KARACHI, March 18 (Reuters) - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has put the death toll at 143 in the bombing of a Kabul drug rehab centre by Pakistan, an official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Afghan Taliban government had said more than 400 people were killed and 265 injured in the air strike on Monday night.

Pakistan has rejected the Afghan Taliban claim that it targeted a drug rehab centre saying it "precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure".

STOCKHOLM, March 18 (Reuters) - Russia, China and Iran are the biggest threats to Sweden, the Swedish Security Service (SAPO) said on Wednesday in its annual report on threats facing the country.

The security police has warned in recent years of rising threats, above all from a Russian state increasingly prone to risky ventures in support of its war in Ukraine, including through destabilising hybrid attacks around Europe.

BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - China offered on Wednesday what it said would be energy stability to Taiwan if it agreed to Beijing's rule, part of a campaign by China to convince the island of the benefits of "reunification", which it has long rejected.

Governments around the world are scrambling for alternative energy supplies during the Middle East War and severing of shipping lanes through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

By Mohammad Yunus Yawar

KABUL, March 18 (Reuters) - Families and friends of people who were under treatment at a rehab centre in the Afghan capital Kabul searched for their loved ones on Wednesday, two days after it was bombed by Pakistan in the deadliest incident in the months long conflict between the neighbours.

The Afghan Taliban government has said that more than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in the air strike that took place on Monday night, just as people and staff at the centre were praying, days before the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

DUBAI, March 18 (Reuters) - Iran's stance against the development of nuclear weapons won't significantly change, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera in remarks relayed by Iranian media on Wednesday, cautioning that the new supreme leader is yet to publicly express his view on the matter.

Former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed early in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, opposed the development of weapons of mass destruction in a fatwa, or religious edict, issued in the early 2000s.

Gulf states and Western nations strongly criticised Iran at an emergency meeting Wednesday of the UN's maritime body, convened amid growing fears for thousands of stranded ships and seafarers.

Numerous nations used opening statements at the International Maritime Organization gathering to lambast Tehran's response to US-Israeli strikes, which has seen Iran target Gulf countries and commercial shipping.

By Tamiyuki Kihara, Tim Kelly and John Geddie

TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visits the White House on Thursday for meetings that offer U.S. President Donald Trump a chance to lean on a key security partner for support in his Iran war, threatening to strain a decades-old alliance.

Takaichi is the first major ally set for face-to-face talks with Trump since he demanded that Japan, among a coalition of nations, send ships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz waterway, largely closed by Iran in the conflict.

BEIRUT, March 18 (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike hit Beirut's Bachoura neighbourhood in the centre of the city on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said, with a loud explosion heard in the area after the Israeli military warned residents to evacuate a building ahead of the strike.

The attack was part of a broader wave of Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday, including raids on other parts of the Lebanese capital, as well as southern and eastern areas of the country, signalling an intensification of Israel's campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

By Tim Kelly

TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's call for allies to send warships to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has revived questions about how far pacifist Japan can go to support its closest ally in a conflict.

Here are the narrow legal options available to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the past precedents that could shape her decision.

POLICING ROLE

After its defeat in World War Two, Japan adopted a U.S.-drafted constitution that renounced the use of force to settle international disputes.

By Ahmed Rasheed and Yomna Ehab

BAGHDAD, March 17 (Reuters) - The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government reached an agreement to resume oil exports to Turkey's Ceyhan energy hub starting on Wednesday, Iraq's oil minister said on Tuesday.

Oil flow from Ceyhan port is expected to start at 10 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, state media said, citing Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani.