UN RELEASES DRUG REPORT

The UN drug report is an exercise of obscuring the failure of ten years of drug policy says a researh NGO Transnational Institute.Regarding Burma, Martin Jelsna of TNI says there is reduction in opium production during ten years. He stresses that there are still mataphetimine productions and drug production can rise due to market requirements. And Southeast Asia poses a fresh challenge: Opium cultivation there rose in 2007, reversing six years of decline.In Myanmar, also known as Burma, it increased 29 percent. The U.N. said most of the gains were in southern Shan state, where rebels seeking autonomy from Myanmar's ruling junta have clashed with the military."Some of the world's biggest drug-producing regions are out of control of the central government," Costa said.Afghanistan remains the drug war's biggest problem because it now accounts for more than 90 percent of global opium production, the report said.The U.S. has a record 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, part of an international force that has grown to almost 70,000 troops. NATO has urged alliance members to contribute up to another 10,000 forces.Meanwhile, major smuggling routes for narcotics, especially cocaine, are shifting to West Africa, the report said, pointing to steady demand for cocaine in Europe and intensified law enforcement along traditional trafficking routes.Despite the setbacks, the report highlights some key gains in a century of efforts to combat illicit drug production and trafficking. It says illicit drug use worldwide has largely stabilized over the past decade. Fewer than 5 percent of the world's people aged 15-64 have tried an illegal drug at least once in the past year, and only 0.6 percent of the world's population are addicted.Even so, that still means a staggering 26 million people have a severe drug dependence.

Myanmar Keeps the Wheels On With China's Help
Myanmar -- Cyclone Nargis last month devastated the agricultural heartland that stretches across the south of Myanmar, leaving 134,000 people dead or missing. But in this trading hub 300 miles to the north, the economy is buzzing.In Mandalay's crowded jade market, where hundreds of men haggle over the tiny green stones, Khin Maungwin and his eight children cut and polish jade in the blistering heat. On good days, his sales total as much as $5,000. The reason is simple: "It all goes to China," he says.China's presence in Myanmar and trade between the two nations have increased ...