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Asia’s ’grim view on drug crime’

Asia's 'grim view on drug crime' HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- At dawn on Friday, a hangman at Changi Prison in Singapore placed a hood over the head of drug trafficker Van Nguyen, put a noose around his neck and opened a trap door in a "long-drop" procedure that killed the Australian citizen. The death sentence for the 25-year former salesman was handed down after he was arrested at Changi airport while transiting from Cambodia to the Australian city of Melbourne in 2002, carrying nearly 400 grams (14 ounces) of heroin. The city-state enacted tough drug laws in 1975 which made the death

Second Australian sentenced to life on drug charges

Second Australian sentenced to life on drug charges An Australian man was Monday sentenced to life in prison on charges of drug smuggling. In a trial at the Denpasar District Court, judges ruled that Scott Rush, 20, should serve the rest of his life in an Indonesian prison for acting as a so-called drug mule.He was seized at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport with 1.3 kilograms of heroin taped to his legs. He is the second Australian to be sentenced to life in prison Monday for trying to smuggle heroin from the Indonesian resort island of Bali to their homeland, judges said. They were the

Australia to help fight human trafficking in Asia

Australia to help fight human trafficking in Asia The Australian government on Friday announced that Australia will provide 21 million Australian dollars (15.8 million U.S. dollars) over the next five years in a bid to help combat human trafficking in Asia. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Justice Minister Chris Ellison issued a joint statement, saying the work will be managed by the AusAID, the Australian government's overseas aid agency, and will be carried out in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The initiative will help the criminal justice systems in Asia to target people traffickers and secure justice for victims, and help governments

HIV epidemic could hit Asia-Pacific drug users: UN

HIV epidemic could hit Asia-Pacific drug users: UN Asia-Pacific countries risk a full-blown HIV epidemic among drug users unless governments do more to keep youths off drugs and make clean needles available, a UN official said today. Injecting drug use or IDU fuels at least 70 per cent of HIV transmission in places such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, said Prasada Rao, Asia-Pacific director of UNAIDS, the UN body fighting HIV/AIDS. Those countries, and others including Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, have a very severe IDU epidemic almost in the offing, about to break out in the open,

Indian shares up 1 pct on firm Asia

Indian shares up 1 pct on firm Asia Indian shares rose on Thursday, tracking mostly firm Asian markets, as investors bought software firms and auto makers, but high oil prices and worries about firmer interest rates appeared to cap the upside. Oil hovered under $76 a barrel as a tropical storm strengthened and headed toward the Gulf of Mexico. That boosted shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. more than 1 percent to 1,206.70 rupees. Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. jumped more than 4 percent to 392.75 rupees after a U.S. federal appeals court invalidated a secondary Pfizer patent, paving the way for an