For many years, Tajikistan has been gravely affected by drug trafficking. At least 15-20 tons of opium and between 75 and 80 metric tons of heroin are smuggled into the country each year from Afghanistan either for local consumption or for transfer to Russia and Europe. Despite an official Tajik government policy to fight illicit drug trafficking in cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations, trafficking continues to increase.
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More than 10 million people still have no access to safe drinking water after floods struck Palestine
The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF says that six months after catastrophic floods struck Pakistan, more than 10 million people, including children, living in flood-affected areas still have no access to safe drinking water. The lack of clean water is forcing many families with no alternative but to drink and use potentially disease-ridden water. The prolonged lack of access to safe drinking water and sewage systems, along with the continued proximity of vulnerable families to bodies of stagnant water, are contributing to the widespread outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dengue, and malaria.
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UN Special Rapporteur: Tajikistan Violated Its International Obligations
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, condemned the arrest and imprisonment of journalists, bloggers and civil society activists in Tajikistan, and questioned the credibility of the evidence presented in court against them.
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Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu sworn in as president
Nigeria’s President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn into office Monday, against the backdrop of a fractured nation, an ailing economy and spiraling insecurity. The ceremony took place amid tight security at the 5,000-capacity Eagle Square venue in the capital, Abuja. A national public holiday was declared and Nigerians without an invitation told to stay away from the ceremony.
