5 THINGS FIRST Court verdict in the case of disqualification 18 AIADMK MLAslikely today; Arvind Kejriwal and 11 AAP leaders likely to appear in court in Delhi chief secretary assault case; Rahul Gandhi to address rally in Sikar, Rajasthan; India Mobile Congress conference begins in Delhi today, 5G to be in focus; Japan PM Abe on three-day visit to China from today 1. What it takes to bench an 'independent' CBI chief What happened: CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana have been 'divested of all powers' and asked to go on leave. Both had levelled corruption charges against each other. As an interim measure, Centre has given charge of the agency to Joint Director M Nageswar Rao. After taking over, Rao overhauled the team probing allegations of corruption against Asthana. The CBI officers investigating Asthana have been posted to Andaman in 'public interest'. Government says: CBI director was sent on leave as he was not cooperating with the Central Vigilance Commission in its probe of "serious allegations" against him. Plus, it was done in view of the "extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances" and "in the interest of equality, fair play". Why it's odd: The situation had been brewing since the last one year but the government decision coming post-midnight seems hurried. Law grants CBI director a tenure of 'not less than two years' and Verma's tenure ends in January 2019. Supreme Court had fixed the tenure to allow the agency's head to work without political influence. Is it legal? The CVC Act allows for the superintendence of Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, the legal basisfor the creation of CBI as an investigating agency, for investigation of offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The DSPE Act also allows the Centre to implement interim measures during the investigation. What about sacking? The CBI chief is appointed by a collegium comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. SC has ruled the chief can be transferred only under extraordinary circumstances with the approval of the collegium. The chief can be removed on grounds of 'misbehaviour' with the approval of the collegium but the President can issue orders only after an enquiry. In the current case, only the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (of which the prime minister and home minister are members) has approved it but the chief hasn't been removed but only asked to go on leave. What next? Verma has challenged Centre's decision in SC, and the hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. He has alleged that the "present circumstances" occurred when "certain investigation into high functionaries did not take the direction that may be desirable to the government". The CBI overhaul will have an impact on the progress of cases under investigation. Don't be surprised if the accused in some prominent cases under investigation by CBI claim cite the corruption allegations against the top officials of CBI to plead that charges against them could be motivated. Opposition says: Rahul Gandhi says, "CBI Chief was collecting documents relating to the Rafale scam. He was forcibly sent on leave". Sitaram Yechury alleged it was done "to protect their own handpicked officer, against whom charges of corruption are being investigated". Arvind Kejriwal asked: "Is there a co-relation between Rafale deal and removal of Verma?". Mamata charged: CBI has now become so-called BBI — "BJP Bureau of Investigation". 2. Trump critics Obama, Clinton, CNN and Soros nearly have a 'blast' A series of potential attacks has been thwarted by the US Secret Service after it intercepted packages containing pipe bombs addressed to the former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at her New York residence, NY office of CNN, and NY residence of billionaire and Democratic Party donor George Soros. None of the bombs exploded as officers confiscated them for examination and disposal but the Secret Service said they were "functional explosive devices". Though still early to say who or which organisation has sent the bombs, there is a disturbing trend: All the recipients are frequent targets of Donald Trump, and hence the possibility of the culprit being a right-wing follower from the US cannot be ruled out. Curiously another package intended for former attorney general Eric Holder went to the Florida office of Congresswoman and former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee Deborah Wasserman Schultz as it had her return address. The Secret Service are viewing these packaged devices as related. The incident would, regardless of the identity of the culprit, dramatically escalate the midterm election atmosphere in the US. If the culprit does indeed turn out to be an American right-winger, Trump could face heat for his rhetoric. The White House has issued a statement condemning the act and said the "terrorising acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law". The elections to the US Senate and Congress is crucial as Democratic Party is hoping wrest control of them from Republicans on the back of anti-Trump movement among its supporters. If successful the party will be able to lawfully stop many of the decisions pushed by Trump. In a rare op-ed on USA Today, Trump said: "If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America". He said they were for "open-border socialism". Soros is a frequent target of the right-wing and was even mocked by Trump on multiple occasions for his large donations to liberal movements, while the CNN has been regularly lambasted by Trump as 'fake news'. 3. Super-Kohli-fragilistic! The Indian captain's latest century, in the second ODI versus West Indies at Visakhapatnam, was his: 6th against the West Indies in ODIs 9th in internationals this year 15th batting first in ODIs; as ODI captain 30th batting at No.3 in ODIs 32nd as captain in Internationals 37th in ODIs 61st in international cricket But a bigger achievement for Virat Kohli was being the fastest to 10,000 ODI runs. Not only did he follow 12 others —including Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting and Dhoni — to this milestone, but was way faster than any of them, in terms of: Innings: 205 Matches: 213 No. of balls: 10,813 Time: 10 years and 67 days from his debut He also boasted the highest average and most centuries when completing 10,000 runs. Check the series page here. 4. #MeToo worked. It's going add bite to sexual harassment laws Close on the heels of former editor and Union minister MJ Akbar stepping down in the wake of #MeToo sexual harassment claims, the Centre has constituted a four-member Group of Ministers — comprising Home Minister Rajnath Singh, road transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi— to suggest ways to strengthen the existing provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Untying time: Unlike laws on rape and sexual assault, the law on sexual harassment at workplace has a statute of limitation that mandates a time limit of 3 months — and in some cases 6 months — for the victim to report the incident to the internal complaints committee (ICC) of the company. Given that the #MeToo campaign in India has brought to light cases that are several years old, and in some cases, several decades, removing the time limit for reporting such cases may be one of the amendments that the GoM could consider. Gender neutral: The current law recognises only a woman as a victim of sexual harassment — men and transgender are not explicitly covered under the law. Putting a price: Despite making it mandatory for any establishment with 10 or more employees, many companies in India are yet to establish an ICC. The law calls for a meagre penalty of Rs 50,000 on companies that do not have an ICC, as was the case with Phantom Films. Increasing the fine could force companies to do so. Cutting the clutter: Also, the existing law gives the ICC 3 months to investigate and make a decision upon receiving a complaint, after which the employer has 2 months to act on the decision and a time limit of 3 months to appeal against the decision, making it hard for many victims to pursue a complaint to its logical conclusion. Meanwhile, an RTI enquiry by Martha Farrell Foundation has revealed that only 29% of India's 655 districts have a local complaints committee (LCC) for redressal of sexual harassment complaints by women working in the unorganised sector, which employ 94% of India's working females. In states like Karnataka, data reveals that there's 1 sexual harassment complaint at the workplace every 15 days. Read more here NEWS IN CLUES 5. Which Indian airline boasts the largest fleet size? Clue 1: In 2014, its purchase of 250 brand new A320 neo planes was Airbus's single largest order, by number of aircraft, in its history. Clue 2: Its on-time performance stood at 94.3% as on Dec. 25, 2017. Clue 3: It commenced operations in August 2006 with a service from New Delhi to Imphal via Guwahati. Scroll below for answer 6. Why Turkey is going after Saudi Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has put his personal reputation in line by declaring he is "determined not to allow the murder [of journalist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi] to be covered up and for those responsible — from the person who gave the order to those who executed it — not to escape justice". So what's behind Turkey's aggressive push? Look there: Turkey has faced the world's wrath on its record on human rights and freedom of the press. Since the failed coup, Erdogan has cracked down on critics and dissenters. This year's presidential election win gave him greater powers (more here on story No.8). By guiding the spotlight on Saudi and its monarchy, especially the young crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who has himself cracked down on rivals and critics, Erdogan seeks to dust off some his own critics — Turkey is, after all, a democracy. Give me some: By pressuring Saudi Arabia and withholding crucial evidence such as the audio and video recordings of the torture and murder of Khashoggi as a bargaining chip, some argue, Erdogan is seeking to squeeze out a financial deal. The Turkish economy has had a rough year and its currency, lira, has lost more than 40% value since the turn of the year. The sanction imposed on it by the US — for detaining an American pastor accused of helping the coup — has harmed it greatly. Amidst the Khashoggi episode, Turkey has released the pastor. I'm the man: As Turkey's economy fails, Erdogan reminds Turkey of its glorious past. Like Trump's 'Make America Great Again' or Modi's 'Akhand Bharat', Erdogan looks to restore Turkey's role as the leader of the Muslim world, if not the world's, as during the Ottoman Empire. But the empire fell long back and these days Saudi is seen as the leading Islamic nation, due to its role as the guardian of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina and its economic prowess. But Erdogan's dream has its reasoning: Turkey is a Nato power and an EU member. Help there: Turkey is involved in the Syrian war. So is Saudi Arabia. Besides airstrikes against Islamic State, Ankara's fights the Kurdish YPG militia, which the US sees as a helpful force if not an ally as it fights the IS and Assad — Turkey sees YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, a separatist group in Turkey. Saudi aids many Sunni militias fighting Assad and Iran-supported forces in Syria. A little help from Saudi-supported forces could help Turkey. Not you: The rise of Mohammed bin Salman as the crown prince of Saudi has coincided with an aggressive foreign policy from Riyadh, as evidenced by the blockade of Qatar (an ally of Turkey), lobbying the US to declare Muslim Brotherhood — a hardline Islamic group like the Wahhabis of Saudi yet different as it supports democracy (like Turkey) — a terrorist group. Now. Erdogan perhaps has his payback. Meanwhile, Trump suggested the crown prince may have been involved in the murder when he said “the prince is running things over there” in Riyadh. 7. From S-400 to Barak 8: India is fortifying its defence Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on Wednesday announced that it has been awarded an additional, $777-million mega contract for supply of Barak-8 missile defence system — known in India as LRSAM — for seven ships of the Indian navy. The contract was entered with state-owned company Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) which serves as the main contractor in the project. Barak-8 is a long-range surface to air missile jointly developed by India's DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (which subcontracted the work to Israel's Elta Systems and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems; the latter has a JV with Indian private firm Kalyani). It is a safe carry and launch missile for ships and can be launched vertically. It could be crucial to Indian navy — China has been increasing its presence in and around Indian Ocean. This follows the deal with the Russia for five S-400 missile shield, which can protect India from hostile jets, bombers, drones and missiles. India is expected to deploy them along the borders with Pakistan and China, giving the army a boost in its defence against Chinese missiles. But Indian forces are no stranger to Barak-8. In 2017, India and Israel had signed a $2 billion deal for the land version of the missile system, called MRSAM, for the Indian army and LRSAM for the navy. IAI then said it was the largest single contract between India and Israel. The LRSAM was to be installed on INS Vikrant and Kolkata-class destroyers of the navy. The latest deal could mean more Indian destroyers will get the missile system, and take the total sales of the Barak 8 over the past few years total over $6 billion (Israel navy too uses it). X-PLAINED 8. Changing from BS-IV to BS-VI When: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court announced that India will transit from the Bharat Stage (BS)-IV emission norms currently in place, to the BS-VI norms on Apr. 1, 2020. No BS-IV vehicle shall be sold in the country from that date (only BS-VI compliant ones). Oil companies too have to retail BS-VI compliant fuel. What: Introduced in 2000, the Bharat norms are emission control standards issued by the government. Based on European standards (Euro norms), there are limits for the release of air pollutants—nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, particulate matter (PM), sulphur oxides—from equipment using internal combustion engines, including vehicles. The higher the stage, the stricter the norms. The BS-IV norms have been enforced since April 2017. And in 2016, the Centre had announced that skipping the BS-V norms altogether and adopting BS-VI norms by 2020. The new norms also calls for better crash-test norms, addition of airbags and anti-lock braking systems in most cars and bikes. Why: India is home to the 10 most polluted cities of the world and vehicular emission is a major contributor to the worsening air quality in cities. In October 2016, India signed the Paris Climate Agreement and is obligated to bring down the carbon footprint by 33-55% (from 2005 levels) in the next 12 years. With other developing countries such as China having already upgraded to the equivalent of Euro V emission norms a while ago, India has been lagging behind. Also, global carmakers are betting big on India as vehicle penetration is still low here, which could result in big investment inflows. How: While BS-IV compliant fuel has 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, BS-VI stipulates a low 10 ppm. Besides, under BS-VI, PM emission for diesel cars and nitrogen oxide levels are expected to be substantially lower than in BS-IV. Also: The government is planning subsidies for scrapping old vehicles, thereby helping owners of older and more polluting vehicles to upgrade to newer ones. Expect less fuel-guzzling cars after the BS-VI as well. But: The use of new technology means higher costs for auto manufacturers, which will be passed on to you when you buy your new car. Expect a hike in your fuel bill as well as oil refiners too will need higher capital outlays to produce superior quality fuel. YOU SHARE YOUR B'DAY WITH... Source: Various 9. Amrapali CFO has an Aamir Khan-inspired Ghajini moment Memento moments: Calling the bluff of realty company Amrapali group's CFO Chander Wadhwa's claim of suffering from short term memory loss — inspired probably from the Aamir Khan starrer Ghajini, which itself was a blatant rip-off of Hollywood flick, Memento — the Supreme Court asked him to appear before it for a memory test, asking his lawyer if the CFO even remembered his name. Only personal, nothing professional: The court-appointed auditors complained to the two judge bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit that the CFO was being uncooperative — claiming that he did not remember when he joined the group and that he did not recall being Amrapali's CFO, while remembering every detail of his personal life, such as his marriage and family. Diversionary tactics: The auditors meanwhile have confirmed the apex court's suspicions of money from home buyers being diverted by the Amrapali promoters to shell companies for personal gain — tasked with tracking the trail of diversion of over Rs 2765 crore of home-buyers' money by conducting forensic audit of all 46 companies of the group, the auditors confirmed that preliminary investigations revealed that the money was diverted to at least 20 shell companies. Full story here 10. A black beauty which turned out white Duping a lawyer: Karanbir Inder Singh Sekhon, a retired district attorney in Punjab's Faridkot district, learnt the hard way that being a legal eagle is no guarantee against being duped when the horse he bought, thinking it was black, turned out to be white — clearly a case of fair not being so lovely after all. Spot the con: Sekhon, whose family runs a business of breeding horses, purchased the black coloured stallion of Marwari breed — which are rare in that colour — in November 2017 for Rs 17.50 lakh, against an asking price of Rs 24 lakh, but discovered white spots after a few days, making him realise that it was a white horse dyed black. Aftermath: While Sekhon has lodged a police complaint against the sellers for cheating and criminal conspiracy, who are as yet untraceable, this is not the first known instance of 'polishing' up an animal — farmers in Raichur, in Karnataka, are known to dye their buffaloes with a popular hair dye brand to make them more presentable for sale during village fairs. Except, in the case of buffaloes, unlike this horse, the underlying colour is also black. Full story here PLUS World's stupidest robbers Trusting thieves: In an incredulous incident in Belgium, a group of six armed individuals were prevented from robbing a store after the store's owner convinced them to come back later when there would be cash in the cash register. Wrong timing: The would-be thieves entered the store in the middle of the afternoon but were told by the owner, identified as Didier, they would be much richer if they would come back later in the night — "I told them clearly that 3pm is not the best time to hold up a store. You'll take 1,000 bucks, but if you come back tonight you might be able to take more." Dumb and Dumber: Unbelievably, the group followed his advice, and came back twice — first at 5:30 pm, when Didier again convinced them to come back a little later, and then finally at 6:30 pm, by which time plain-clothed policemen were at the store to apprehend the 5 adults and 1 minor, though one adult managed to escape. KEEPING TRACK Kashmir continues to be on the boil after reports of a youth — a PhD scholar from Jamia Milia University — being killed in a shootout in Anantnag. Travancore Devaswom Board, which administers the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, has decided against filing a review petition against the SC order lifting the ban on entry of women of certain age. In the wake of multiple attempted heists in Indian banks in recent years, the Reserve Bank of India's IT arm has asked banks to have a protocol in place to ensure quick response to a cyberheist and to affect recovery. Follow news that matters to you in real-time. Join 3 crore news enthusiasts. GET APP Answer To NEWS IN CLUES IndiGo Airlines. The carrier announced its first-ever quarterly loss since listing three years ago. The loss amounting to Rs 652.1 crore in Q2 this year (versus a profit of Rs 551.6 crore in same period last year) was due to high oil prices coupled with rupee depreciation. Till now, IndiGo was the only consistently profitable airline in India.