The pope's Syrian hosts have used his visit to harshly attack Israel. Listen as NPR's Kate Seeyle reports. Nearly 500 people have died in the seven months of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. Major Famine A team of U.S. experts returning from Afghanistan reports the country is in the grip of its worst drought in decades, with nearly 4 million people facing famine. Nearly every part of Afghanistan is in the midst of drought conditions ranging from moderate to extremely severe, according to the U.S. Agency of International Development.
Reports have some people eating grass and waiting hours for water rations.
Afghanistan has been racked by a civil war for years, and the latest United Nations figures show that war and drought in the country have forced more than 700,000 to flee to nearby Pakistan and Iran since mid-2000 alone. Earlier this week, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban rejected a request by the United Nations for a cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid workers into the country to help those displaced by the fighting and drought.