Heroin production in Afghanistan reached a new high last year despite global efforts to battle the menace, the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said yesterday in its annual report.
The UN agency said Afghanistan produced an "exceptional quantity" of opium, at 8,200 tonnes, 34 percent more than in 2006.
The country now accounts for 93 percent of all opiates on the global market, the report said.
"The illegal cultivation of poppies for opium in Afghanistan ... has reached a deeply worrying level despite the efforts of the [Afghan] government and the help of the international community over the last five years," the Vienna-based organization said.
Poppy production was up 17 percent, covering 193,000 hectares with a corresponding rise in yields from 37kg per hectare to 42.5kg.
Last year's leap came on top of a 59 percent rise in the area given over to the plant over the previous 12 months.
By comparison, only 19,000 hectares were cleared of the flower over the same period, with the INCB stressing that Afghan heroin is distributed worldwide -- reaching an estimated 3.3 million addicts in Europe alone.
In other trends identified, Africa has emerged as a pivotal cocaine-route into Europe -- with the organization citing a "rapid growth in trafficking" amounting to between 200 tonnes and 300 tonnes from Latin America transiting through Africa last year.
Elsewhere, a 70 percent hike in the number of Internet sites distributing illegal medicine posed a "growing problem" for public health on a global level.
The INCB, however, noted a "stabilization" in cannabis use after years of growth.
Composed of 13 independent advisers -- doctors, pharmaceuticals and other experts -- the body was established in 1968 to monitor the implementation of UN drug control conventions.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 150 Russian troops were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers
A shark attack off Egypt’s Red Sea coast killed a tourist and injured another, authorities said on Sunday, with an Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs source identifying both as Italian nationals. “Two foreigners were attacked by a shark in the northern Marsa Alam area, which led to the injury of one and the death of the other,” the Egyptian Ministry of Environment said in a statement. A source at the Italian foreign ministry said that the man killed was a 48-year-old resident of Rome. The injured man was 69 years old. They were both taken to hospital in Port Ghalib, about 50km north
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Tuesday expressed concern about “the political crisis” in Georgia, two days after Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of the South Caucasus nation, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia. “We strongly condemn last week’s violence against peaceful protesters, media and opposition leaders, and recall Georgian authorities’ responsibility to respect human rights and protect fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to assembly and media freedom,” the three ministers wrote in a joint statement. In reaction
BARRIER BLAME: An aviation expert questioned the location of a solid wall past the end of the runway, saying that it was ‘very bad luck for this particular airplane’ A team of US investigators, including representatives from Boeing, on Tuesday examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people in South Korea, while authorities were conducting safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines. All but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. Video showed the aircraft, without its landing gear deployed, crash-landed on its belly and overshoot a runaway at Muan International Airport before it slammed into a barrier and burst into flames. The plane was seen having engine trouble.
RSS