Kabul: Taliban block Swedish NGOs over Koran burning

Today's headlines: Pyongyang launches 12th ballistic missile of the year after days of threats to the US; Bahrain first nation in the world for calorie consumption, over 4,000 per capita; Chinese naval base in Cambodia will accommodate warships and aircraft carriers; In first, Taiwan military exercises to include the defence of the international airport; After child deaths, Delhi wants to raise drug standards; In rural Russian Far East only 3.2% of homes have hot and drinkable water, heating, electricity.

AFGHANISTAN
The Afghan Taliban have banned all activities of Swedish entities and NGOs in the country, in response to the burning of the Koran outside a mosque in Stockholm last month. This was announced yesterday by spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, with the ban set to hit in particular the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, which employs thousands of aid workers throughout the country.

NORTH KOREA
In the early hours of today Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) off the east coast, the twelfth of the year and a month after the last test, according to the South Korean Chief of Staff. In recent days, the Kim regime had accused and threatened the United States for violating airspace and economic space.  

BAHREIN
Bahrain is the number one calorie-consuming nation in the world, according to a study by Oxford University's OurWorldInData, based on data from the FAO. The Gulf state's population also surpasses the United States, in second place, with 4012 calories per person per day. Four out of 10 adults are obese, due to a sedentary lifestyle and extensive reliance on fast food.

CAMBODIA - CHINA 
The construction of a Chinese-funded naval base in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, continues in record time, with the further expansion of a pier that will be able to accommodate warships and aircraft carriers. Satellite images captured by Planet Labs confirm the rapid development of the project, which started only two years ago. In just six months, an area in the southern part has tripled in size.

TAIWAN
This year, Taiwan's military exercises include, for the first time, the defence of the main international airport and training to keep the sea routes open in case of a Chinese blockade. Taipei's Ministry of Defence said that the Han Kuang exercises in late July will see the airport defended against an air assault by paratroopers and helicopters.

INDIA
According to the Ministry of Health, Delhi wants to impose higher standards on small and medium-sized drug manufacturers. The aim is to improve the quality of medicines, a necessity after the deaths of at least 89 children in The Gambia and Uzbekistan last year who had taken cough syrups from India, long regarded as the 'global pharmacy' due to its cheap prices.

RUSSIA
The Federal Statistical Institute Rosstat has published data on the living conditions of inhabitants in Siberia and the Russian Far East. In Tuva, as in other areas, only 3.2 per cent of homes in the countryside have drinking water, sewerage, heating, hot water, gas and electricity at the same time; in the cities it is as high as 30 per cent.

AZERBAIJAN - IRAN
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov expressed appreciation for "Iran's serious intentions to achieve normalisation of relations" with Baku. If the bombers against the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran last January are punished, normal diplomatic relations can be restored, the senior Azerbaijani official stressed.

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