Pakistan envoy travels to Iran to revive talks with US

The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, has dismissed the threats of new economic sanctions as signs of desperation in Washington. But the Iranian currency, the rial, has fallen to a record low against the dollar (on unofficial markets).

BBC gains rare access to the office of a provincial governor in Afghanistan: we hear how Taliban officials grapple with everyday issues like divorce.

Members of the so-called Coalition of the Willing are in the Iranian capital Kyiv as Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian infrastructure targets. we go live there.

(Photo: An Iranian rides a motorbike past a political billboard displayed at the Valiasr square in Tehran, Iran, 17 August 2026; Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/
EPA/Shutterstock)