karzai's government, a U.N. report said.
Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has hit record levels -- up by more than 40 percent from 2005 -- despite hundreds of millions in counternarcotics money, Western officials told The Associated Press.
Saffron, the world's priciest herb, has been recruited to make inroads into Afghanistan's burgeoning illegal opium trade, easing the burden on anti-drugs police in Europe.
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