Global cocaine production has reached record levels as demand rebounds following Covid lockdowns, a new report has found.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said coca cultivation rose by 35% between 2021 and 2022 to record levels.
Findings suggest new hubs for trafficking have emerged in West and Central Africa.
The report also said traffickers were using international postal services more often to get drugs to consumers.
Europe and North America are the largest markets for cocaine, followed by South and Central America and the Caribbean.
While the report said the markets in Africa and Asia were "still limited", the UN's Ghada Waly said the potential for the market to expand there was a dangerous reality.
The Global Report on Cocaine said the production increase was the result of an expansion in the cultivation of coca bush, as well as improvements in converting coca into powdered cocaine.
It says: "Seizure data suggest that the role of Africa, especially West and Central Africa, as a transit zone for cocaine on its way to markets in Europe has picked up substantially since 2019.
"Both the total quantity seized in Africa and the number of large seizures appear to have reached record levels during 2021."
The report says the outbreak of Covid-19 had a "disruptive" effect on drug markets as international travel was severely curtailed.
Demand for cocaine slumped as night clubs and bars were shut during the pandemic lockdowns.
"However, the most recent data suggests this slump has had little impact on longer-term trends," the report says. "The global supply of cocaine is at record levels."
In the UK, the report says there has been a "significant increase" in seizures of cocaine in the "fast parcel and postal modes".
Interceptions by law enforcement have also been on the rise - at a higher speed than production, the report outlines.
Other key findings include:
Colombia still dominates trafficking routes although paths to Europe have evolved
Consumption in Australia peaked in the middle of 2020, dropped by 50% the following year and picked up "moderately" in the last few months of 2021
Mexican and Balkan criminal groups have moved closer to the centre of production to gain access to supplies
The use of crack cocaine is on the upward trend in several western European countries including the UK, Belgium, France and Spain
In Ukraine, the market had been expanding, but since Russia's invasion last February the demand has been disrupted drastically
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An air alert has been declared across much of Ukraine. NPR journalist Eleanor Beardsley, who is currently in Kyiv, has said “I don’t know how Ukrainians live like this.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to Telegram to commemorate a year since the Mariupol theatre bombing. Ukraine’s president wrote:
A year ago, Russia deliberately and brutally dropped a powerful bomb on the Drama Theatre in Mariupol. Next to the building was the inscription “Children”, which was impossible to overlook. Hundreds of people were hiding from the shelling there.
Zelenskiy’s message continued:
Step by step, we are moving towards ensuring that the terrorist state is fully held to account for what it has done to our country and our people. We will not forgive a single life ruined by the occupiers. We remember all those whose lives were taken by Russian terror.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly denied targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure in a war where urban civilian casualties have been high.
More now on Moldova. One of Europe’s poorest countries, Moldova has been buffeted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the presence of pro-Russian separatists on its doorstep.
Led by pro-European President Maia Sandu, Moldova accuses Russia of plotting to destabilise it. Transdniestria, meanwhile, last week said it had foiled a Ukrainian plot to assassinate its leaders.
A contingent of 1,500 Russian “peacekeepers” remain in the separatist region 30 years after a brief war pitting it against newly independent Moldova.
Transdniestria channels funds from gas bills paid by domestic and industrial users to a “gas account” used to cover some of its substantial budget deficits.
The sum of Transdniestria’s unpaid bills for Russian gas is estimated by Moldovan officials at several billion dollars.
Accumulated arrears for the Moldovagaz company in the rest of Moldova stand at $709 million, though officials in Chisinau last year ordered an international audit of the debt. Moldova depends on Transdniestria to provide most of its electricity at relatively cheap prices from a thermal power station supplied by Gazprom.
France is being accused of slowing down a €2bn EU package for purchasing weapons for Ukraine by demanding that the munitions be manufactured inside the bloc, The Telegraph reports.
“Paris wanted guarantees that a deal to jointly procure weapons would only benefit firms based in the EU,” the newspaper reported, quoting European sources.
Russia has reportedly reached the site of the US drone, CNN are reporting, citing officials. In a press conference following a rare call between Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and his Russian counterpart, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Milley said that the drone would be difficult to recover.
CNN reports that two officials said Russia had reached the MQ-9 crash site in the Black Sea.
Milley told reporters that the drone “probably sank to some significant depths, so any recovery operation from a technical standpoint would be very difficult”, but that the intelligence it had gathered would not be able to be accessed.
“It’s probably about maybe 4,000 or 5,000 feet of water, something like that. So, any recovery operation is very difficult at that depth by anyone,” Milley said.
“As far as the loss of anything of sensitive intelligence, et cetera, as normal, we would take – and we did take mitigating measures, so we are quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value.”
Ex-Soviet Moldova is no longer receiving Russian gas or enduring the “blackmail” imposed by gas giant Gazprom over its difficulties in paying for supplies, the country’s energy minister said.
Victor Parlicov, speaking to TV8 television on Wednesday evening, said Gazprom had been providing supplies only to Moldova’s Russian-backed Transdniestria separatist region since December, with none going to central authorities in Chisinau.
He said Moldova, wedged between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, was able to secure European supplies thanks to €300m ($318m) in credits from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
But Transdniestria, he said, has never paid Gazprom for the gas it receives.
“Transdniestria did’t pay for gas before and it’s not paying now,” Parlicov said. “Gazprom puts up with debts from there. But when the (rest of Moldova) was getting gas, the Russian company resorted to supply cuts, to blackmail.”
Gazprom had allowed this for 30 years, Parlicov said, to keep the pro-Russian sliver of land from collapsing.
“They understand that if they abandon this contract they will be practically be allowing the region to collapse,” he said.
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next while.
Our top story this morning: ex-Soviet Moldova is no longer receiving Russian gas or enduring the “blackmail” imposed by gas giant Gazprom over its difficulties in paying for supplies, the country’s energy minister said.
Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, has been buffeted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the presence of pro-Russian separatists on its doorstep.
Led by pro-European President Maia Sandu, Moldova accuses Russia of plotting to destabilise it.
We’ll have more on this and other news shortly.
Here are the key recent developments:
Moscow said Wednesday it would try to retrieve the wreckage of a US military drone that crashed over the Black Sea, in a confrontation Washington blamed on two Russian fighter jets. US officials said the debris could be in such deep water that recovery is impossible, and would have no real intelligence value.
The Russian and US defence ministers and military chiefs held rare phone conversations on Wednesday to discuss the incident. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Wednesday that operating drone flights near Crimea was provocative and could lead to an escalation, the Russian Defence Ministry said. Russia, the statement said, “had no interest in such a development but will in future react in due proportion”.
Austin declined to offer any details on the call, including whether he criticised the Russian intercept. But he reiterated at a news conference that the US intended to continue flying where international law allowed and demanded Russian military aircraft operate in a safe and professional manner.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said that the incident was “being investigated”. Blinken declined to speak to the motive or intent behind the incident, saying he would let the investigation proceed and that the US is “in close coordination” with allies and partners on the matter.
The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, accused Russia of acting “unprofessionally”. Wallace’s comments reflect an emerging western view that the extraordinary mid-air incident was a one-off, not immediately meriting anything stronger than diplomatic complaints.
The Kremlin said on earlier on Wednesday that relations with the US were in a “lamentable state” and at their lowest level, after Washington accused Russia of downing one of its reconnaissance drones over the Black Sea.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian ground forces shot down a Russian fighter jet near the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut, a Ukrainian official has said. Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, also said Kyiv’s forces had made gains in northern parts of the city.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary Wagner group, said Russian forces had taken control of the settlement of Zaliznyanskoye and are expanding the encirclement of Bakhmut. Neither side’s claims of success in what has become the longest-running battle since the war began could be verified.
Ex-Soviet Moldova is no longer receiving Russian gas or enduring the “blackmail” imposed by gas giant Gazprom over its difficulties in paying for supplies, the country’s energy minister said. Victor Parlicov, speaking to TV8 television on Wednesday evening, said Gazprom had been providing supplies only to Moldova’s Russian-backed Transnistria separatist region since December, with none going to central authorities in Chisinau.
Russia’s defence ministry will start a new recruitment campaign on 1 April, with the aim of recruiting 400,000 professional soldiers to the Russian army,according to a report. Russian military recruitment offices are trying to compensate for its losses in specialised soldiers, such as tank drivers and artillerymen, according to a separate report.
Turkey’s parliament is “highly likely” to ratify Finland’s Nato accession bid before mid-April, two Turkish officials told Reuters. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join the defence pact after Russia invaded Ukraine but faced objections from Turkey.
The quake was estimated at a depth of 10km, the agency added. Issuing an alert for hazardous waves for some coast, US Tsunami Warning System said, “tsunami waves reaching 0.3m to 1m above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Kermadec Islands.
“Tsunami waves are forecast to be less than 0.3m above the tide level for the coasts of Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga.”
However, the National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) and the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed there was no tsunami threat to mainland New Zealand and Australia.
“There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the M7.0 earthquake in the Southern Kermadec Islands,” Civil Defence New Zealand said on Thursday.
“Remember, if an earthquake is long or strong, get gone,” they said.
Two British and German Typhoon jets were scrambled on Tuesday when a Russian air-to-air refuelling aircraft failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control.
The UK Ministry of Defence stressed the “routine” nature of the mission, but it comes amid tensions between the West and Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
“The American UAV deliberately and provocatively was moving towards Russian territory with transponders turned off,” Mr Antonov said in remarks posted on his embassy’s website, referring to the drone as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
While there have been other such intercepts, the “reckless” incident was noteworthy because it was “unsafe and unprofessional” and caused the downing of a US aircraft, the White House said.
The Ukrainian troops being ‘sent to death’ in Bakhmut
Ukrainian troops have told of being “sent to death” in Bakhmut – the small eastern city at the centre of Russia’s ever-intensifying winter campaign.
Amid reports of ”heavy losses” within Moscow’s ranks, Kyiv forces have spoken of their own desperate fight for survival against Russia’s “infinite” stocks of artillery and personnel.
“When they drive us to Bakhmut, I already know I’m being sent to death,” one Ukrainian soldier told The Kyiv Independentduring a short stay in nearby Kramatorsk, some 25km west of the front line.
“(The Russians) keep firing at us, but we don’t have artillery – so we have nothing to attack them back with,” said Volodymyr, whose surname was withheld to protect his identity. “I don’t know if I will return or not. We are just getting killed.”
Russia’s advance has relied heavily on members of the Wagner group – often referred to as Vladimir Putin’s “private army” — who have made slow gains in Bakhmut, but at an immense cost.
Moscow first attempted to win the brutal conflict with a “human wave” of assaults using battalions of convicts, before sending in elite mercenary troops.
It comes after president Volodymyr Zelensky and his top military command agreed to continue to defend Bakhmut.
“It’s a pity that probably 90 per cent of our losses are from artillery – or tanks and aviation. And much less (casualties) from shooting battles,” Valeriy, another solider, told the news site a few hours after leaving Bakhmut.
He said “only a few” of the original 27 members of his platoon got out of the city with him, but explained that most of them were wounded, not killed.
“The Russians have so many weapons, and there are so many of them,” Valeriy said. “They are firing at us all the time. Sometimes, you hear an incoming (shell) every second.”
German arms industry seeks clarity on Ukraine weapons orders
Germany’s defence industry says it stands ready to ramp up its output, including the kinds of arms and ammunition needed by Ukraine, but needs clarity about what governments want before investing in further production capacity.
Ukraine became the world’s third largest importer of arms in 2022 after Russia’s invasion triggered a big flow of military aid to Kyiv from the United States and Europe, according to Swedish think tank SIPRI.
Russia accuses US of ‘direct participation in war’ after drone collision
Russia says it will try to retrieve the remains of a US military surveillance drone that fell into the Black Sea after an incident involving Russian fighter planes, accusing Washington of “directly participating” in the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin security council secretary Nikolai Patrushev told the Rossiya-1 TV channel: “I don’t know whether we will be able to retrieve it or not, but that it has to be done. And we’ll certainly work on it. I hope, of course, successfully.”
“Secondly, regarding the drone - the Americans keep saying they’re not taking part in military operations. This is the latest confirmation that they are directly participating in these activities - in the war,” he said.
World should move on from Ukraine war, says India’s G20 negotiator
Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought the world to a standstill when urgent action is needed to address growing global poverty, India’s G20 summit negotiator Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
Kant’s comments follow two back-to-back G20 ministerial meetings in India in the last three weeks overshadowed by the war, which entered its second year last month.
India, which holds the bloc’s presidency this year, has sought to highlight the economic impact of the conflict as well as issues such as climate change and poorer countries’ debt.
“Europe cannot bring growth, poverty, global debt, all developmental issues to a standstill across the world,” Kant told reporters.
“Especially when the south is suffering, especially when 75 countries are suffering from global debt, especially when one-third of the world is in recession, especially when 200 million people have gone below poverty line. Can that one war bring the entire world to a standstill?”
“Nutrition has been impacted, health outcomes have been impacted, learning outcomes have been impacted, people have become stunted and wasted and we are just concerned with one Russia and Ukraine war,” Kant said. “The world needs to move on and Europe needs to find a solution to its challenges.”
Putin set to host Syrian leader Assad at the Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host Syrian leader Bashar Assad for talks in the Kremlin on Wednesday that are expected to focus on rebuilding Syria after a devastating civil war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders would talk about “postwar reconstruction and the continuation of the peace process in all of its aspects with an emphasis on the absolute priority of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
£11bn boost for defence budget over the next five years, says UK chancellor
British chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed the government would add £11bn to the defence budget over the next five years.
Jeremy Hunt said: “Today, following representations from our persuasive defence secretary, I confirm that we will add a total of £11bn to our defence budget over the next five years and it will be nearly 2.25 per cent of GDP by 2025.
“We were the first large European country to commit to 2 per cent of GDP for defence and will raise that to 2.5 per cent as soon as fiscal and economic circumstances allow.”
Erdogan indicates he will ratify Finland’s Nato bid
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that he would send ratification of Finland’s Nato membership to parliament soon, saying that he would “keep his promise”.
“Mr President (Niinisto) will come to Turkey on Friday and we will meet. After that, we will fulfil our promise,” Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday, when asked whether he would send ratification of Finland’s Nato bid to Turkish parliament next week.
Finland’s Niinisto is due to visit Istanbul on 16-17 March.
“Positive messages will be given to Finland’s president during his visit,” the second official said.
(Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Pope urges 'respect' for Orthodox monastery facing eviction in Kyiv
Pope Francis has called for “respect” of religious sites in Ukraine, as he mentioned the monastery from which the Russian-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is facing eviction.
Ukrainian authorities have given the UOC a 29 March deadline to vacate its headquarters in the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex, in the latest move against a denomination the government says is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow.
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Referring specifically to the Lavra monastery, Francis asked “the warring parties [in Ukraine] to respect religious sites”, and praised people who devote their lives to prayer, “be they of whatever denomination”.
The pope made the remarks during his weekly address to crowds in St Peter’s Square. In an apparent slip up, he referred to the “nuns” of the monastery, which is actually home to male Orthodox priests.
Members of the Association of Azovstal Defenders' Families and activists hold posters during a rally to commemorate the fallen soldiers and prisoners of war.
Ukrainian fighters of Mariupol's Azovstal steel works, who spent months defending the steel plant, surrendered in May last year during the Russian siege.
Russia has called on the United States to stop “hostile” flights near its borders after one of its fighter jets collided with an American drone yesterday, causing the unmanned aircraft to crash.
In the first direct military clash between the two superpowers since the start of the Ukraine war, the US military says a Russian SU-27 fighter discharged fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper drone and then struck its propeller during an “unsafe and unprofessional intercept” over the Black Sea.
The Pentagon said it was forced to ditch the drone into the sea west of Crimea, close to the conflict zone in Ukraine, because it was no longer operational.
US calls Russian actions “unsafe and unprofessional”
The Russian ambassador to Washington was summoned last night over the “reckless” downing of the drone.
Russia has called on the United States to stop “hostile” flights near its borders after one of its fighter jets collided with an American drone yesterday, causing the unmanned aircraft to crash.
In the first direct military clash between the two superpowers since the start of the Ukraine war, the US military says a Russian SU-27 fighter discharged fuel on the MQ-9 Reaper drone and then struck its propeller during an “unsafe and unprofessional intercept” over the Black Sea.
The Pentagon said it was forced to ditch the drone into the sea west of Crimea, close to the conflict zone in Ukraine, because it was no longer operational.
US calls Russian actions “unsafe and unprofessional”
The Russian ambassador to Washington was summoned last night over the “reckless” downing of the drone.
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