NATIONS FACE SANCTIONS OVER ILLICIT DRUG TRADES

The United States says Afghanistan and Burma will face continued sanctions
under its annual review of nations engaged in the illicit drug trade.

Twenty out of 24 nations, which the US considers major producers or
conduits of illicit drugs, have been certified as fully cooperating with
Washington.

For the second year in a row, Afghanistan and Burma have been decertified,
while sanctions against Cambodia and Haiti have been waived.

The assistant secretary of state for narcotics, Randy Beers, says
cultivation in Afghanistan increased by 25 per cent last year and now
accounts for about 75 per cent of the world's supply.

He says this has come despite earlier reports of a decrease in poppy
cultivation in Taliban controlled areas.

"The enforcement of a poppy ban is welcome news," he said.

"But this development did not distract the international community's
attention from the presence of large opiate stockpiles in the country and
unabated drug trafficking from Afganistan."