This episode of International Dateline is divided into three segments:

Opium Wars
It's been described as the War on Terror's elephant in the room - Afghan farmers producing narcotics that fuel corruption and insurgency.

But while the US pours billions into anti-narcotics programs, Afghanistan's drug production continues. The latest UN report reveals the illicit drug trade has earned $4 billion every year, accounting for 53% of the entire GDP for Afghanistan.

The local authorities have done little to stem the flow opium and other illegal drugs, with the southern province of Helmand producing half of the world's heroin.

However it's a catch 22 for both Afghan authorities and foreign troops, as many opium farmers have their crops and livelihoods destroyed. Furthermore, farmers spiral further into debt, as they can't pay back the opium dealers who pay them in advance to fund the crops.

While aerial eradication has been one of the most effective means of wiping out opium crops, some officials say drug trafficking is simply too strong for the Afghan government.

The Kurdish Question
This week Video Journalist Sophie McNeil tackles the perplexing question of independence of Iraq's Kurds.

Five years since the end of Saddam Hussein's rule, the Kurdish region in northern Iraq is one of the country's success stories; stable, secure and prosperous.

However, the question of reintegration remains uncertain.

“The local political parties and the local population were very happy with the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and [with] the opportunity to reintegrate into the rest of Iraq,” Jon Cebra a US official in the region tells McNeill.

However the Kurds tell a different story. The Iraqi flag is nowhere to be seen in the Kurdish Autonomous Zone.

Furthermore Arabs wishing to enter are treated with suspicion, the Kurds have their own government, army and taxation system, and they’re signing their own oil deals.

The Kurds’ increasing independence is causing growing alarm in Baghdad, which wants control of any oil deals, and in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

Interview with Richard Branson

This interview did not air as scheduled last week. 

In this interview, host George Negus speaks with CEO and founder of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson.

The eccentric billionaire heads up one of the biggest and well known brands in the world, dominating the financial, retail, music, soft drink and travel industries. However the 236th richest person in the world shows no signs of slowing down his massive empire. Currently Virgin Galactic is developing the world's first commercial space aircraft, allowing anyone to fly to space – for a price of $US 200,000.

About International Dateline 

SBS Dateline, which began in 1984, is Australia's longest-running international current affairs program. It has a well-earned reputation for authoritative and incisive reporting. Dateline has taken the traditional way of producing TV current affairs and turned it on its head. Reporters who used to travel with a cameraperson and sound recordist now travel alone and have the responsibility of both filming and reporting their stories. The reporters became video-journalists, gaining access to people and places that the conventional camera crews cannot.