Indian Sub-continent

ISLAMABAD, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan is taking special measures to bring its underprivileged districts at par with other developed areas of the country for sustainable growth, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday.

"Passing on the benefits of development to individuals, communities, and under-developed localities is imperative for achieving sustainable national progress," the minister said while chairing a meeting on development projects of backward districts.

Kanpur: Plans are afoot to prepare wholly a new lawn tennis court at the Green Park stadium here.

With the construction of a new lawn tennis court at Green Park stadium, the tennis players will have to complete their dreams of improving in the popular tennis game.

This will help the city's tennis players to get another high-quality facility to practice and prove their playing skills.

There are also considerations to provide comprehensive lawn tennis training to aspiring or budding local players at the new tennis court.

02 May 2023; MEMO: Egypt's Grand Mufti, Dr Shawki Allam, embarked on a six-day official visit to India yesterday, as part of efforts to enhance cultural ties and interfaith dialogue.

ISLAMABAD, May 2 (NNN-APP) – The Pakistani army has arrested seven terrorists, in an operation in the country’s north-west North Waziristan district, said a military statement.

The Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said, the security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation yesterday, on the presence of terrorists in the Miran Shah area of North Waziristan, a district in the north-west Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

MAHMUD-E-RAQI, Afghanistan, May 2 (NNN-ANA) – At least 45 guests were injured at a wedding ceremony, as roof of a house collapsed, in Afghanistan’s eastern Kapisa province, the provincial police office said today.

The guests of the wedding party were sitting in the house, in Nijrab district, when the roof caved in at around 1:00 p.m. local time, injuring 45 people, some in critical condition, the police said in a statement, adding that, all the injured had been shifted to the district hospital.

NEW DELHI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Four people were charred to death and seven others suffered burns early Tuesday after a fire broke out inside a slum in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, police said.

The fire broke out near Ramdayalu railway station in Muzaffarpur district, about 70 km north of Patna, the capital city of Bihar.

"In a devastating fire today at a slum here four people were killed and seven others suffered burns," a police officer in Muzaffarpur said. "The injured were immediately removed to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) for treatment."

KABUL, May 1 (NNN-ANA) – Afghan farmers harvested more than 72,000 tonnes of cotton over the past year, the Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock said in a statement, today.

Afghanistan collected 72,493 tonnes of cotton from 54,869 hectares of land last year, the statement said.

Last year, the year of 1401 in Persian calendar, ended on Mar 20, 2023, and the year of 1402 commenced on Mar 21, 2023.

TIRIN KOT, Afghanistan, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotics police have discovered and seized 2,850 kg of hashish in the southern Uruzgan province, provincial police spokesman Mawlawi Zahid said on Monday.

The smuggled goods were hidden in the cavities of two vehicles, and were discovered by police during a vehicle check outside the provincial capital on Sunday, the official added.

The drivers escaped, he said, adding that efforts are underway to arrest the culprits.

Islamabad, Apr 30 (PTI) Pakistan President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday returned a bill to the parliament about changes in the anti-corruption laws with observation that a similar previous amendment was challenged in the Supreme Court and was still sub-judice.

The bill called the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed earlier this month by the parliament and it was sent to President Alvi for his endorsement to become an act.

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go to Jantar Mantar and listen to the "mann ki baat" of protesting women wrestlers, saying that such a step would show that the PM is willing to understand their pain.

Sibal, a senior advocate, has represented the wrestlers in the Supreme Court. His remarks come a day after the 100th episode of Modi's "Mann ki Baat" radio programme was broadcast.