In the World

JOSHIMATH, India - Rescuers found bodies in the River Ganges and in the muddy, broken earth left by landslides, raising the death toll from monsoon flooding in mountainous northern India to nearly 600 Friday, officials said.

The air force dropped paratroops, food, and medicine for people trapped in up to 100 towns and villages cut off since Sunday in the Himalayan state of Uttrakhand where thousands of people are stranded, many of them Hindu pilgrims who were visiting four shrines in the area.

Uttrakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahguna said 556 bodies have been noticed buried deep in slush and the army was trying to recover them. Rescuers also Friday found 40 bodies floating in the Ganges near Haridwar, a Hindu holy city, said police officer Rajiv Swaroop.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in New Delhi that 34,000 people have been evacuated and 50,000 others were stranded in the region. - AP

CAIRO - More than 100,000 supporters of Egypt's Islamist president staged a show of force Friday ahead of massive protests later this month by the opposition, chanting "Islamic revolution!" and warning of a new and bloody bout of turmoil.

Adding to the combustible mix, comments by the U.S. ambassador that were interpreted as critical of the opposition's planned protests sparked outrage, with one activist telling the diplomat to "shut up and mind your own business."

Friday's gathering was ostensibly called by Islamists to denounce violence, but it took on the appearance of a war rally instead. "We want to stress that we will protect the legitimacy with our blood and souls," declared Mohammed el-Beltagy, a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson, who has repeatedly been accused by the opposition of bias in favor of Morsi, caused outrage this week when she said she was "deeply skeptical" the protests will be fruitful and defended U.S. relations with Morsi and his Brotherhood as necessary because the group is part of the democratically elected government. - AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Militants opened fire on a Shiite Muslim mosque where worshipers were gathering for Friday prayers, and then a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside, killing 15 people, police said.

The attack hit the city of Peshawar, which is on the outskirts of Pakistan's tribal area, the main sanctuary for Islamic militants.

Three militants initiated the attack on the mosque, located inside a Shiite religious school, by firing on a policeman who was standing guard outside, said senior police official Shafiullah Khan. The policeman was critically wounded.

- AP