US and European efforts to end heroin production in Afghanistan have done little to hamper the drug industry and have hurt the country's poorest people, says a new report by the UN and the World Bank. The report, entitled "Afghanistan's Drug Industry: Structure, Functioning, Dynamics, and Implications for Counter-Narcotics Policy" released Nov. 28, is the latest indication of the difficulties faced by the British-led effort to eradicate Afghanistan's opium crop, which drives the economy in parts of the embattled nation and has helped to fund a resurgence of the Taliban. The report says the cultivation of poppies that produce opium, from which heroin is made, permeates daily life in Afghanistan, and eliminating the illegal drug trade there could take decades. The opium trade accounts for about USD 2.7 billion in Afghanistan's economy -- equal to more than one-third of the nation's GDP -- and is responsible for thousands of jobs, the report says. You can read the report in full here.

The Islamic Development Bank is pledging to raise 10B$ over ten years to combat poverty in Africa. The Saudia Arabia based fund, designed to tackle poverty in Islamic members states, particularly in Africa, is a multilateral development banking institution with 56 members countries from four continents. Since its inception in 1975, the bank has financed 50B$ towards development needs of its members countries, according to IsDB figures. The funds will be used to contribute towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals, and will focus on primary education, health, rural infrastructure development, agriculture, micro-finance, emergency assistance, recovery and reconstruction..

Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir refutes that he will accept a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force. This is a man who thinks the crisis in Darfur is a figment of the Western imagination: "We do not say that there is no problem and that there are refugees and displaced, but any talk of a humanitarian crisis is not true".

Speaking to most Americans, they know little of Vietnam other than the infamous war, but hot off hosting the recent ASEAN conference, including a visit from President Bush, the world's attention is focused on a new Vietname, complete with a bright economic future.

Today marks the start of 16 days of activism against gender violence, a global campaign.

Based on the belief that the participation of women in civic, political, and economic activities is critical to building strong communities and a vital economy, Calvert (a US-based group of socially responsible mutual funds) and UNIFEM have created a code of corporate conduct focusing on gender equality and women's empowerment. "The Calvert Women's Principles recognize that women are economic actors and productive assets, and that empowering women is a key to sustainable development around the globe." This code is the first global code of conduct focusing on empowering women, and it's encouraging to see such partnerships between the private sector and non-profits. Click here for more info.

The 10 year civil war in Nepal has officially come to an end with a peace treaty signed between the Prime Minister of Nepal and the Maoist leadership. An insurgency that took the lives of 13,000 and crippled an already faltering economy, Nepal can now perhaps move towards development. Democracy is important, but even more important is peace and for this Nepali it seems almost unbelievable that it has come to an end. Even in my most optimistic moments, I couldn't imagine the bloodbath that was Beni and Madi come to a conclusion. After this initial celebration is over, we must hold our leader accountable for institutionalizing the peace because the status quo is still very fragile, and this time the populace will not tolerate anything other than honesty.

I've seen productions of the Vagina Monologues a few times, and each time been struck by how powerful the women's stories are and how neccesary it is that these stories be told. VM has been performed in over 80 countries, and on Dec 2nd it will be performed in Nepal for the first time. I'd be very curious how a performance would be in a society where speaking of sexuality and violence against women is not done openly. It's a major step that it is taking place at all, and it is events such as this that can start the conversation.

Just as the vote on the Protection of Women Rights Bill was about to take place in Pakistan, in order to reform rape laws, the six-party religious alliance, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, announced it would implement its decision to resign from the National Assembly - in protest against the reform of the country's rape laws - during a parliamentary party meeting on December 6 and 7. the MMA claims the proposed Bill is contrary to Islamic injunctions about punishments for zina (adultery and rape).

A good read: "Providing Aid in Insecure Environments- Trends in Policy and Operation". We tend to hear more about aid workers being harmed working in emergencies, and responding to this organizations have changed their approach to staff security and their aid operations. But due to a lack of empirical evidence in the past, the authors examine trends in policy and operations over the last decade, in particular how perceptions of increased risk to aid organisations have influenced operational security measures and have led to increasing reliance on local aid actors and national staff.Click here to read document in full.