Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Afghanistan

Georgia To Reward Drug Informants

17 August 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Georgian authorities today appealed to citizens to help them curb drug trafficking.

TEXT SIZE - +

August 17, 2005

Addressing a press briefing, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said the government has decided to award money to anyone who will provide information leading to the arrest of drug dealers.

"In a week's time, the Interior Ministry will launch a new program," he said. "We have decided to offer rewards to people who will help us arrest drug dealers. In a week's time, I will personally set up a special [police] unit with a hot line. We have decided to offer 1,000 Georgian laris [$555] in return for any information on drug dealers. We hope to proceed to mass arrests of people involved in drug trade."

Merabishvili's comments followed news that police had seized more than 4 kilograms of opium in a Tbilisi suburb.

Also today, reports said handwritten inscriptions denouncing alleged drug dealers appeared overnight on the walls of some of the Georgian capital's apartment blocks.

No one has claimed responsibility for the anonymous denunciations, but Merabishvili welcomed the initiative.

The Caucasus region is a major transit point for narcotics produced in Afghanistan.

(Imedi TV/Novosti-Gruziya)

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

Gasoline prices have risen dramatically in Pakistan in recent years

In Pakistan, Cleaner Fuel Powers Supply, Safety Issues

Rising fuel prices have pushed Pakistan to become a global leader in using compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel vehicles. More

Family members of missing Baluchs, mostly political activists, rally in protest on the eve of international Human Rights Day in Quetta, Balochistan, on December 10, 2011.

U.S. Hearing On Balochistan Raises Hackles, Awareness

The U.S. Congressional hearing last week on Balochistan, the largest of Pakistan's four provinces, though it was firmly rejected by Islamabad, is being seen in Pakistan as any eye-opener for the state and its security agencies. More