DHAKA: At least 23 people have died in flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains that lashed southeastern Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday. Tens of thousands of people were marooned on higher ground as flood waters submerged areas around Cox's Bazar and the hilly district of Bandarban. Local police official Habibur Rahman confirmed the toll to reporters after four more bodies were recovered from a river on Sunday. Bangladesh - one of the world's most densely populated countries - is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, including cyclones, droughts, floods and quakes.

IS in 3 Afghan states

KABUL: An Afghan official says the Islamic State group now has a presence in three provinces but that the government is determined to drive it out. Zafar Hashimi, the Afghan president's deputy spokesman, said on Sunday that the group — which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria — is active in the eastern Nangarhar, western Farah and southern Helmand provinces. Hashimi says security forces have launched successful operations against the IS group but gave no further details. The Taliban, which have been at war with the government for nearly 14 years and are also active in the three provinces, have warned the IS group to stay out of the country. Both groups want Islamic rule but the Taliban do not recognise the IS group's caliphate.

School director killed

NALANDA: The Director of a leading school died on Sunday after being thrashed by a mob following recovery of the bodies of two students from a ditch in Bihar's Nalanda district. Devendra Prasad, director of Devendra Public School, succumbed to injuries during treatment at the Patna Medical College and Hospital, Nalanda's Superintendent of Police Sidharth Mohan Jain told PTI. A post-mortem was being carried out on the body to ascertain exact cause of the school official's death, he said. Earlier in the day, the bodies of two students, aged around 7-8 years, of the prestigious residential public school were recovered from a waterbody.

Train accident

MUMBAI: A local train on Sunday crashed into the dead end at the Churchgate station here, injuring five passengers and disrupting the suburban train services on the Western Railway line. Following the incident, the Western Railway has launched an inquiry and suspended the motorman of the local, its guard and loco inspector. The speeding train, coming from Bhayander, rammed into the dead end on Platform No 3 of Churchgate station at about 11.20am, as the motorman failed to stop the train in time. As a result, its first coach jumped onto the south-end concourse of the platform. Due to the impact, the wheels of the first coach were seen hanging in the air, ripping apart all the technical equipment in its lower part and also the overhead wire on upper side.

India ranks 143rd

MELBOURNE: India ranks a lowly 143rd on a global peace index, lagging way behind the likes of Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with Iceland emerging as the most peaceful nation in the world. According to the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace, the institute ranked 162 nations around the globe based on factors like the level of violent crime, involvement in conflicts and the degree of militarisation. The nations are given a score on that basis. The more the score, the less peaceful the country is.