Afghans threatened with no bread

The United Nations Co-ordinator for Afghanistan, Erick de Mul, is holding talks with the Taleban authorities to try to resolve a dispute over food distribution.

The UN agency, the World Food Programme WFP, said on Saturday it will close the bakeries it runs in the capital, Kabul, unless the Taleban allows a survey to be conducted to assess those most in need of aid.

The current list of approved recipients is five years old.

The Taleban refuses to allow the UN to hire local women to carry out the survey.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service