Nearly 600 dead in S. Asia floods

Nearly 600 people have died and millions have been affected by monsoon floods in South Asia, officials said Saturday, as relief and rescue operations continued. Indian authorities sought military help in two districts of northern Uttar Pradesh state after fresh heavy rains left hundreds of villages marooned. "We have sought army's help to reach out to the affected people," T P Gupta, a senior official from the state's disaster management authority, told AFP.