Bengaluru, Oct 26; PTI: Amnesty International India said Friday the Union government is treating human rights organisations like criminal enterprises in the wake of searches by the Enforcement Directorate at its premises.

The ED on Thursday conducted searches at two locations of the rights watchdog in connection with a foreign exchange contravention case.

"Government authorities are increasingly treating human rights organisations like criminal enterprises," Amnesty International India executive director Aakar Patel said in a statement here.

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 26 (PTI) US President Donald Trump said Thursday all American sanctions against Iran will be in full force on November 5, as he signed into law another legislation imposing hard-hitting sanctions on Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

New Delhi, Oct 26; PTU: Delhi's air quality remained "very poor" Thursday even as parts of the massive Bhalswa landfill site continued to smoulder.

As the air quality showed no signs of improvement, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has decided to act against burning of leaves and garbage.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi at 331 in the evening, the worst in the season so far.

Srinagar, Oct 25 (PTI) Six militants were Thursday killed in two gun battles with security forces in Baramulla and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

"Four militants were killed in Arwani operation in Anantnag district while two ultras were eliminated in an encounter at Kreeri in Baramulla," a senior police official said.

BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank said Friday that it has inked a bilateral currency swap agreement with its counterpart in Japan.

The agreement will allow the two sides to swap a total of 200 billion yuan (about 28.78 billion U.S. dollars) for 3.4 trillion Japanese yen, and vice versa, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website.

The move was aimed at enhancing financial stability of the two countries and facilitating bilateral economic and financial exchanges, the PBOC said.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter this year, down from 4.2 percent in the previous quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Friday.

Personal consumption expenditures, which account for more than two thirds of the overall economy, grew at an annual rate of 4 percent in the third quarter, up from 3.8 percent in the second quarter, according to the department.

NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The white powder found in an explosive device package sent to CNN's New York offices "did not present a biological threat," William Sweeney, FBI assistant director, said here on Thursday.

So far, 10 suspicious packages were sent to various media outlets and prominent public figures and all of them were intercepted, said Sweeney at a news conference.

"This is a nationwide investigation involving multiple jurisdictions coast-to-coast" into the suspicious packages delivered to multiple locations around the country this week, he said.

CAPE TOWN, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- A major South African trade union on Friday added its voice to the chorus for lifting the decades-old U.S. embargo against Cuba.

The economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba for almost six decades "is evil, deplorable, unjust, severe and extended system of unilateral sanctions ever applied against any country," the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said.

Tokyo, Oct 26; AFP: Japan's Okinawa region voted Friday to hold a non-binding referendum on a deeply unpopular plan to relocate a US military base, in the latest twist to a long-running saga.

The decision, by local politicians, comes a month after residents elected a new governor who opposes plans to move the US Marines' Futenma Air Station from an urban area to a sparsely populated part of the island.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Friday approved a request for additional troops at the southern border, likely to total several hundred to help the U.S. Border Patrol as President Donald Trump seeks to transform fears about immigration and a caravan of Central American migrants into electoral gains in the midterms.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed off on a request for help from the Department of Homeland Security and authorized the military staff to work out details such as the size, composition and estimated cost of the deployments, according to a U.S. official.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Friday a suspect in connection with sending a dozen explosive-laden packages has been arrested in the U.S. State of Florida.

"We can confirm one person is in custody," DOJ spokesperson Sarah Flores said in tweet after U.S. media broke the news.

It is yet unclear the identity and the role the person has played.

Shimla, Oct 26 (PTI) A 30-year-old Russian woman has alleged she was raped by two unknown persons in Manali, police said Friday.

The incident occurred when the woman was passing through an isolated area after having dinner Thursday night, Kullu Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri said.

On her complaint, a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Manali police station, Agnihotri said.