Indian Sub-continent

July 29 (Reuters) - The World Bank does not plan to offer new financing to Sri Lanka, which is battling its worst economic crisis in decades, until the Indian Ocean nation has an adequate macroeconomic policy framework in place, the lender said on Thursday.

In a statement, the World Bank said Sri Lanka needed to adopt structural reforms that focus on economic stabilisation and tackle the root causes of its crisis, which has starved it of foreign exchange and led to shortages of food, fuel and medicines.

ISLAMABAD, July 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 357 people were killed and over 400 were injured as heavy monsoon rains continued to batter Pakistan for more than five weeks, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Thursday.

Besides human loss, infrastructure, road networks and houses have also been damaged due to the heavy monsoon rains and flash flooding across Pakistan since June 14, official sources from the NDMA told Xinhua.

NEW DELHI/COLOMBO, July 28 (Reuters) - India, which is trying to expand its influence in crisis-hit Sri Lanka after China made deep inroads there, said on Thursday it was aware of reports about the planned visit of a Chinese vessel to a Sri Lankan port built with money from Beijing.

Shipping data from Refinitiv Eikon showed research and survey vessel Yuan Wang 5 was en route to the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota and was expected to arrive on Aug. 11.

Kanpur: Thursday afternoon remains brighter with a cloudless sky. This caused humid unbearable conditions for the residents in Jajmau. 

The clouds seemed to have dispersed and darkness persisting in the forenoon today also disappeared much to the surprise of the people.

Though the city areas have got sufficient rains in the past few days, the tannery town of Jajmau has, according to CSA University Meteorologist Dr SN Sunil Pandey, received 52 mm of rain in the last 24 hours.

Ballia has recorded 103.2 mm of rain, which is the highest in the state.

Kanpur: In charge of the procession, Kafeel Qureshi said that the Paiki procession will not be taken out on the occasion of Moharram this year.

 He maintained that given the city's atmosphere, it has been decided not to take out the Paiki procession this year.

We have implored the people to offer prayers at their homes during this year's Moharram and help strengthen peace in the city, he augmented.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The lives of Afghan women and girls are being destroyed by a “suffocating” crackdown by the Taliban since they took power nearly a year ago, Amnesty International said in a report released Wednesday.

After they captured the capital, Kabul, in August 2021 and ousted the internationally backed government, the Taliban presented themselves as having moderated since their first time in power, in the 1990s. Initially, Taliban officials spoke of allowing women to continue to work and girls to continue their education.

Kanpur: Cloudy weather brought relief to the residents of Jajmau in particular and the city areas as well.

The rains occurred after 4 in the evening today. It started in heavy torrents. But after a few minutes, the momentum subsided considerably.

What remained absolutely surprising was that the electricity supply could not be disrupted as usual.

The extreme solace was that residents got some cool air and the roads were drenched completely. Though some spots were seen under the water partially. 

Kanpur: A 15-year-old boy succumbed to injuries he sustained after being allegedly assaulted by three teachers at a private school over the allegation of stealing a watch, alleged his family members.

Police said the boy died at a hospital here. Later, the body was sent for post-mortem. Police said that they were waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain whether the boy succumbed to his injuries or his death was natural.

KABUL/WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - U.S. and Taliban officials have exchanged proposals for the release of billions of dollars from Afghan central bank reserves held abroad into a trust fund, three sources familiar with the talks said, offering a hint of progress in efforts to ease Afghanistan's economic crisis.

Significant differences between the sides remain, however, according to two of the sources, including the Taliban's refusal to replace the bank's top political appointees, one of whom is under U.S. sanctions as are several of the movement's leaders.

QALAT, Afghanistan, July 26 (Xinhua) -- At least two children were killed and 10 others wounded when an explosive device left over from past wars went off in the country's southern Zabul province on Tuesday, a local official said.

"A group of children found a toy-like object in Mizan district at around noon today and began playing with when the device exploded, killing two on the spot and injuring 10 others," the official told Xinhua but declined to be named.