Headlines about Iran usually focus on its nuclear deal with the global powers, its controversial missile programme, not to mention international sanctions. The deep-rooted domestic challenges that the country faces get less attention. One of them is a drastic rise in narcotics consumption in the past ten years. By Mitra ShahraniMore
Afghanistanʹs drug economy provides a regular income to rural communities in this extremely unstable country. With eighty-five percent of villages in the countryʹs south cultivating opium poppies, yield fluctuations have more to do with the weather than government policy. By Janet KursaweMore
Anti-narcotics laws and their enforcement tend to be tough in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, however, drug use is not in decline, despite attempts by President Widodo to crack down on durg dealers and cartels. By Edith KoesoemawiriaMore
That the younger generation in northern Morocco are still demonstrating is hardly surprising. Lacking in infrastructure, the Rif region has been economically disadvantaged for years. The area is simply beset with problems. An analysis by Susanne KaiserMore
In a number of Arab countries, people have launched campaigns to have hashish legalised. So far, their efforts have met with little success: there is still stiff opposition from both conservative politicians and religious circles. By Reda GhoneimMore
You might expect the advent of a long, bleak winter to bring everything to a standstill in Kashmir, but thanks to ingenious portable earthenware heating pots – kangdi – encased in wicker baskets, people can still go about their business. By Sugato Mukherjee
