Burma, U.N. to Hike Anti-Drug Spending

The United Nations has agreed to give Burma $10.5 million in aid over the next five years for its narcotics eradication program, an increase of $4 million from the previous five-year program.

Burma said it will also increase its spending on the program to $13 million beginning this year, up from the previous five-year total of $8.6 million.

Burma, whose image has been tarnished by its geographical association with the opium-producing Golden Triangle, has been combatting the spread of narcotics, particularly opium and heroin, since 1976. The Golden Triangle is a 60,000-square-mile hilly region covering remote border areas of Burma, Thailand and Laos.