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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: opium

opium stories: 32 news summaries

21 - 32 of 32 Stories | << Prev 1 2

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Taliban 'Narco Terrorist' Convicted
in US Court

Afghan plotted to use drug profits to fight US

May 16, 08 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Taliban militant has become the first person convicted under a "narco-terrorism" provision of the Patriot Act, Reuters reports. The Afghan man was busted by DEA agents for plotting to ship heroin to the US and use the proceeds to buy weapons to use against American and coalition forces.... More »

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Taliban • terrorism • drugs • heroin • drug trafficking • opium • Patriot Act • terrorism financing

Marines Tread Lightly in Opium Poppy Fields

Fighters ignore
Afghan crop to avoid
alienating locals

May 7, 08 7:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US Marines have been battling the Taliban in the world's largest opium-growing region—and they're taking care not to damage the crop, the AP reports. Troops in Afghanistan are aware that the Taliban makes millions from the poppy harvest, but they also realize that destroying the locals' only source... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • US military • opium • poppies • Marine

Taliban Bombs Afghan Opium Task Force, Killing 18

41 wounded in attack as authorities target skyrocketing drug production

Apr 29, 08 1:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - A suicide bomber struck a meeting today of an Afghan poppy-eradication team, CNN reports, killing at least 18, including 11 police officers and seven civilians. Another 41 were injured in the attack in the eastern Nangarhar province; authorities said the incident was further proof of the rebel Taliban's involvement with... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • suicide bombing • drug trafficking • opium • Afghanistan war

More Afghan Families Using Girls to Pay Debt

Farmers hit by crop woes give daughters
as 'opium brides'

Mar 30, 08 6:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Besieged by debt, more Afghan farmers are paying lenders by handing over their girls as "loan brides," Newsweek reports. Often taken from their families forever, the girls—some younger than 5 years old—are commonly beaten or pushed to suicide by their fate. "My heart is still... More »

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Afghanistan • War on Drugs • drugs • marriage • debt • opium • poppies • arranged marriage • dowry

Afghan Deputy Governor, 5 Others Killed in Mosque Attack

Bombing comes amid  'failed state' warnings

Jan 31, 08 8:04 AM CST
(Newser) - A suicide bomber in Afghanistan killed six people, including the deputy governor of the dangerous Helmand province, in an attack inside a mosque today. At least 11 others were injured in the explosion in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, a focus of reconstruction programs led by the British army,... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • suicide bomber • Kabul • bombing • opium • British military • drug trade • poppies • Pir Mohammad • failed state • Helmand province

Afghans Facing Food Crisis

Minister pleads for wheat from international community

Jan 6, 08 5:28 AM CST
(Newser) - Afghanistan is facing a critical food shortage and is appealing to the world to send extra wheat, the BBC reports. "The situation is serious," warned the nation's commerce minister. Afghanistan relies on food imports, and the rising price of grain on world markets is triggering a national hardship.... More »

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Afghanistan • opium • wheat prices • food shortage • Helmand province

Military: Shift Troops to Afghan Front

As Iraq improves, Afghanistan unravels

Dec 17, 07 5:24 AM CST
(Newser) - The US military is calling for an accelerated withdrawal from Iraq and a shift of troops and equipment to Afghanistan, reports the Washington Post. The post-surge reduction of violence in Iraq has coincided with resurgent Taliban activity in Afghanistan; both NATO and US commanders there say they need several additional... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • NATO • surge • opium • George W. Bush

Troubled Afghan Mission Under Review

Prospect of failure in 'forgotten war' prompts probes, if not surge

Dec 16, 07 7:37 AM CST
(Newser) - With insurgent violence in Afghanistan soaring to the highest level since 2001, the Bush administration and NATO have begun three sweeping reviews of a mission that was considered a success, but now seems increasingly threatened. Lack of coordination in fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda, rising opium production, and the weakness... More »

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Afghanistan • NATO • Taliban • insurgents • surge • opium • al-Qaeda

UK to Pay Opium Producers

Britain wants to pay Afghan farmers to ditch heroin production

Nov 10, 07 5:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Afghanistan’s opium biz is booming, but British PM Gordon Brown says the almighty pound can squash it, the Guardian reports. He now wants to revive the UK's failed anti-opium program by paying Afghan farmers to produce crops other than poppy. So far, the UK has invested $20 million in... More »

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Afghanistan • United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • opium

US Targets Afghan Opium Crop

Karzai reluctant to allow spraying of heroin producing crop

Oct 8, 07 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US is pressing the Afghan government to stem its booming poppy crop with mass spraying following the biggest opium harvests in its history—which accounts for 91% of the world's production. Therein lies much of the resurgent Taliban's revenue, the New York Times reports, but Karzai fears a Taliban-inspired... More »

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Afghanistan • United Nations • Taliban • Condoleezza Rice • heroin • Hamid Karzai • opium • poppies • eradication • herbicide • counternarcotics • glyphosate • Antonio Maria Costa • John P. Walters • Farooq Wardak • General Khodaidad • William B. Wood • Helmand province

Afghanistan Supplies 93%
of World's Opiates

Poppy crop jumps 34% over last year

Aug 28, 07 6:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Afghanistan's opium production has soared over the last year and the country now supplies 93% of the world's opiates. Most of the poppies are grown along the country's southern border with Pakistan, where the insurgency is strong, security is weak, and the Taliban continues to use its drug profits to... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • drugs • heroin • opium • opiates • poppies

US Troops
High on
Afghan Heroin

Boredom, frustration drive soldiers to cheap, ubiquitous drug

Aug 7, 07 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bored US soldiers have easy access to heroin in poppy-rich Afghanistan, and few fear punishment if they're caught using it, Salon reports. Filmmaker Shaun McCanna says he was able to score heroin easily on over a dozen occasions during his two trips to the war-torn country. More »

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Afghanistan • drugs • heroin • soldier • opium • Operation Enduring Freedom • Operation Iraqi Freedom • contraband

21 - 32 of 32 Stories | << Prev 1 2


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