Royal funeral for monkey

PATNA: Hundreds of people took to the streets on Saturday to give a royal farewell to a monkey that died of electric shock. A huge procession inched its way towards a ground where the monkey was cremated according to Hindu rites. A musical band led the mouners who chanted "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Hanuman". The monkey died after coming into contact with a live wire. "People collected money for the funeral. Many think that by dying, the monkey saved people from electrocution," said a mourner. — HNS

Floods maroon thousands

DHAKA: Rain-swollen rivers flooded dozens of villages in northern Bangladesh, marooning nearly 30,000 people, damaging rice crops and disrupting road links, a newspaper reported on Sunday. The weekend floods gripped about 50 villages in the districts of Sylhet and Sunamganj following heavy rains, the Ittefaq reported. The Surma and Kushiara rivers overflowed their banks and inundated about 30 villages in Sylhet, the paper said. It said another 20 villages were submerged in Sunamganj district. — AP