26 more dead in India monsoon fury

At least 26 more people have died in monsoon flooding and lightning strikes in India, as millions remained marooned in the country and neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities said. Floods are a regular menace in India and Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability for the two countries' 1.6 billion people. In India's northeastern state of Assam, three people were killed in landslides while six others died in flood waters, disaster management authorities said. In the eastern state of Bihar, lightning triggered by storms killed at least 17 people, according to local disaster management minister Renu Devi. Assam continued to reel under severe flooding, with 5,140 villages across the state's 33 districts submerged by surging waters. -- AFP