While fighting continues in the north, the south is hit by the worse drought in 30 years, a disaster that has ravaged large parts of south Asia. Nearly two million Afghans are in danger of starvation because of failed crops and dead herds. In the northeast, Taliban and Northern Alliance troops have stopped fighting around Taloqan in Takhar province A Northern Alliance leader, Ismail Khan, is recruiting in eastern Iran (with the permission of the Iranian government, which has not gotten along with the Taliban.