Today the Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said the country's economy has completely collapsed and needs international support. Addressing parliament, he said a donor conference would be convened to seek financial assistance from China, Japan and India. Dhananath Fernando is the Chief Operating Officer at the independent policy think tank the Advocata Institute in Colombo. He tells us what might have prompted the prime minister to conclude that an economic collapse had been reached.

It's estimated that as many as one thousand people have died in an earthquake in Afghanistan and another 1500 people have been injured. The Taliban has called on aid agencies to help reach the worst-affected areas but so far few have been able to reach those in need. Head of delegation in Afghanistan for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Eloi Fillion joins us from Kabul.

Prices in the UK are continuing to rise at their fastest rate for 40 years due to climbing food, energy and fuel costs. Russ Mould, investor director at AJ Bell, tells us how the markets have been reacting. In India financial content creators are seeing their popularity and their fortunes soar. Their fame coincides with the huge wave of retail investors coming into the equity markets. Our India Business Correspondent Nikhil Inamdar explains.

After three long years many festivals are reopening their gates, and one of the world's most famous, Glastonbury, is starting this weekend in England. The BBC's Colin Paterson was there when Michael Eavis, the founder and organiser of the festival, welcomed people to the site once again. Director of MTN Bushfire festival, Jiggs Thorne, tells us how popular festivals are in Africa and the challenges faced.

(Picture: Afghan people carry sacks of food grains distributed as an aid by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Kandahar on October 19, 2021. Picture Credit: JAVED TANVEER/AFP via Getty Images).