Diya Hadid

The Indian government says it's taking action, including a ban on open-air grills used for charcoal chicken and tandoori bread.

Critics say it's not enough.

Dee Hadid, NPR News, New Delhi.

These are really dark days for the some 265,000 Afghans who advocates say were in the pipeline to come to the U.S.,

Like Roshan Garg, he was in the Afghan military.

He used to sign off on airstrikes targeting Taliban fighters.

He's now in hiding in Afghanistan in fear of his life, which is why I won't use his full name.

But Roshan Garg told me that he was ashamed of the Afghan national behind the Wednesday attack in D.C.

The heavy rushes of water soften the soil in Sri Lanka's central hill country, triggering mudslides, and there's fears that more people are buried beneath the mud.

Downstream, homes, fields and roads are flooded.

So have reservoirs and rivers.

Trees have fallen on roads and railway tracks, paralysing movement.

Rescuers were using helicopters to airlift some trapped residents.

Neighbouring India has dispatched search and rescue teams and sent aid to support the country.

Sri Lanka experiences an annual monsoon which brings torrential rain, but climate change has made those downpours more erratic and extreme.

Diya Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai.

Pakistan's defence minister announced a ceasefire that was mediated by Qatar and Turkey.

Pakistan accused neighbouring Afghanistan of sheltering militant groups that have been targeting their security forces.

Those attacks dramatically surged since the Taliban seized power of Afghanistan in 2021.

Adding to Pakistan's concerns that Taliban are also strengthening their relations with India, Pakistan's chief rival.