Resource shortage, increased school enrolment strains RCMP school outreach program Fewer resources, the opening of a new high school and a growing school population has led to the discontinuation of the DARE program for schools in Grande Prairie this year. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program has traditionally been offered to Grade 6 students through 10 weeks of classroom instruction from the Grande Prairie's RCMP school resource officer (SRO). But following the transfer of Cst. Jennifer Fraser, who is in the process of moving to St. Albert, the Grande Prairie RCMP detachment is down to three SROs, forcing a re-evaluation of their priorities within the public and Catholic school districts. [continues 731 words]
Two heavyweights with opposing views about legalizing marijuana will debate the issue at Grande Prairie Regional College next week, and student organizers hope it will spark an interesting conversation in the community. Bob Stutman, a 25-year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the U.S., and Steve Hager, editor-in-chief of High Times Magazine, will square off Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre. The two men have spoken at many post-secondary schools across North America as part of their "Heads vs. Feds" debate designed to present both sides of the argument in order for people to have a better understanding of the overall issue. [continues 376 words]
ALERT Team Asking Public to Keep an Eye Out for Rural Grow-Ops With mid-summer being the prime time of the year for activity around outdoor marijuana grow-ops, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) is asking Peace region residents to keep their eyes peeled for suspicious activity. A rural grow-op is "a very labour intensive project" that requires on-site maintenance on a regular basis, explained acting Sgt. Ray Savage with ALERT's Green Team North. The team aims to dismantle rural and urban grow-ops across northern Alberta. [continues 640 words]
If you yearn to taste religion, it's a spiritual smorgasbord. Within about 21 major religions there are hundreds of large religious groups and thousands of smaller independent churches. Each one naturally believes theirs is the correct creed. Signing on can require an introductory course, jumping doctrinal hurdles, obeying rules perhaps and subscribing to an interpretation of sacred scripture. If you're looking for something simple, however, consider the Church of the Universe. Founded in 1969, it has but two rules: Do not hurt yourself and do not hurt anyone else. [continues 511 words]
OTTAWA -- A woman who's been waiting five months for an updated licence to use medical marijuana says the situation for patients is getting worse. Marie Tripp filed an application in August to change her licence after her doctor doubled her prescription for cannabis, and spoke to QMI Agency at the end of September about previous delays she suffered while getting renewals and changes for her licence. Tripp suffers from fibro myalgia, chronic fatigue and osteoarthritis, but doesn't use any painkillers other than marijuana. [continues 259 words]
Criminals running marijuana grow-ops in their homes should have no expectation of privacy, according to a Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday morning. The case, involving Calgary resident Daniel Gomboc, split the highest court three ways as justices argued over privacy rights. Police attached a digital recording ammeter, or DRA, to Gomboc's home in 2007. The DRA provided police with a pattern of electricity use consistent with a grow-op. Combined with other observations police made of Gomboc's home, they obtained a search warrant and found hundreds of marijuana plants. [continues 269 words]
OTTAWA -- Canadian schools are getting a new resource to help keep kids off drugs. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is releasing guidelines for people who work in preventing teens from using drugs and getting addicted. The guidelines are aimed at schools and community groups, as well as groups who work with families on parenting skills. "What we're doing is not just airy-fairy," said Michel Perron, head of the centre. "It's about experts telling us how it is you should engage with young people. It's about practitioners who spend their days with young people allowing (for) these skills to be used in the schools." [continues 116 words]
Change is possible "Change is possible" is the theme for this year's National Addictions Awareness Week. Making the kind of change it takes to recover from substance abuse or gambling problems is a journey that is filled with many steps. For those who have succeeded in making a change, the journey continues to unfold day by day. National Addictions Awareness Week takes place Nov. 14-20 and seeks to raise the awareness of Canadians about the harms associated with substance use and gambling. Although the week aims to spread messages of prevention, it is also about providing hope to those who are considering change, and to those celebrating the joy of living addiction-free. [continues 159 words]
Talking to your kids about drugs may not be easy, but it is an important step in prevention. Parents are their children's strongest role model and greatest influence. As a parent, what you do or do not do has a big impact on your child's decisions about using or not using drugs. It is never too early to model positive behaviour and to teach your child skills that will assist them in making positive choices. Here are some things that you can do as a parent to help your kids make good decisions: [continues 283 words]
GRANDE PRAIRIE -Grande Prairie Crime Prevention's community-involved approach is moving to the next step. The group is organizing training of community members to counsel the rest of the community on how to open up a conversation about drug and alcohol abuse with their kids. Partnering for this endeavor are the RCMP and Alberta Health Services. "Back in 2008 there were six pilot sites across Canada that had an opportunity to try out this Kids and Drugs program," said Karen Gariepy, Crime Prevention program manager. [continues 192 words]
Politicians often go through the motions of soliciting the advice of public health specialists when developing drug policy. Then they routinely ignore those experts. Such is life in politics. Spend untold amounts of public money on hearings, consultations, studies and royal commissions and then pile all the evidence on a dusty shelf somewhere. Fiscal conservatives are supposed to be fervently committed to the wise use of taxpayers' dollars and rabidly opposed to wasting money on lost causes. It's all the more curious, then, that the Harper Conservatives are hell-bent on mandatory minimum sentences for various drug-related crimes and building more prisons. [continues 469 words]
Regarding Mindy Jacobs' 'Evidence should triumph over ideology on needle exchange' in the Feb. 3 edition of the Herald-Tribune. In particular the following: "Imagine kicking our politicians out of office for a while and replacing their cowardice and ideological stubbornness with the evidence-based, straight thinking of experts. ...Pot would have been legalized long ago. Perhaps a regime would have been set up for the legal regulation and sale of all drugs based on their potential harm. .Drug addiction would be considered a health problem, not a criminal matter. And people who got into trouble with the law because of addiction would end up in treatment centres, not prison. ...It's a fantasy, of course." [continues 249 words]
Imagine kicking our politicians out of office for a while and replacing their cowardice and ideological stubbornness with the evidence-based, straight thinking of experts. Pot would have been legalized long ago. Perhaps a regime would have been set up for the legal regulation and sale of all drugs based on their potential harm. Drug addiction would be considered a health problem, not a criminal matter. And people who got into trouble with the law because of addiction would end up in treatment centres, not prison. [continues 536 words]
A private member's bill re-introduced in the House of Commons on Monday would allow law enforcement officers to arrest those who procure ingredients with the intent of manufacturing ecstasy or methamphetamine. The proposed legislation, Bill C-475, An Act to Amend the Controlled and Substances Act, was originally tabled by Peace River MP Chris Warkentin in 2007, received unanimous support in the House and reached the Senate before being effectively killed by the 2008 election. On Monday, John Weston, a Conservative MP from West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky reintroduced the bill. [continues 410 words]
OTTAWA - The number of Canadians legally permitted to use pot as medicine has tripled in the past three years since the Conservatives took power. At last official count by Health Canada this past June, 4,029 people were authorized to possess cannabis under Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, 2,841 were allowed to grow their own plants and 481 had special permission to grow it on behalf of another patient. That's up from 1,273 who had permits in February 2006. [continues 293 words]
Before moving to Grande Prairie from the Vancouver Island city of Nanaimo, Darren Steinke and his sister, Heather Work, would often get stern lectures from their mother about the dangers of doing drugs. As an employee of Edgewood, an addiction rehabilitation centre in Nanaimo, their mother understood through her experiences there that doing drugs is a gamble - except the user never wins and everyone, including family and friends, loses. It's why Steinke, 29, cannot understand why his 25-year-old sister decided to take an ecstasy pill the night of Sept. 11, which ultimately led to her death two days later. [continues 873 words]
RE: Drug bust: One man arrested, 137 marijuana plants seized "The seized plants, if harvested, would have yielded about 15,000 grams or 60,000 joints - enough to last one chronic user about 41 years." It is disgusting and shameful that the police continue to mislead and frighten the public with this balderdash, but even more chilling is the media's willingness to regurgitate this tripe back to the public as if we were all their baby birds. Stop insulting the intelligence of your readers with this piffle. Ask the cops more pointed questions. Go back to journalism school if you have to. [continues 337 words]
PEACE RIVER - Alberta's northwest provides a convenient back door for gangs utilizing the corridor for access to other parts of the country, and a noted criminologist says the Peace Country is prime for organized crime. The northern part of province is the back door, and Peace River is the door handle," said MacEwan College criminologist Bill Pitt, the keynote speaker at a Community Safety Forum held in Peace River yesterday. "It's prime hunting ground for organized crime," he stressed, comparing the Alberta BC border to the one dividing Mexico and the U.S. [continues 672 words]
There are some big shoes to be filled by Const. Nathan Ashley, both literally and figuratively, as Const. Tony Walker - partner in the Report-A-Drug-House-program - has moved on to Edmonton, but he has maintained the program's success. He jokes, saying he has to rely on his bulletproof vest a little more often, rather than just standing behind the towering officer that is Walker. But, more heavily armoured or not, there remains the work to be done. Since its launch in May, 2007, Ashley estimates the receipt of more than 300 complaints from the community about potential drug houses in their neighbourhoods. Those 300-plus complaints have led to 77 actual drug houses being shut down at Ashley's last count in December. [continues 619 words]
The Peace Regional RCMP continues to investigate two recent, violent incidents believed to be drug-related and connected and has also made successful arrests on a third, unconnected but still drug-related incident. This comes just days before a community safety forum to be held at the Belle Petroleum Centre in Peace River, where the local drug trade is expected to be a topic of discussion. Staff Sgt. John Haney, officer in charge for the Peace Regional RCMP detachment, says there is a strong demand for drugs in the Peace Country - certainly a cause for concern to police and surely to the community as well. [continues 640 words]
One should not speak ill of the dead, but it's hard to resist the suspicion that the murder of the army chief of staff on March 1 and of the president on March 2 in the small West African country of Guinea-Bissau were linked to the drug trade in Africa's first "narco-state." On March 1, a powerful bomb blew up the military headquarters in Bissau, the capital, killing Gen. Batista Tagme Na Waie, chief of Guinea-Bissau's military, and severely wounding five other senior officers. [continues 830 words]
A new program has been developed to help parents and guardians prevent their children from abusing drugs and alcohol. The new resource, called Kids and Drugs: A Parent's Guide to Prevention, is a joint venture between the RCMP and Alberta Health Services (AHS) - Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC).The program, which has been in development since 2005, will feature five workshops for parents, as well as a parent handbook. The goal is to improve communication between parents and their children through better support, decision-making and discipline. [continues 603 words]
The Grande Prairie RCMP version of the Report-A-Drug-House program is still pushing forward to give community members what they want - less self-styled drug kingpins living across the street. Const. Tony Walker has been working with the community since May, 2007, to generate community initiative in controlling what comes into their neighbourhood. He has had the benefit of a second member in Const. Nathan Ashley since July. Report-A-Drug-House is an idea local RCMP adopted from the Edmonton Police Service, which has a similar program of its own. The leader of that program, Sgt. Maurice Brodeur, came to Grande Prairie to present information and instruction on his operation. [continues 535 words]
Students in Grande Prairie could be seeing red more often in school this year - red serge that is. When the bell rings next week, it will mark the start of a one-year pilot project that will see RCMP tripling their presence in local schools. Three officers will serve as school-resource officers this year, up from one and the schools couldn't be happier. "I'm quite excited for this opportunity ... I hope the interaction (students) have with the RCMP is more proactive than reactive," said Wanda Gerard, principal at Peace Wapiti Academy. [continues 511 words]
High Level RCMP are tight-lipped about the case of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly caught selling marijuana in school, but are hoping the incident will serve as an eye-opener for the community. "I think parents just have to be aware that this sort of thing is going on," said High Level RCMP Sgt. Don Arsenault. "We have parents that are thinking that kids at that age aren't looking into that sort of stuff . they have to open their eyes and realize that it is happening." [continues 128 words]
Hopes Early Election Won't Scuttle The Process, He Tells Rotarians Few politicians will ever say they want an election, but MP Chris Warkentin has an extra reason for wanting to avoid the polls any time soon: An anti-drug bill he's sponsoring could die for the second time if the government fell. As the federal Conservative minority government moves toward its second anniversary in office, time could be ticking for its existence. And with rumours of a spring election flying, the MP for Peace River is furiously hoping to get his new crime bill passed. [continues 406 words]
The same day that news of two house fires - one beginning with an explosion - at marijuana grow operations in Alberta surfaced, RCMP Staff Sgt. Ian Sanderson was in Grande Prairie, talking about the far-reaching effects of the drug trade and organized crime. "It's absolute," Sanderson said of the connection between drugs and organized crime. "There's no doubt that 100 per cent of drug activity is run by organized criminal activity. "In many, many different ways. It's not just the drug that sells, it's the other type of activities that are used to fund drug activity or make additional profit relating to the drug activity." [continues 749 words]
Afghan Mission Has More Than One Purpose By staying tuned to the mainstream media, we assume that Canada's role in Afghanistan is to help an international coalition take out the Taliban and allow the fledgling Afghan democracy to flourish through the rebuilding of infrastructure and institutions. That's only partially correct. The byproduct of this military operation is what it does to the dynamic of the international heroin trade. The Mounties have warned at least two federal agencies Afghan heroin is "increasingly" making its way to Canada and poses a direct threat to the public, despite millions of dollars from Ottawa to fund the war-torn country's counter-narcotics efforts, newly-released documents reveal. [continues 378 words]
Ottawa needs to fix long-standing loopholes and inconsistencies in Canada's marijuana laws, to help the justice system contend with a surge of court cases resulting from the Conservative government's new zeal for enforcement, legal experts say. With witnesses reporting a dramatic increase in the number of possession cases before the courts, those familiar with the intricacies of the law say it remains vulnerable to the argument Canada's medicinal marijuana program renders it unconstitutional. "Every time a judge calls into question our marijuana laws, it undercuts the legitimacy of the law," said Alan Young, a Osgoode Hall law professor and veteran of the long-standing debate about marijuana, its medicinal benefits and decriminalizing its possession. [continues 571 words]
Report Calls for Legislation Allowing Forced Treatment for Youth to Be Beefed Up EDMONTON (CP) -- A law allowing young people with drug problems to be forced into treatment should be made even tougher, says an Alberta judge. Even though the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act allows for young people with addictions to be locked up for five days, sometimes more time is needed to assess and treat them, says provincial court Judge Hugh Fuller. "I respectfully suggest this very limited window of opportunity only serves to confirm the addiction and that treatment is required," he wrote in a fatality report released Tuesday. "When their addiction warrants treatment, continued confinement is both appropriate and justifiable." [continues 477 words]
Rural Areas In Northern Alberta Considered Prime Property By Those In The Business Of Growing Pot With summer in full swing and growing season upon us, RCMP in Alberta are asking residents in rural areas to be on the lookout for a type of criminal activity that comes along this time of year - outdoor marijuana growing operations. "We use all the conventional investigative techniques that we have at our disposal and we also partner with other agencies, such as the Canadian military, insofar as identifying the locations of these grow-ops," said Cpl. Rick Goldstein of the RCMP, adding some of these grow operations have yielded busts of a thousand or more plants. [continues 298 words]
TORONTO - A new study shows Canadians surpass Americans and even the Dutch when it comes to trying marijuana, but drug policy experts say it's not a cause for concern. The UN's 2007 World Drug Report found 16.8 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 15 and 64 used pot in 2004 - the highest rate among developed nations. The report studied the prevalence of marijuana use in 2005, or the latest year for which data were available. By comparison, 12.6 per cent of American respondents said they have tried pot. Britain (8.7), France (8.6), Germany (6.9), and especially Japan (0.1) all reported much lower rates than Canada. [continues 375 words]
I would just like to commend the staff at the Daily Herald-Tribune for responding in the manner they have to the recent letter(s) regarding the Report a Drug House Program. The RCMP Constable Tony Walker and everyone involved in crime prevention initiatives in our area deserve praise for their efforts in helping to make the Grande Prairie area a better place to live. My family and I applaud and thank all of those involved. Dana McIntosh Grande Prairie [end]
Grande Prairie RCMP are giving taxi drivers a chance to brush up on their knowledge of what they can do to keep their communities -- and themselves -- safe. About 30 taxi drivers sat in on the first of two sessions on Tuesday afternoon and listened to Const. Tony Walker -- head of the local Report A Drug House program -- and Const. Scott Hagarty dole out advice. "I'm very pleased with the turnout," Walker said. "It was more than we expected. Obviously the cab companies are taking this initiative seriously." [continues 435 words]
Program May Walk A Fine Line But The Results Speak For Themselves Desperate times call for desperate measures. That's one way to describe how a program designed to shut down drug houses in community neighbourhoods has come about. The Report a Drug House program, which was pioneered by the Edmonton Police, is now currently operating in Grande Prairie. And with some degree of success, according to RCMP Const. Tony Walker, who has been put in charge of the local program. [continues 378 words]
Re: RCMP Report-a-Drug-House program Think about this: the RCMP is resorting to intimidation and harassment, rather than the rule of law, to attempt to manage a community. Doesn't that sound a little fascist for a free and democratic society like Canada? Didn't we fight a war so that this type of state intrusion wouldn't come to Canada? Today it's about drugs -- and the problems that come with them -- because the government refuses to control them with regulation and taxation. In the future, it could be anyone else the community doesn't like. What if a gay couple moved in next door and the neighbours didn't like them? It's not surprising that there hasn't been any complaints, given the toothless nature of the RCMP public complaints system. Perhaps civil action may be the route for victims of this type of treatment to take. Tim Meehan [end]
In the never-ending war against drugs in society, it can be hard to measure successes, but Grande Prairie RCMP Const. Tony Walker knew he was getting somewhere the day he knocked on the door of a suspected drug house. The resident opened the door, took one look at Walker's broad frame and simply said 'Yeah, I've heard of you.' "It was a good feeling," Walker said with a smile. "He knew what I was doing." It has been a month since Grande Prairie RCMP adopted the Report a Drug House program pioneered by the Edmonton Police Service and Walker was put in charge of targeting local problem houses. [continues 397 words]
Grande Prairie RCMP are hoping that the public will be the newest member in their drug-house-busting team that so far includes health and fire inspectors and local police. "The Report-a-Drug House Program is a new initiative that we just came up with, with assistance from the Edmonton city police," Grande Prairie RCMP Const. Tony Walker said at the program's official launch Monday, adding the similar program in Edmonton has been enjoying great success. That successful track record may be duplicated here as well, as even before the program's official launch, RCMP busted a "bona fide drug house," where the recovery of weapons, prescription drugs and crack cocaine resulted in the arrest of one man. [continues 390 words]
Hey Allan, first of all, were you being paid to say peaceful? The drughouse stabbing was not in Grande Prairie so don't make that one incident sound like it reflects on this city. Do you not think that the police are working on busting those crack dealers? I believe the police have enough resources to deal with crack dealers on a daily basis and the dope smokers in Muskoseepi Park once a year. Smoking marijuana is illegal and I'm sure if there was no police presence in the park that day someone would be complaining about that too. [continues 189 words]
As I open the paper on April 21, I saw a familiar headline. "Man in crack house dies of stab wound." Then on my way to work, in the downtown area, I see a familiar sight - a dozen or so crack dealers plying their trade on the street corners. So I begin to wonder: "Why was practically our entire police force set up at Muskoseepi park, hassling the peaceful 4-20 protest the day before?" In years past, April 20 was a time to celebrate the coming of spring, listening to music, and partaking in a worldwide peaceful protest against the out-dated marijuana laws. [continues 353 words]
Community Members Must Act To Stop Prostitution, Say Activists Average people can make a difference in the collective fight against prostitution and real change can happen. That was the message delivered Monday from two Edmonton activists to a small group of Grande Prairie residents who came out to learn more about the city's prostitution problem. Jo Ann McCartney and Kate Quinn, from the Edmonton-based Prostitution Awareness and Action Foundation, held three sessions in Grande Prairie Monday to education people about the sex trade. They were brought to Grande Prairie by the city's Action on Crime Prevention department and the RCMP. [continues 441 words]
Brodeur Tells Neighbourhoods How To Fight Back And Win His name is Maurice Brodeur and he's a detective with the Edmonton Police Service. But the bad guys know him by another name - Officer Harassment. In the past 18 months, Officer Harassment has developed a reputation for a remarkable amount of success in shutting down community drug houses in the capital city. But perhaps what's surprising is he's done it by staying out of the court system and has made few arrests. He's done it by intimidating drug dealers, using city bylaws and health regulations to fine them and condemn their houses and has generally made their lives so miserable they pack up and leave. His name is so well-deserved, it's how he introduces himself when knocking on the doors of suspected drug houses. [continues 762 words]
Despite some ongoing legal problems in the United States, Snoop Dogg will still be completing the Canadian leg of his North American tour. The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, will appear at the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie on Jan. 16. Snoop Dogg has been arrested and charged on drugs and weapons charges three times between September and November. The most recent charges came Nov. 28, minutes after taping a performance at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A spokesman for the Burbank Police Department said authorities executed a search warrant as Snoop Dogg and a posse of friends and bodyguards were leaving the NBC studio. The roadside stop shut down traffic for hours, according to news reports. The search turned up marijuana, cocaine, a firearm and a false compartment in a car. [continues 112 words]
Although he goes by the name Mr. Clean now, Mike Ryan wasn't always able to live up to that squeaky image. Once a drug addict who spent years in and out of jail, Ryan has spent the last several years trying to make up for his past by helping vulnerable kids with their futures. As the founder and CEO of Clean Scene, an Edmonton-based drug education group, Ryan has talked to more than 200,000 people at 200 schools and events since 2002 in an effort to encourage youth to make positive choices. [continues 909 words]
Drug-Treatment Courts a Viable Alternative to Incarceration The more than 500 law enforcement officials, lawyers, judges and academics from all across North America gathered in Edmonton this weekend just might be onto something. The first conference of the Canadian Association of Drug Treatment Courts underway in Edmonton is looking at a variety of issues, but one of the more compelling ones has to do with coming up with a better way to deal with drug addicts. Conference-goers seem to agree, for the most part, that the notion of locking them up until their debt to society -- at least time-wise -- is up and then sending them back onto the streets is not the answer. Especially when they've refused treatment for whatever addiction got them into that predicament in the first place. [continues 316 words]
With a growing drug problem in Grande Prairie, police will be turning to the public more for help in solving - and reporting - drug cases, a local Mounties says. Cpl. John Wilson said that with the changing landscape of the drug trade in Grande Prairie over the last 10 years, the RCMP see information from the public as one of their most valuable resources. "The biggest resource out there for the police to combat the drug problem, not only in Grande Prairie but in any community, is the people within the community ... people providing the information," said Wilson, head of Grande Prairie RCMP's drug crimes unit. [continues 575 words]
Members of an addiction agency that operates in the city are glad a call has been made to give crystal meth users more help to kick the drug. The Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth released a report Tuesday asking for provincial funding to create 300 detoxification and treatment beds for users. "It would be an asset to have more services because we do have people asking for it," said Carol Crerar, a spokeswoman for the AADAC Northern Addictions Centre in Grande Prairie. [continues 355 words]
Your Tax Dollars Are Going To Pay Claims To Inmates Are you an avid tax crusader, one who scrutinizes carefully the way in which your tax dollars are being spent and you are not afraid to be vocal in protest when you see your hard-earned money go towards public causes that you don't particularly support? And are you tough on crime, feeling that our justice system is far too lenient and that convicted felons in this country are mollycoddled rather than getting their just desserts? [continues 395 words]
Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do The Time - Or Afford To Pay Up As Well Don't do the crime if you can't do the time - or in the case of Canada's proceeds-of-crime legislation - pay through the nose. An Ontario court ruling has concluded there is nothing unconstitutional in the law requiring drug dealers to forfeit profits they've made from crime or to pay fines if those profits have disappeared. The judge said, that in his opinion, "reasonable, informed and fair-minded Canadians would not be offended by a cocaine trafficker being deprived through forfeiture of the cocaine, or the money obtained in payment for the cocaine." [continues 197 words]
Afghanistan Opium Poppy Report Pooh-Poohed By Politicians, Military Canadian politicians and military leaders are rejecting a British report suggesting both troops and Afghan civilians are being killed because of Canada's support of failing U.S. policies on elimination of the opium poppy crop. The poppy eradication campaign has driven rural farmers into such extreme poverty that they are shifting their support to the Taliban as the international community and the Afghan government fail to meet their basic needs, says the report by the London-based Senlis Council. [continues 353 words]
