Agrégateur de flux

A tetoválás a tahiti “tatu” szóból származik melynek jelentése nyomot hagyni valamin. Az ókorban és a középkorban az anyagi helyzetet és hovatartozást szimbolizálta. A jégember Ötzi testén is találtak korabeli vallási motívumokat de a tinta anyagát nem tudták megállapítani. Az 1960-as években már az önmegvalósítást, egyéni szabadságot és a lázadást jelképezte mára már egyenesen divat hiszen minden negyedik emberen látható egy kisebb vagy nagyobb motívum.

Legfontosabb tudnivalók, ha tetoválásra vágyik:

• Az ára meglehetősen drága. Egy kb. 15 cm-es nem annyira részletgazdag mű 10-25 ezer Forint között mozog
• Nem szabad házi kontár-művészekhez menni! Ha tetoválást szeretne az ember akkor érdemes egy működő papírokkal lévő szalont felkeresni
• A fertőzés veszélyre is figyelni kell. Csak új, steril tűvel szabad a bőr alá bevinni a festékanyagot
• Ha az első tetoválás akkor nem érdemes egész hátas motívumra gondolni, ugyanis nem lehet előre tudni, hogy mekkora a fájdalomküszöb
• A tetoválás elkészítésével nem szűnik meg a fájdalom. Utána körülbelül még 3-5 napig fáj és érzékeny. Ez idő alatt nem érheti víz és három-négy óránként célszerű testápolóval kenegetni. Nem szabad sokkal mert akkor felázik a bőr és kilökheti a tintát.

Ha ezek után még mindig vágyik erre a test-ékszerre akkor már csak találni kell egy olyan mintát amit 15-20-30 év múlva is úgy fog gondolni. Manapság a gyermekek neve, a végtelen jel ,a repülő fekete madarak , a tollak és az angyalszárnyak a legelterjedtebbek.

Roumanie : qui est Dacian Cioloş, le nouveau Premier ministre ?
Roumanie : un Premier ministre intérimaire, les manifestations se poursuivent
Discriminations, pauvreté, violences policières : la société roumaine est bien mal en point
« A bas le patriarche ! » : les Roumains manifestent contre l'Eglise orthodoxe
Roumanie : le fisc exonère les Eglises et traque les pauvres
Roumanie : les non-dits de la « lutte contre la corruption »
Roumanie : quand la « lutte anti-corruption » fait oublier la justice sociale

/ Courrier des Balkans, Roumanie, Religions, Economie, Roumanie vote

Chaque jour, ce blog vous livre une idée cadeaux pour les fêtes de fin d'année. Pour entamer la série,
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December 6, 2015 (NYAL) - At least 15,000 people arrived in Payinjiar county as fighting intensified in Leer, Koch and Mayiandit areas between government forces and the armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) in recent weeks, opposition officials told Sudan Tribune

A view of the Protection of Civilians (POC) site near Bentiu, in Unity State, South Sudan, which houses over 40,000 IDPs 25 August 2014 (Photo UN/JC McIlwaine)

John Tap Puot, an area commissioner for SPLM-IO, said many civilians have assembled in Nyal payam, seeking shelter due to fighting in neighbouring counties.

Puot called on humanitarian aid agencies to embark on ground action. He described their situation as "horrific", calling for humanitarian measures to save the lives of children and women in dire need for assistance.

“We are calling on the United Nation, their partners and faith based organisations to hurry up and save on innocent civilians who are at critical human suffering. It is not our wish, but man-made crises that have placed our people in such circumstances,” he said.

Peter Zimzim Desh, a humanitarian worker in Payinjiar county, told Sudan Tribune in a separate interview that there was high influx of displaced persons in the area.

He said the new arrivals lacked enough food ratios. Desh, who works with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Ganyliel warned that delays in humanitarian action to assist such huge numbers of internally displaced persons will risk their stay.

“The little food ration stored for IDPs has already being exhausted than the expected time because of heavy influx of IDPs from neighboring counties of Guit, Koch, Mayiandit and Leer ,” he said.

However, the rebel appointed commissioner urged communities from Lakes and Unity states to work for peace, adding it was time to implement the August peace agreement.

(ST)

Most university seminars on the European Union begin with a seemingly simple, yet in truth remarkably complex exercise: defining Europe. Some answers can be quite creative, ranging from definitions based on who partakes in the Eurovision Song Contest to geographic, cultural, as well as political definitions. Very clearly, Europe means different things to different people.

Even the political entity that is Europe needs an expert to distinguish between the European Union, the eurozone, the Schengen area, as well as a variety of judicial and defence arrangements in which only some EU member states engage. The confusion is worsened by a large-scale lack of everyday “Europe” in public consciousness. While Europeans have probably never heard as much about the EU as over the past few years, the news has only been about the debt crisis, the refugee crisis or the Ukraine crisis. The European Union would appear to function in a constant state of emergency.

When one combines the difficulty of understanding how the EU influences everyday life with this perpetual nature of European crises, it is hardly surprising that public support for the European idea is faltering. Bridging this divide is crucial to ensuring the Union’s survival, and is a herculean task that requires a multitude of responses. Just like the European Union’s motto, “unity in diversity”, there needs to be diversity in the messages that point citizens to the added value Europe can bring to them as individuals.

Today’s 28-member European Union is considerably larger than it was little more than a decade ago, and is home to more than 500m people. With this size and scope come very different realities for different Europeans.

When asking an average German, Spanish or Greek citizen about Europe ten years ago, their answer may have included something about the facility to travel, the common currency or the country’s economic success – with the added twist for Spain being Europe’s role in the country’s democratisation. Today, a German would probably cite a feeling of the EU being a lame duck that’s unable to come to an agreement. Today’s radically-different Spanish response would see the European Union blamed for the country’s disastrous economic and labour market outlook. The Greek assessment would be even worse, since political contests in the country now appear a mere movement of pawns in a big game of European chess.

Looking to a country like Latvia, on the other hand, the answer would probably be based much more on security concerns, and the European Union’s apparent disregard for the country’s difficult situation vis-à-vis its gigantic neighbour Russia. When asking a Briton, meanwhile, many of the commonplace answers about borderless travel or the common currency would not even be present, as the UK does not partake in either.

The way in which Europe’s elites communicate on the European Union has not helped bridge the gaps. After important sessions of the European Council, all heads of state and government disappear into different rooms and hold separate press conferences tailored to their national audiences. The established discourse is one of securing gains for national benefit, or the defence of crucial positions against a strong tide. The one thing these national messages have in common is that they are completely incompatible. The on-going debate on the refugee crisis offers perfect examples of such communication strategies.

On the other side of the aisle stands a grand message on the benefit of Europe at the largest possible scale. Not a single week will pass without a senior politician pointing to the well-established fact that the EU has brought peace to the continent for longer than it has ever known. The problem, though, is that neither of these two kinds of messages matches the reality of individual Europeans. With instant access to all kinds of information, it is all too easy to see that an alleged national success or a supposed common European interest is a lie compared to the actual inactivity of Europe’s political apparatus.

Europeans have to be able to connect messages on the merits of Europe to their daily realities. Looking at the history of our neighbour across the Atlantic could help us realise this. When the founding figures of the United States tried to rally their population around the idea of full political union, rather than remaining a confederation of separate states, the situation was equally diverse. New Englanders worried about the British threat from Canada; those living on the seaboard feared a loss of trade to pirates now that ships were no longer protected by the Royal Navy; residents in the Carolinas were worried by the Spanish presence on the continent; and those living on the internal frontier were afraid of native Americans. While their reasons for signing on to the project of the United States were broad, they were nevertheless convinced by tailored messages that it was the only insurance policy to effectively alleviate their fears. European leaders now too have to tailor the right messages on the European Union to the different concerns across the continent.

When looking to Europe’s south, which has been hit hard by the economic crisis, one can observe an increasing concern about the state of democracy. When political contest has to bow to economic necessities dictated by abstract Europe, one need not wonder about the current lack of EU support. The late British historian Alan Milward posited that the very reason why European states signed onto the European project in the 1950s was a “European rescue of the nation state”. Europe’s economies were in such a disastrous shape and found themselves suddenly sandwiched between two superpowers; the only way to guard some sovereignty was to give other, less crucial aspects of it up. Today, one similarly needs to communicate to citizens in the EU’s south that to best preserve their right to democratic contest, their voice needs to count at European level more than at an increasingly-irrelevant national level, hence the need to pursue fully-empowered representative European institutions.

For those to the east, it is important to consider citizens’ increasing security concerns about the unpredictability of Russia. No contemporary European nation can uphold even the semblance of being capable of defending its own territory alone; only a reformed and deepened European Union with NATO can compensate for the diminished U.S. interest in our continent’s security.

Lastly, when looking at the current influx of refugees into Europe, a similar message can be tailored to citizens in all affected countries. Europe is currently a strange space of concurrently semi-open and semi-closed internal and external borders, with small outlying countries easily being overwhelmed by the influx of refugees. So again, no European country can cope on its own.

All in all, Europe needs more messages of this kind, tailored and actively communicated to Europeans in different parts of the Union. The task ahead is not easy, but if we do this right, we can create a symphony of reasons as to why Europeans should support the continuation of the European project towards an ever-closer, yet diverse union.

The post Arranging the European symphony appeared first on Europe’s World.

Cybercrime is a reality. It is not just a matter of attacks against machines but a threat to the core values of democratic societies. This is illustrated by the proliferation of private data theft; by cyberattacks against the media, civil society organisations, parliaments and individuals; denial-of-service attacks against public institutions and critical infrastructure; sexual violence against children; xenophobia, racism and radicalisation; and terrorist misuse of information technologies.

Even when they are not committed against, or by using, computers, most criminal offences nowadays involve electronic evidence stored on computer systems, including on servers somewhere in the cloud. Electronic evidence is volatile and securing it for criminal justice purposes is fraught with technical, practical and legal complexities.

Governments cannot argue the problems away. They have an obligation to protect society and individuals against crime in cyberspace.

“Most cybercrime is never reported, particularly in the private sector where organisations tend to stay clear of criminal justice”

At the Council of Europe’s Octopus Conference on Cybercrime in June 2015, cybercrime experts from all over the world were asked about the rule of law online. Survey results showed they did not consider that “cyberspace is basically safe, that crime and violation of rights are the exception and that offenders are brought to justice.”

Most cybercrime is never reported, particularly in the private sector where organisations tend to stay clear of criminal justice. A large share of reported cybercrime is never investigated, few of the offences that are investigated result in prosecutions and, of those, few end up with court rulings.

Progress has been made in recent years, in Europe and worldwide, to establish legal frameworks, set up specialised cybercrime units at police and prosecutorial levels, and intensify international cooperation. The Council of Europe’s Budapest Convention on Cybercrime serves as a framework for cooperation for a growing number of countries. International police-to-police cooperation is improving with the support of organisations such as the European Cybercrime Centre at EUROPOL and the Global Complex for Innovation at INTERPOL.

Many governments are realising that considerable resources need to be allocated not just to protect critical information infrastructure but also to beef up the criminal justice response. Increasing investments in capacity building programmes by the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and others are beginning to yield results.

Nevertheless, the ability of governments to ensure the rule of law in cyberspace will remain limited unless they can overcome impediments to accessing data and thus to electronic evidence for criminal justice purposes. No data means no evidence, no justice and thus no rule of law.

Many investigations are abandoned for lack of data. This is also true for non-cybercrime offences which involve electronic evidence, including serious and violent crime, such as location data in murder cases, subscriber information related to a ransom e-mail sent during kidnappings, data to identify and locate victims of child abuse, or data on communications between terrorists.

The sheer scale of cybercrime, the number of devices, users and victims involved, and technical complications such as encryption or anonymisers, present major challenges for criminal justice.

These issues become much more complex in the context of cloud computing. While law-enforcement powers are tied to the principle of territoriality, data may be stored somewhere in the cloud, held by, or moved between, multiple layers of cloud service providers in various jurisdictions.

“In the absence of clear international rules, governments increasingly take unilateral action. The result is a jungle of diverse approaches with risks for state-to-state relations and the rights of individuals”

“Cloud services may entail a combination of service models (Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS), Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)). It is often unclear … which service provider is in possession or control of which type of data – subscriber information, traffic data, content data – so as to be served a production order” according to the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention Committee in May 2015

Current mutual legal assistance practices are not sufficiently effective. To whom should a mutual legal assistance request be sent in such situations?

In the absence of clear international rules, governments increasingly take unilateral action. The result is a jungle of diverse approaches with risks for state-to-state relations and the rights of individuals.

That raises other fundamental issues: how to reconcile the need for efficient law-enforcement access to data while respecting rule-of-law and human-rights requirements; and how to avoid the trap of undermining the rule of law through actions meant to protect it?

Searches of computers, interception of communications or other law-enforcement powers can interfere with the rights of individuals. They must be prescribed by law, pursue legitimate aims, be necessary and proportionate, allow for effective remedies and be subject to guarantees against abuse.

For criminal procedures and coercive measures at domestic levels, safeguards are normally in place and rule-of-law conditions can be met, at least in democratic societies.

When it comes to access to evidence in foreign jurisdictions, the mutual legal assistance process is designed to ensure that conditions are met and the rights of individuals are protected.

This however presents a dilemma: how to allow for more efficient access to evidence in the cloud in order to strengthen the rule of law through criminal justice, and at the same time ensure that rule-of-law and human-rights conditions are met where current mutual legal assistance rules and procedures are of limited effectiveness.

The Cybercrime Convention Committee of the Council of Europe – comprising the State Parties to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime – has been reflecting on this for some time. In December 2014, the Committee adopted a set of recommendations to render the mutual legal assistance process more efficient. At the same time, the Committee created a “Cloud Evidence Working Group” to identify additional solutions.

Specific proposals should become available in the course of 2016. They may take the form of non-binding guidelines or of an additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. Such a binding international legal instrument may be necessary to meet rule-of-law as well as data-protection requirements. It remains to be seen whether agreement can be reached on such a complex matter, but the Budapest Convention appears to be the most realistic framework for negotiating additional international rules.

The post Evidence in the cloud and the rule of law in cyberspace appeared first on Europe’s World.

Au lendemain du premier tour des régionales marqué par une percée historique du Front national, en tête dans six régions, les éditorialistes ont lundi une double interrogation : comment en est-on arrivé là ? Que faire au second tour ?

INFOGRAPHIE - Six listes sont en mesure de se maintenir au second tour des élections régionales.

INFOGRAPHIE - La gauche, la droite et l'extrême droite, arrivée en tête à la surprise générale, estiment tous qu'ils peuvent remporter la région.

Ministre malgache de la Défense

December 6, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The regulatory council for law profession in Sudan announced the results of the bar exam taken in February 2015 which revealed an anemic pass rate.

The council's secretary, Babiker Ahmed Gashi was quoted as saying by Sudan News Agency (SUNA) on Sunday that the number of students who have registered for the exam totaled 4,420 of which 188 were absent.

Of those present, only 466 have passed in all subjects, 422 with one makeup exam and 1,127 with two makeup exams.

Gashi added that the council is reviewing causes of the delay in the announcement of the results and ways to address the problem in the future.

He also said that a meeting they held agreed to hold a workshop to look at the reasons for the low pass rate using experiences of other countries.

The official disclosed that they will hold meetings with the minister of Education and deans of universities among others to discuss this issue along with obstacles facing the law profession.

(ST)

The latest Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), published on 23 November 2015, provided a significant boost to Britain’s airborne intelligence, surveillance, target-acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities with the decision to acquire the P-8A Poseidon multi-m

Is it possible that ISIL is using the whole world as their ‘edge’? Has western civilisation been experiencing sustained attacks utilising net centric warfare concepts without our even being aware this was happening? If we have been unable to conn

Vor 30 Jahren entfachte das Schweizer Militär den bisher grössten Waldbrand in Liechtenstein. Das Fürstentum reagierte mit einer «Protestnote» auf den Vorfall. Ein Blick zurück.

December 6, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - A senior Sudanese opposition party is warning about impending famine in vast areas of the country, urging for immediate action to contain the situation.

National Umma Party 'NUP)'s General-Secretary Sara Nugd Allah speaks in a press conference held in Khartoum on Sunday December 2015 (ST)

The National Umma Party (NUP) of former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi said Sunday its warning was based on a report of what it called "a committee of experts'' that toured agricultural production areas .

NUP Deputy Chairman Fadllalah Burma Nasir reviewed the report before a press conference . He said the committee , after tours of all agricultural production zones in the North, East, Centre and West of the country, has concluded that ‘' the situation needs immediate action .''

He said the committee, which was made up of NUP experts, had noticed ‘' a big scarcity of food stuffs , a matter that obliges the government to officially declare its need for international intervention and call for help.''

For her part , the Party's General-Secretary Sara Nugd Allah has read out the committee's report that said ‘' the economic crisis, the dire living conditions , the signs of famine under which the country is living is but a natural outcome of the selfish and erroneous policies pursued by the ruling National Congress Party.''

“The Government policy of consolidating its power , its reliance on the proceeds of gold and oil , its negligence of the real production sectors(agriculture and industry), favouritism in the government machine , usurpation of public money and lack of accountability had led to the declining production and the rise of poverty and unemployment ,'' Ms. Nugdallah has read out from the report.

The report said lack of planning has led to the mismanagement of oil revenues which were squandered on needless buildings, the federal rule whose budget was inflated by 181.25 percent , spending on political activity and security and the military that together consume 70 percent of the government resources , in addition to festering corruption.
“ Those erroneous policies had squandered the oil proceeds that totaled 80 billion US Dollars , a matter that led to the deterioration of production infrastructures , the decline in agricultural and industrial output and the widening poverty that has now reached 80% ,'' said the report.

“In addition, those policies had led to the drop in the value of the national currency(the pound) that now sells at 11 pounds per one US Dollar and raised the external debt to 47 billion US Dollars and the internal debt to 140 billion pounds,'' it said.

“All these conditions had turned the life of Sudanese into an unbearable hell and caused them to flee the country to the four corners of the globe or , else, move to the Khartoum State , a matter that changed the demography of the State that is now encircled with belts of displaced and poor citizens , thus posing a threat to the Capital City's security and social peace,'' according to the report.

The report has described the government measures to counter this situation as ‘' very limited and do not address the root causes of the crisis.''

“ One of those government measures is to sell the project for national dialogue to the international community in exchange for lifting the sanctions and debt cancelation,'' said the report.

“Another measure is to shuttle between regional alliances to obtain funds for redressing the big deficit in the trade balance ,'' it added.

In a statement read out to the press , the NUP has described the ongoing national dialogue as ‘' sterile and unfeasible , because it just brings together the supporters of the ruling party and does not allow for other voices.''

It said the way out of this crisis rests with a political solution that starts with the acceptance of the African Security and Peace Resolution Number 539 that calls for a peaceful solution in Sudan. It also rests with a serious response for convening the preparatory meeting in Addis Ababa to convince the armed movements about the need for dialogue , build confidence and create favourable climate for serious dialogue inside Sudan.

For her part NUP Deputy Chairperson Mariam al-Sadik al-Mahdi has announced that the preparatory meeting which was supposed to convene on December 7 in Addis Ababa , was postponed for more consideration and was not cancelled altogether.
She said her party was on very good terms with all the opposition forces operating inside Sudan.

She said a new opposition alliance was now in the making and will soon be declared. She said the alliance will include her party and other political forces she did not name.
Mariam said her party was engaging the national forces alliance and other political forces in talks aimed at paving the way for holding a conference to unify the ideas of all the opposition forces ‘' in a bid to create real change.''

She said the recent differences among the members of the national consensus forces ‘' was a positive sign and can be overcome.'
(ST)

Suicide attack tests Tunisia's resolve

The first methamphetamine seizure in Afghanistan was recorded in 2008, a minor capture of four grams in Helmand province. Now, seven years later, some 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, popularly known as ‘crystal meth’, were seized in the first ten months of 2015, in 14 out of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The Ministry of Counter Narcotics warned about the growing number of methamphetamine users, while the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan called for amendments to the current narcotics control legislation to address the low penalties for trafficking. AAN’s Jelena Bjelica visited the only forensics drugs laboratory in Afghanistan and sought to learn about this new drug phenomenon in the country.

Situated in a northern neighbourhood of Kabul, state-of-the-art forensics drugs laboratory of the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) is an unlikely setting in a war-torn country. Its six high-tech labs are equipped according to the latest international standards, including a sophisticated instrument that can determine the molecular structure of sampled drugs. (1) The head of the lab, Dr Khalid Nabizada, proudly showed AAN the new German-funded building and equipment and explained that, together with his five-man team, he used to work out of a container-turned-lab in the well-guarded CNPA compound before they moved into the new building in May 2014.

The lab also features a prominent display cabinet of drug samples that have been examined by Nabizada’s team. It showed drugs one would expect to find in Afghanistan: opium, hashish, morphine and heroin. But there were also several samples of methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs, like ecstasy and MDMA (methylenedioxyphenethylamine). These synthetic drugs are central nervous system, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), recreationally used for their euphoria-like (‘rush’ and ‘high’) effects. (2) They have recently entered the Afghan market and seem to be spreading around the country.

According to Dr Nabizada, the number of methamphetamine samples analysed in the CNPA lab had clearly increased, indicating an increasing prevalence of the drug. Where in 2011 the CNPA received only samples of 16 cases, in 2012 samples of 99 cases tested positive for methamphetamine. In 2013, the number remained relatively steady, with 93 cases, in 2014 this increased to 146 cases, to finally reach 206 cases in the first ten months of 2015.

This also tracks with an increase in methamphetamine seizures. Since the 2008 seizure of four grams in Helmand, the amount of seized methamphetamine has significantly increased. Drugs seized by CNPA mobile detection teams are sent to Nabizada’s lab for weighing. In the glass-walled weighing room (which is according to the highest international standards, as it allows the arrested person to witness the procedure while sitting in the room next door), Nabizada and his team carefully weigh each seizure, taking samples from each batch, before they store it in the adjacent well-guarded drugs evidence room. The amounts weighed by Nabizada’s team have been on the increase: from 2.6 kilograms in 2012, 4.9 kilograms in 2013, 4.1 kilograms in 2014, to a record high of 17 kilograms in the first ten months of 2015.

According to the Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) 2012 Afghanistan Drug Report,  the CNPA lab received methamphetamine seizures from six provinces in 2012: Herat, Farah, Faryab, Kandahar, Balkh and Kabul. The largest seizure was from Faryab province, 530 grams of methamphetamine; the second-largest seizure, in Kandahar, was 240 grams.

In 2015, the spread of seizures also increased: the 17 kilograms of crystal meth was seized in 14 out of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces (Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Helmand, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Kunduz, Nimroz and Parwan).

Local or regional chemistry skills?

The seizures show that in Afghanistan two types of methamphetamine are in use, crystal (in Dari called shisha, which means “glass pane”) and tablets. The tablets were mainly captured in Kabul and Kunduz and probably originate from Central Asia, which is an emerging ATS market, according to the CNPA lab experts.

By far, most of the meth, or shisha, is seized in the western Afghan provinces. Between March 2009 and March 2013, according to the Afghanistan Drug Report, around 92 per cent of methamphetamine samples analysed by the CNPA forensics laboratory were seized in western Afghanistan, namely in Herat, Farah and Nimroz province, all close to the Iranian border.

It was believed, until recently, that the crystal meth seized in Afghanistan originated mainly from neighbouring Iran. Iran is indeed among the leading producers of crystal meth in the region and the fourth-largest global importer of pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical used for methamphetamine synthesis. As reported by the Guardian, 375 meth labs were dismantled and 3,500 kilograms of meth seized by Iranian authorities in 2013 (see the Guardian story here). Afghanistan, however, was also listed in the 2011 ATS Global Assessment as among the countries with “unusually high requirements of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.”

Already in 2010 Pakistan’s authorities had reported the seizure of 12 kilograms of amphetamine that they claimed originated from Afghanistan, but it was only in September 2013 that CNPA’s mobile detection teams actually discovered and dismantled a methamphetamine lab in Nimroz. (3) Additionally, the Global Synthetic Drugs Assessment 2014  cautioned that since some ATS laboratories have been dismantled in Central Asia “there are concerns regarding the spread of manufacture to Afghanistan.”

The lead character of the US crime television series Breaking Bad explained the secret of making crystal meth as “basic chemistry.” According to a CNPA lab expert, seven to eight recipes exist for cooking crystal meth. The easiest, and cheapest, is done with ephedrine (or cough syrup), iodine and red phosphorous. “If you have ephedrine, it costs almost nothing,” he said.

Interestingly, according to Dr Nabizada of the CNPA lab, the meth seized in Afghanistan is “of incredible purity; 90 per cent and over; absolute pure crystal.”

Lagging law enforcement and sentencing

The 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances was the first global attempt to prevent misuse of central nervous system stimulants and to limit their use for medical and scientific purposes.

Despite these attempts to control it, crystal meth emerged as a new and commonly abused drug on the bourgeoning rave scene in the USA, Europe and East Asia in the 1990s, mainly due to its ability to elevate the mood and increase alertness, concentration and energy. Many countries, as a result, sharpened their penalties for crystal meth possession, supply and production, in some cases awarding up to life imprisonment for the latter offence.

However, in Afghanistan penalties for possessing and selling crystal meth are rather light. The current Law against Intoxicating Drinks and Drugs and their Control (see the law in Dari here and an unofficial UNODC English translation here) has penalty provisions for amphetamine type stimulants that are the same as those for cannabis. (4) Additionally, the threshold for considering the trafficking of methamphetamine to be a major crime, and thus to be processed by the Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF), is the possession of 50 kilograms or more, the same as for cannabis. To date, the CJTF has dealt only with one methamphetamine case. The case concerned a person caught in Kabul in April 2013 with 3.5 kilograms of pure crystal meth, which, strictly speaking, was way below the legal threshold. But it was also the single largest crystal meth seizure ever in Afghanistan and, by international standards, an unusually high amount. The person was sentenced to 15 to 20 years imprisonment, according to the Special Bulletin of the Supreme Court.

The CNPA has been leading an effort to amend the legislation to include much harsher penalties for the trafficking of methamphetamine. The proposal includes a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for the trafficking of more than 100 grams of methamphetamine, and six to nine months, plus a fine, for the trafficking of up to five grams. The Ministry of Counter Narcotics also warned, in its 2012 Afghanistan Drug Report, that the sentencing provisions for methamphetamine trafficking were “inadequate to address the seriousness of the crime” and suggested revising the law in line with international conventions and sentencing guidelines so that it would be “in line with the threat posed by the substance.” However, at this point it is unknown when the parliament will discuss the proposed amendments to the law.

The drug for rich kids

The number of meth drug users appears to be on the rise, as MCN warns in its 2013 national drug report (see also reporting by Reuters in 2013). Data, however, is very patchy. The 2015 Afghanistan National Drug Use Survey estimated that there were between 70,000 and 90,000 amphetamine-type stimulants users, which is a relatively low number (well below 1 per cent of the population). (5)

“There is no accurate data on use and prevalence of crystal meth in Afghanistan, but reports from drug treatment centres and some other sources have recorded a large number of the meth users in the western part of the Afghanistan, specifically in Herat. However, the drug is easily available in most of Afghanistan,” Dr Raza Stanikzai of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) told AAN. He said that although some treatment centres provide counselling treatment sessions to meth users as a part of the regular drug treatment provided to opium or heroin drug users, there are no treatments tailored to crystal meth available in the country. (The most effective treatments for methamphetamine addiction are behavioural therapies, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, a former UNODC drug demand reduction expert told AAN.)

To date, street use of crystal meth has only been reported from Herat, Dr Stanikzai says. In other urban centres, although available, crystal meth is not used in public. The price of 20 US dollars for a dose, in contrast to 1.5 US dollars for a dose of heroin, suggests that crystal meth use is mainly reserved for the rich strata of the population and, therefore, unlikely to be widely used in public.

An additional problem is that, when asked, users usually say they have a problem with “crystal” – using a Farsi slang word for the drug – rather than “methamphetamine.” However, a type of high purity heroin is also called “crystal” among drug users. “This adds a degree of confusion to the registration, as treatment centres do not have the means to test for the presence of methamphetamine and cannot be certain of the substance the patient used,” noted the 2013 Afghanistan Drug Report.

Looking ahead

The growing number of crystal meth seizures and the indications of an increase in use in Afghanistan are worrying, given the country’s already heavy dependence on the opium economy. Afghanistan continues to be the world’s leading opium producer and cultivator (see AAN reporting on 2015 opium cultivation). With the already high prevalence of opioid use – estimated between 1.3 and 1.6 million Afghans (see 2015 National Drug Use Survey available here) – the country does not need a new drug on the market. Crystal meth prevalence is still dwarfed by Afghanistan’s opiate production and consumption, and it may never find its way into all pores of the society in the way that the opium economy has. Nevertheless, the production and trafficking of meth could add another complicating layer to Afghanistan’s already complex narco-economy.

So far there is no strong evidence to suggest that crystal meth is entirely indigenously manufactured, but this may change. Heroin is currently locally produced, whereas ten years ago it was not. If an increasing number of meth labs were to be detected in Afghanistan, this would be an alarming signal. Afghanistan could for instance follow the example of Myanmar, once a leading opium cultivator and heroin producer, which replaced labour intensive opium cultivation with synthetic drug production. Together with Thailand and China, Myanmar is now a leading producer of synthetic drugs in South East Asia.

Such a scenario for Afghanistan would involve a transformation of the nature of the country’s drug economy, resulting in changes in local drug networks and possibly even a ‘generation shift’ within it (in Myanmar, for instance, the new generation of drug lords only embraced synthetic drug production after opium cultivation was successfully phased out). But it is also quite possible that meth trade and production simply will add to the already considerable list of illicit sources of income. It is yet unclear who is likely to benefit.

 

(1) The laboratory is equipped with the latest analytical instrumentation including Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Raman Spectroscopy, and Fourier Transform–Infra Red Spectrophotometry (FT–IR) – and may be more sophisticated than many forensic drug labs in Europe. Details about the lab can be found on the page 88 of the 2013 Afghanistan Drug Report.

(2) Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are a group of substances comprised of synthetic central nervous system stimulants, including amphetamine, methamphetamine, methcathinone, and ecstasy-type substances (eg MDMA and its analogues). Internationally, the production, distribution, sale and possession of methamphetamine is restricted or banned in most countries.

Methamphetamines and amphetamines were discovered in the late nineteenth century and are used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obesity and narcolepsy. During the Second World War they were used by both the Allied and Axis forces to keep pilots awake during night raids. In the 1950s, amphetamine became known as a weight-loss drug and in the 1970s was widely used as a recreational drug.

The latest available UNODC estimate suggested that the retail value of the global illicit methamphetamine market in 2008 was around 28 billion US dollars.

(3) “The evidence from the dismantled labs suggests there were attempts to make crystal meth in Afghanistan – in particular the traces of red phosphorous found in the labs, which is usually used for cooking the meth. There is also anecdotal evidence that Iranians trained Afghans in meth production, although this has not been confirmed,” a CNPA lab expert told AAN, on the condition of anonymity.

(4) Article 47: Punishment for Trafficking of Substances or any Mixture Containing Substances listed in the Tables of this law, prescribes the following sentences for: More than 250 grams up to 500 grams, imprisonment for more than one month up to three months; More than 500 grams up to 1 kilogram, imprisonment for more than three months up to 1 year; More than 1 kilogram up to 5 kilograms, imprisonment for more than one year up to three years; More than 5 kilograms, in addition to three years imprisonment, for each additional 500 grams imprisonment for three months.

(5) As reported in the 2013 Afghanistan Drug Report, according to the Ministry of Public Health records the highest number of methamphetamine users in 2012 in Nimroz, Kunduz, Jawzjan and Farah provinces. The four provinces together made for 96 percent of all registered methamphetamine users countrywide.

December 6, 2015 (RUMBEK) - A senior police officer in South Sudan's Lakes state survived an ambush on the road between Payi and Aluakluak payam in Yirol West county.

Map detail showing South Sudan's Lakes state in red

Authorities said Marial Abur fell into the ambush over the weekend as he traveled from the South Sudanese capital, Juba to his home area in neighbouring Warrap state.

His car was stuck in the mud before gunmen indiscriminately opened fire, officials said.

The peace and reconciliation advisor to Lakes state governor, Daniel Chol Koknyin confirmed the incident, which he outrightly condemned. He however said Abur was not hurt, but his bodyguard was wounded after exchanging gunfire with the unknown gunmen.

“The general [Abur] was not harmed, only his bodyguard sustained injury but it was a simple injury. Thevgeneral was travelling from Juba aiming to reach Warrap state, but unfortunately he fell in this ambush. We sent forces to help him in the same night of the attack. He was attackedbbetween Payi and Aluakluak payam of Yirol West”, said Chol.

Lakes state has remained in a vicious cycle of counter revenge attacks since caretaker governor Maj Gen Matur Chut Dhuol took over more than two years ago, with activists, traditional authorities and intellectuals calling upon South Sudan's president Salva Kiir Mayardit to remove Dhuol, but so far all the calls have been overlooked by the president.

(ST)

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December 6, 2015 (KHAROUM) - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate to meet the needs of conflict-affected people and other vulnerable groups in areas of food security, nutrition and education.

WFP food assistance being offloaded from a truck at a distribution site in the South Kordofan capital Kadugli. (Photo WFP)

The MoU was signed by the WFP Sudan country director Adnan Khan and SRCS secretary general Osman Gafar Abdalla at a ceremony in WFP's Sudan country office in Khartoum.

According to a joint statement from the WFP and the SRCS extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday, the two sides will also work together in areas that include resilience-building and emergency response, at both national and state levels.

“This MoU will ensure that both parties work together in a more strategic manner to effectively support the needy populations across the country” the statement read
Khan said the signing of this MoU reflects their “strong belief and recognition of the value that this partnership will bring to the work of our organizations in Sudan, especially in responding to the needs of vulnerable communities and promoting long-term food security across the country”.

Abdalla, for his part, described the MoU as “a very important agreement”, underscoring further cooperation between the two sides to work together to help the vulnerable people across the country.

The statement pointed out that the two organizations have a long history in Sudan of working together, dating back to 1985 when SRCS worked with WFP in East Sudan during the drought. Since then, the partnership between the two organizations has continued to grow and mature.

(ST)