Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said India is headed for an economic slowdown and accused the Modi government of leaving the economy in dire straits due to its "lack of economic vision".

Citing the latest economic growth figures to suggest an impending slowdown, the senior Congress leader also said the Indian economy is "over-regulated" and the government controls and interferences are aplenty with even regulators having "morphed into controllers".

Kanpur: It is after the year 2015, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is going to hold its annual programme at Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College from June 7 to 11 at Jajmau here. Every year the Shiksha Varg Manthan is organized in one Prant. 

The Parishad has divided eastern Uttar Pradesh into four different regions like, Awadh, Goraksh, Kashi and Kanpur. This year the Shiksha Varg of all the regions will gather here. 

Deendayal Gaur said as many as 300 workers from 80 districts would get ample training in the 11-day long programmer. 

NEW DELHI, May 5 (Xinhua): Death toll of Cyclone Fani has risen to 33 in Indian eastern state of Odisha, local media reported Sunday.

The extremely severe cyclone wreaked havoc in the coastal part of the state, causing widespread destruction and leaving hundreds grappling with water shortage and power cuts due to uprooting of trees and electricity poles.

"The death toll in the Cyclone Fani has risen to 33," local television channel India Today said on Sunday.

Muzaffarnagar, May 5 (PTI) An accused in the murder case of a man, who had witnessed the killings of his two brothers during the Muzaffarnagar riots, has surrendered, officials said Sunday.

Toni, who was carrying a reward of Rs 25,000, surrendered on Saturday evening and the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Rakesh Gautam has sent him to judicial custody, said public prosecutor Gagan Saran.

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has received the green nod to drill six development wells in Assam at an estimated cost of Rs 240 crore.

The Union Environment Ministry has given the environment clearance for six development wells in five mining lease blocks in Jorhat and Golghat districts, according to an official document.

The company had sought permission for drilling 12 development wells but it received clearance for six wells at present.

Islamabad, May 4 (AP) The Taliban say the gap is narrowing in talks with Washington's special peace envoy over a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

The two sides are continuing to meet in Qatar, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office.

In a voice message sent Saturday to The Associated Press, the Taliban spokesman in Doha says both sides have offered new proposals for drawing down US and NATO forces.

Islamabad, May 5 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has paid tribute to Tipu Sultan, praising the 18th century ruler of Mysore for preferring to die for freedom rather than "live a life of enslavement".

Khan took to Twitter to express his admiration for the 18th century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom also known as the Tiger of Mysore.

"Today 4th May is the death anniversary of Tipu Sultan - a man I admire because he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than live a life of enslavement," Khan tweeted on Saturday.

Mumbai, May 5 (PTI) Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has clarified that the demand for burqa ban made in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana was not that of the Sena or its chief Uddhav Thackeray.

In his weekly column published in Saamana's Sunday edition, Raut, who is the Marathi daily's executive editor, said, "The burqa ban was not the demand of Shiv Sena or Uddhav Thackeray. Saamana just published an analysis of the developments in Sri Lanka."

Mumbai, May 4 (PTI) A 62-year-old man was on Saturday sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment for raping a 5-year-old girl in Kurla area in the metropolis in 2018.

Banarasi Gupta was found guilty under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code by special judge Bharti Kale.

According to the prosecution, the victim and her brother were at their aunt's house in Nehru Nagar in Kurla in February 2018.

Nashik, May 4 (PTI) Twenty heads of cattle died after grazing in a jowar field in Maharashtra's Nashik district, a local official said Saturday.

Samples of the grass have been taken and sent for testing, the official said, adding that preliminary probe points to poisoning as the cause of death.