BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese president, Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is visiting China, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Kim is visiting China from Jan. 7 to 10, said the spokesperson of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing.

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated Alok Kumar Verma as CBI Director and set aside the Centre's decision divesting him of his powers and sending him on leave.

The top court, however, restrained Verma from taking any major policy decision till the Central Vigilance Commission inquiry is over.

The apex court also said that any further decision against Verma would be taken by the high-powered committee which selects and appoints CBI Director.

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) Central Trade Unions Tuesday began a two-day nationwide strike to protest against the government's alleged anti-worker policies and unilateral labour reforms.

"The strike is quite visible in Assam, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Manipur Bihar, Rajasthan, Goa, Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana -- particularly in the targeted industrial areas and different mines," Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), told PTI.

Srinagar, Jan 8 (PTI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday to reinstate Alok Verma as CBI director, saying the apex court ruling had restored faith in independent institutions.

"Welcome SCs decision to reinstate #AlokVerma as CBI Dir. (It) reinstates belief in independent institutions of our democracy that are its pillars," Mufti said in a tweet.

Dhaka, Jan 7; PTI:  Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as Bangladesh's prime minister for a third consecutive term on Monday after her Awami League's landslide victory in the December 30 election.

President Md Abdul Hamid administered the oath of office to 71-year-old Hasina at the Bangabhaban. It is Hasina's fourth term in office.

The president then administered the oaths for the new ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers who will form the Cabinet.

Hasina will lead a Cabinet of 24 ministers, 19 ministers of state and three state ministers.

Itanagar, Jan 7 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday said the state government would provide a new designated land here for holding protests, in place of the current one that has been allotted to the ruling BJP for construction of its permanent office.

The Tennis Court inside the Indira Gandhi Park in the state capital is has been the designated area for staging protests and holding dharnas by organisations.

Islamabad, Jan 7 :  A top court in Pakistan on Monday indefinitely postponed hearing of a petition filed by jailed former premier Nawaz Sharif seeking suspension of his sentence in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case

On December 24, 2018, Accountability Court II Judge Arshad Malik sentenced 69-year-old Sharif to seven years in prison along with a fine of Rs 1.5 billion and USD 25 million in the Al-Azizia corruption case, concluding a series of three court cases against the Sharif family in the high-profile Panama Papers scandal

The Supreme Court today dismissed a Public Interest Litigation petition praying that the name of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) be changed.

“You want us to do that? Dismissed”, asked CJI Ranjan Gogoi before dismissing the plea.

The matter was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) A report by the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan was tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday.

The bill is expected to be discussed in the lower house on Tuesday. The report was prepared by the Joint Parliamentary Committee by a majority vote as opposition members in the panel had objected to the provisions saying Indian citizenship cannot be granted on the basis of religion and it is against the Constitution.

Ahmedabad, Jan 7 (PTI) The Gujarat BJP Monday welcomed the Centre's decision to give 10 per cent reservation to "economically weaker" sections from the general category even as an ordinance on the same issue brought by the state government in 2016 during the Patel quota stir was quashed by the high court.

The state's BJP government had issued an ordinance for 10 per cent quota for economically weaker sections among upper castes in May 2016, but the Gujarat High Court had quashed it in just three months, calling it "unconstitutional".

LIBREVILLE, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Gabon thwarted a brief coup attempt on Monday and arrested four soldiers involved. International organizations, like the United Nations and the African Union (AU), and countries have condemned the coup attempt.

Gabonese government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou said that renegade soldiers entered the national radio station in the capital Libreville around 4 a.m. local time Monday (0300 GMT) to announce the establishment of a "national council of the restoration", according to Radio France International (RFI).

Ahmedabad, Jan 8 (PTI) Senior Gujarat BJP leader and former MLA Jayanti Bhanushali was shot dead by unidentified persons while he was travelling in a train in the wee hours of Tuesday, police said.

The incident took place around 2 am in the Bhuj-Dadar Express trainwhen Bhanushali, 53, was returning to Ahmedabad from Bhuj town of Kutch district in Gujarat.