Opium production in Myanmar has leapt this year, with cultivation up 29% to 27,700 hectares, the UN drugs control chief said Thursday.

The United States says Afghanistan has made some gains in its fight against the cultivation of opium poppies. But in its annual report on drug trafficking around the world, the State Department also said opium accounted for one-third of Afghanistan's economy.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is blaming the international community for not doing more to stop poppy production in his country. Mr. Karzai's criticism follows the release this week of a United Nations' report that cites booming opium production in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai today criticized leading Western nations for not doing enough to aid Afghanistan in its fight against drugs.

A United Nations report issued today says that the latest opium crop in Afghanistan is the biggest ever and warns that efforts to control the opium crop have not succeeded.

The United States Thursday announced a new, more aggressive, strategy for curbing the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan. U.S. officials concede that opium poppy production in the country overall is growing but say there have been local successes.

When Afghan President Hamid Karzai meets with U.S. President George W. Bush on August 5 and 6, the two leaders are expected to discuss a strategy for increasing Karzai's control over his country.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says illegal opium production in Afghanistan increased by nearly half in 2006 compared to the record harvest of a year earlier.

The poppy harvest is in and everyone from the Taleban to local government officials is cooperating to get the opium crop to market.

Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said today that poppy cultivation in southern Afghanistan is "out of control."