Overseas news archive

31.05.2005 Heroin sourced in Afghanistan will again dominate world markets following news that the opium harvest has increased, much against the intent of coalition forces. As well as blaming President Karzai, US officials in Kabul say that Britain has lead responsibility for eradication programmes.

27.05.2005 Are politicians in denial on the question of global food security in the face of climate change impacts and unsustainable agricultural practices? Scientists and civil society are joining forces to make recommendations for policy change necessary to achieve sustainable food production.

26.05.2005 High level "celebrations" of the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline have made no reference to the continuing disregard for the rights and safety of people who live in its path. BP is the major shareholder.

26.05.2005 The weak interim regime in Kyrgyzstan has caved in to strong-armed pressure from President Karimov to return the refugees who fled from the Andijan massacre. Fears for their safety in Uzbekistan are intense.

26.05.2005 The Amnesty International Annual Report for 2004 is not exactly children's bedtime reading. It depicts a disturbing world in which cherished principles of human rights have been shoved under the carpet, not just by the familiar despots of Africa but also by dominant global powers led by the US.

25.05.2005 A sequence of murders of female NGO staff in Afghanistan is highly unsettling for the sector. Is this a throwback to Taliban attitudes to women? Has the Afghan government inflamed the situation by its negative comments about NGOs?

24.05.2005 The trend towards deregulation of labour markets in a globalised economy may be hindering efforts to abolish forced labour and control human trafficking, says a major report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Nearly half of the estimated 12.3 million people in forced labour are aged under 18.

23.05.2005 Despite public demonstrations of support for Clementina Cantoni, the kidnapped CARE project worker in Kabul, there are unconfirmed reports that she has been killed.

23.05.2005 Biodiversity concerns are subsumed in the vague Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for environmental preservation whereas poverty issues have specific targets. There are worrying signs of squabbling amongst UN teams responsible for joining up strategies for separate MDGs.

20.05.2005 A UN study on violence against children is conducting a consultation in Pakistan at which children from countries across South Asia have been the central participants. Here are their own recommendations to governments for putting an end to physical and sexual abuse.

19.05.2005 Two years of failure by the US-led administration in Iraq to improve the infrastructure and create employment opportunities may be creating an environment which allows the insurgency to flourish. A UNDP survey reveals the miserable quality of life endured by ordinary Iraqis.

17.05.2005 As Aung San Suu Kyi faces the prospect of spending her 60th birthday next month in detention, the French multinational TOTAL Oil continues to fund the Burma regime. The company's AGM today will trigger protests across Europe and in Washington.

17.05.2005 President Karimov of Uzbekistan says that the death toll in the Andijan violence was nine. Disturbing eyewitness accounts raise the possibility that the true figure may be as high as 1500, that injured people were killed on the spot, and that bodies of women and children were hastily buried in mass graves.

17.05.2005 World Telecommunications Day today provides a reminder that, despite rapid integration of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) into the global village, too many of its inhabitants are excluded from the benefits.

17.05.2005 Ireland contributes a higher percentage of its budget to international aid than the UK. But Irish development NGOs are unhappy that there is no clear commitment to reach the UN target of 0.7%.

16.05.2005 The violence in Andijan has generated a stream of refugees desperate to cross the border into Kyrgyzstan. But the Kyrgyz authorities are in no hurry to allow them in whilst the heavyhanded Uzbeks are prepared to open fire to prevent then leaving.

16.05.2005 A new Council of Europe Convention establishing a tougher framework to protect the victims of human trafficking opens for signatures from today. Strong support from Europe could lead to participation from further afield.

13.05.2005 A new Amnesty report criticises the US government for responding to the Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib scandals with more emphasis on public relations than radical reform. The strongly worded report refers to selective observance of international law and the lack of accountability.

13.05.2005 Russia's President Putin is making a fuss about US involvement in pro-democracy groups active in former Soviet states. Is he really defending the likes of President Saparmurat Niazov, absolute ruler of Turkmenistan whose rambling published thoughts are compulsory reading in the style of the little red book of Mao Tse-tung?

12.05.2005 An inevitable legacy of the Paul Bremer administration in Iraq is a regulation permitting 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi companies. The new government is obliged to introduce a programme of privatisation. There are fears for both jobs and control of the economy.