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Afghanistan turns disused NATO camp into drug treatment base

By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan officials have opened a new drug treatment center in an abandoned NATO military base in Kabul, in the latest attempt to stamp out the country's massive problem of drug abuse. Afghanistan is one of the world's biggest sources of opium, producing around 3,300 tonnes last year, despite a drop of 48 percent in output. Camp Phoenix, a former training camp on the edges of Kabul set up by the U.S. army in 2003, will take in around 1,000 homeless drug addicts who will receive food, medical attention and treatment, said Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz.

New U.S. diet rules would take 20 percent bite out of American sugar use

By Chris Prentice NEW YORK (Reuters) – If the U.S. government has its way, Americans would cut their consumption of sugar and corn syrup by more than 2 million tonnes a year, the latest blow for a sweetener industry facing an onslaught of criticism over negative health effects. The U.S. government on Thursday issued new dietary guidelines that suggested for the first time that consumers limit their consumption of added sweeteners at a specific level, less than 10 percent of a recommended daily intake of about 2,000 calories. With one teaspoon of sugar equal to approximately 15 calories, a reduction equivalent to more than 60 calories worth of added sugars – over 20 percent fewer than the average American consumes today – would amount to some 2.2 million tonnes of primarily sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.