Indian Sub-continent

New delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana have been "divested of all powers" amid an ongoing spat between them, sources said, calling it the first such case in the history of the agency.

As an interim measure, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given charge of the CBI to Joint Director M Nageswar Rao, an Odisha-cadre officer, with immediate effect, a government order said.

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the parliament on Tuesday that the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been confirmed and this crime had been thoroughly planned.

"I want to speak about the killing of Khashoggi, this fact has been established. There is evidence that the murder had been thoroughly planned," Erdogan said in a speech broadcast by NTV channel.

KATHMANDU, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Nepal is approaching an electric future by launching the Made-in-China electric buses for the first time in the country.

Amid a special function organized in Lalitpur on Tuesday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the battery-operated buses, which have been developed by the Chinese company BYD.

The formation of electric bus fleet has been regarded as a major milestone for the South Asian country for moving towards a green economy.

COLOMBO, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka has claimed the top spot in the world's leading travel guide, the Lonely Planet as the best travel destination in 2019, local media reported Tuesday.

Sri Lanka topped the list of best countries to visit primarily because travel has become much easier in the island country since the civil war ended in 2009, the Lonely Planet said.

Sri Lanka ranked first followed by Germany and Zimbabwe.

JALPAIGURI, WEST BENGAL; PTI: The woman who was raped allegedly by a relative and was tortured with an iron rod inserted in her private parts has been operated upon in a government hospital and is in a serious condition, hospital sources said Monday.

Doctors operated on her at the Sadar hospital in Jalpaiguri on Sunday night and the woman is in the intensive care unit, the sources said.

She is being administered blood as she had been bleeding profusely. "She is a serious condition but is stable," doctors treating her said.

New Delhi, Oct 23; PTI: The Supreme Court Tuesday permitted the sale and manufacture of low emission "green" firecrackers countrywide and fixed a two-hour time period from 8 pm to 10 pm for bursting them on Diwali and other festivals.

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan also restrained e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon from selling firecrackers which were beyond the permissible limit.

The apex court's order came on a plea seeking a ban on manufacture and sale of firecrackers across the country to curb air pollution.

RIYADH; GANASHAKTI  - Pakistan is seeking loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries to reservice debt and shore up its economy, prime minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday.

“What we are hoping is that we do a bit of both, get a loan from IMF and other loans from friendly governments,” Khan told an audience at an investment conference in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.

Islamabad has already asked the IMF to open negotiations for the country’s second potential bailout in five years.

GUWAHATI: Protesters tried to put up blockades on railway tracks this morning in order to disrupt train services across Assam, as part of the 12-hour state-wide 'bandh' or shutdown called by 46 organisations protesting against the Citizenship Bill.

Police officials said that the demonstrators, who were trying to prevent train movement by sitting on tracks, were being evicted.

Demonstrators also burnt tyres on roads at various places across the state, the police said.

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23; PTI: Kerala Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan Tuesday attacked the BJP and RSS for the violent agitation at the Lord Ayyappa temple complex in Sabarimala over the entry of women of all ages into the hill shrine.

The agitation was a "planned and deliberate attempt" to create an atmosphere of tension in the state, Vijayan told reporters here.

New Delhi, Oct 23; PTI: Referring to an internal feud in the CBI between its director and deputy director, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury Tuesday alleged the BJP was damaging and destroying the country's institutions.

In a series of tweets, Yechury said the party's "nefarious" design needed to be defeated.

There was no comment from the BJP on the issue.