The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, expressed his warmest wishes to all observing the holy month of Ramadan, which starts today, noting it is a moment to “reflect on the difficult experiences faced by millions of people uprooted from their homes by conflict.”
The holy month is being observed this year at a time when “acute and protracted crises in Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Libya and other locations have created levels of human suffering not witnessed in decades,” Grandi said.
The United Nations Security Council today extended the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) until the end of 2014, when it is expected that the force will draw down and the Government of Afghanistan will assume full responsibility for security throughout the country. 
While the total area of Afghan farmland used for cannabis cultivation fell by 17 percent in 2012, there was still an eight per cent rise in the overall production of cannabis compared to 2011, according to a report released today by the United Nations drug and crime agency and the country’s Ministry of Counter-Narcotics.