Sri Lanka party taps Premadasa:

Rains kill 59 in India:

A heavy spell of retreating monsoon rains has flooded wide areas in northern India, killing dozens of people this week, an official said Saturday.

Sandhaya Kureel, a spokeswoman of the Disaster Management and Relief Department, said most of the 59 fatalities were caused by house collapses, lightning and drowning in Uttar Pradesh state. These included at least five people dying of snake bites in flooded areas.

The temple city of Varanasi was lashed by 19 centimeters (7 inches) of rain on Thursday and Friday, flooding the bathing areas of the Ganges River used by thousands of Hindu pilgrims.

Schools were shut on Saturday as the downpour caused disruptions in the state capital, Lucknow, and several towns, including Amethi and Hardoi.

J.P. Gupta, director of the state Meteorological Department, said the rain is expected to ebb after Monday.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the western state of Maharashtra also was hit by heavy rain and nearly 3,000 people were moved to higher ground due to flooding in low-lying areas of Pune city and neighboring areas.

More than 350 people have been killed by rain-related causes in India, Nepal and Bangladesh this monsoon season, which runs from June through September. (AP)

B’desh to install fences:

Authorities in Bangladesh will build barbed-wire fences around sprawling camps housing Rohingya refugees to stop their expansion, a Cabinet minister said Thursday.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said the fences were ordered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had earlier told authorities to open the border to allow hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to escape from a harsh military crackdown in neighboring Myanmar two years ago.

Khan did not say exactly when construction of the fences would begin at more than 30 camps near the border.

Last year, the UN-established Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar recommended the prosecution of top Myanmar military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Myanmar has rejected the allegations.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s telecommunication regulator asked cellphone companies to halt service in the camps and restrict internet access because of a “security threat.” The regulator said a recent survey in the camps revealed that cellphones are being used there illegally. (AP)

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