Humanitarian conditions have grown even more dire in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo with activists reporting dwindling stocks of food and cooking gas and only intermittent electricity supplies as droves of local residents flee almost two weeks of intense clashes between rebels and regime forces.

Heavy monsoon downpours lashed eastern India today, submerging vast areas in the eastern state of Orissa and forcing around 140,000 people to flee their homes and move to higher ground.