The Taliban made £65million last year from Afghanistan’s opium trade despite the presence of thousands of British troops, a damning UN report has found.

In a startling indication that the war on poppy growing is having little effect, insurgents are still reaping the benefits despite the loss of life and huge amounts of money being thrown at the problem.

The report for the United Nations ominously warns that the illegal trade will grow even more.

Helmand province, where 9,500 British soldiers are battling the Taliban, produced 53 per cent of the country’s opium, the raw ingredient to make heroin.

The insurgents receive about $100million (£65million) a year from Afghanistan’s illegal opium trade. the report said.

CNSNews thanks to AOW:

The Quran-burning controversy in the United States has prompted the Islamic bloc at the United Nations to revive its call for the U.N. to set up an “international monitoring mechanism” to track incidents of “Islamophobia.”

Muslim nations must collectively resist growing Islamophobia in the US and Europe, the head of the world's largest organization of Islamic countries told ministers from the 57 member nations gathered here this week. 

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu urged members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to work with Western leaders to dispel misconceptions about their faith. They met on the edge of the UN General Assembly. 

... "The Muslim world is going through an unprecedented difficult and trying time," Ihsanoglu told the ministers during their annual meeting on Friday. "We are facing daunting challenges and severe hardships. Islam and Muslims are under serious attack, and Islamophobia is growing and becoming more rampant and dangerous by the day."

He said a "pandemic of Islam vilification" is sweeping through some parts of Europe and the United States, increasing misperceptions about Islam and eroding Muslims' human rights.

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Wednesday in Geneva during the current session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, the Obama administration became a willing participant in the U.N.’s imposition of an apartheid-style ban on representatives of the state of Israel. Despite the promises made by the administration that by joining the Council the United States would not become part of the problem, U.S. Ambassador to the Council Eileen Donahoe chose to attend and fully participate in a meeting that deliberately excluded anyone representing the Jewish state.

...While Israelis are left standing in the hall during the Council’s regional group meetings, this week for the first time Libya took its seat as a full-fledged Council member. Other full voting members of the U.N.’s lead human rights body include such model citizens as Saudi Arabia, China, Cuba, Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

"A UN-appointed human rights expert Tuesday urged Sudan to investigate a recent attack on a market by suspected government-backed militia in Darfur that left dozens of civilians dead.

Chande Othman said new information appeared to confirm reports that more than 37 people were killed and over 50 injured after a militia group attacked the village of Tabarat in North Darfur on September 2.

'I am deeply disturbed about these killings which highlight the continuing deterioration of the situation in Darfur,' said Othman, who was appointed an independent expert on the human rights situation in Sudan by the Human Rights Council last October, in a statement.

Othman called on the Sudanese government to conduct 'as a matter of urgency a thorough and transparent investigation into the attack on civilians in North Darfur.'

'This incident should be investigated thoroughly and impartially and those responsible should be brought to justice,' he said.

Several witnesses had identified the attackers as Janjaweed, according to the expert."

Image by ekenitr via Flickr

A campaign to declare the mass destruction of ecosystems an international crime against peace - alongside genocide and crimes against humanity - is being launched in the UK.
The proposal for the United Nations to accept "ecocide" as a fifth "crime against peace", which could be tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC), is the brainchild of British lawyer-turned-campaigner Polly Higgins.
The radical idea would have a profound effect on industries blamed for widespread damage to the environment like fossil fuels, mining, agriculture, chemicals and forestry.
Supporters of a new ecocide law also believe it could be used to prosecute "climate deniers" who distort science and facts to discourage voters and politicians from taking action to tackle global warming and climate change.

While access to water is a legitimate issue, it is generally not an issue that is global in scope that requires UN intervention. For instance, tensions between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over the Nile River are long standing. Various sources of the Nile extend further into central Africa, so it is a regional issue, but it is hardly global.
The Aral Sea Ban mentions is split between Khazakstan and Uzbekistan. Their countries’ leaders, (as well as some neighboring countries) obviously would share concerns in how that water is used. If they want to bring in the UN to help resolve any disputes (most likely the International Court of Justice) or to provide advice on water management, then that is their call. But there is no natural nexus for UN involvement.