Here's something you can read on your way home. Hip-Hop Tehran-Style.

On Longform.org.

Jemima Khan on Twitter:

Keep hearing I'm meant to have given Imran s. For clarity's sake, I never gave him a penny nor did he ask/ want me to. In other words - he ended with all the disadvantages of marrying someone with money (smears, innuendo, envy) with none of the advantages. Imran took no money from me. Neither will he be taking money from Pakistan, unlike those that started these rumours.

No, I didn't give him a London flat either. He owned a flat in London when we met, which he bought with his cricket earnings.

Aamna Taseer: 100 days since my son Shahbaz Taseer was kidnapped!!!

Shahbaz's father is slain governor of the Punjab province in Pakistan, Salman Taseer.

A day after Australia's ruling Labor reversed it policy of not selling uranium to India, China today gave a guarded response to the move, saying all countries are entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy. "China always believes countries are entitled to peaceful use of nuclear energy and at the same time they should fulfil the international obligations of nuclear non-proliferation," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing.

The United States and other nations vowed Monday to keep supporting Afghanistan's fragile economy after most foreign forces leave the country, as an international conference got underway in Bonn despite the crippling absence of key regional player Pakistan.

The latest from the conference at Bonn on the Dawn. Read

Also read on bbc.co.uk: Karzai's plea at Afghanistan summit in Bonn

Everything you wanted to know about Foreign Direct Investment, but didn't quite know what to Google. Read the paper by  Anusha Chari and A Madhav Raghavan. Chari is from the University of North Carolina, while Raghavan is from the Indian Statistical Institute. All the guff...

JDey murder case update: Police custody of journalist Jigna Vora and Chhota Rajan aide Paulson Joseph has been extended to December 9.

Vora and Joseph, who were arrested in connection with the murder of Mid Day journalist J Dey, were sent to police custody till December 5. Their custody has now been extended.

Last week, the court had rejected a police request to conduct a narco test on Vora, who was arrested last month for conspiring to kill Dey.

India emerges as chief opponent of a new global-warming treaty.

The Independent, UK, says the country baulks at UN climate conference, concerned about cooling its red-hot economy. Read

As global talks kick-off in Bonn to chart the future course for Afghanistan, India today said it would "fully" support an Afghan-led and owned peace process.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna arrived in Bonn for the conference attended by Foreign Ministers of 64 nations and senior officials from nearly 50 other countries except Pakistan.

"We totally support the people of Afghanistan in their path of peace and condemn the act of terrorism on innocent people," Krishna said on arrival here.

The second Bonn conference is also aimed at ensuring international financial and technical support continues after the NATO troops withdraw in 2014.

News reports said that Mukherjee has spoken with Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj to seek the oppositions cooperation to end the logjam in parliament and allow the Houses to transact business. Mukherjee also met senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and Left leader Sitaram Yechury.

The opposition has demanded a clarification from the government or a formal statement on the floor of the House on this issue. Its second demand is that there should be a complete rollback of the FDI in retail and not just putting it on hold for the moment.

FDI update: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj today demanded that the UPA government convene an all-party meeting over the issue of FDI in retail before making any statement on it in the Parliament.

"Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee called me this morning on phone over smooth running of Lok Sabha and the stalemate due to FDI in retail issue," she said.    

"Mukherjee told me that the government is interested in making a statement on the issue in the Lok Sabha," she said, adding, "I told him to convene an all party meeting first where the government should make its stand clear on the FDI
row." 

It should not only be the BJP but all political parties should know and draw a consensus on the issue if required, Swaraj said. She said the BJP's adjournment motion over the issue be allowed for discussion in the Lok Sabha.

Shobhaa De tweets: Congratulations Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao!Proud parents to baby boy.Watch out Bollywood heroes, here's competition! Khan Jr. genetically blessed.

Read the story on rediff.com: Aamir, Kiran blessed with baby boy

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has won the right to have his case against extradition to Sweden heard by the UK Supreme Court. He lost a High Court battle last month to halt his removal for questioning over alleged sex offences and made the application to the UK's highest court. Judges ruled his case raised a question "of general public importance".

Assange denies raping a woman and sexually molesting another in Stockholm in August 2010, says this BBC report.

Forty years ago, in a historic war that lasted just 13 days, India defeated Pakistan, marking the nation's greatest military triumph.

Rediff.com salutes the heroes of the 1971 War in this special section. Read

In a bid to overcome problems posed by difficult Hindi words, Government has asked section officers to use their 'Hinglish' replacements for easy understanding and better promotion of the language. 

The order issued by the Rajbhasha unit of Ministry of Home Affairs was recently re-circulated in various offices after it was officially mentioned that such puritan use of Hindi generates disinterest among masses. 

The circular recommended that difficult Hindi words can be replaced with English alternatives in Devanagari script for official work. 

Citing examples, Department of Official Language at Home Ministry said 'misil' can be replaced with file, 'pratyabhuti' with guarantee, 'kunjipatal' with keyboard and 'sanganak' with omnipresent 'computer'. It also advocated use of popular Hindi words and English alternatives to make the language more attractive and popular in offices and masses.

Activists from environmental group Greenpeace managed to sneak into a French nuclear power plant today in what they said was a bid to highlight the dangers of atomic energy. 

In a statement, Greenpeace said some members had entered the nuclear site at Nogent-sur-Seine, 95 kilometres southeast of Paris, to "spread the message that there is no such thing as safe nuclear power."

The Rajasthan High Court today stayed the permission of a lower court to conduct a voice-test on Sohan Lal Bishnoi to verify the authenticity of some audio clips related to missing nurse Bhanwari Devi. 

The clips have voices of Sohan Lal and Shahbuddin, both currenly under judicial custody, among others and the CBI wanted to verify its authenticity.

In Brtain, according to The Sunday Times: Postmen have been warned that they could face bribery charges if they accept traditional Christmas tips from customers. Bosses at Royal Mail have told staff to decline gifts worth more than 30 during the festive season in case they fall foul of the Bribery Act.

In other words, no baksheesh.

Team Anna today invited leaders of all parties to Jantar Mantar on December 11, when Anna Hazare plans to sit on a day-long fast, to put their views on Lokpal Bill, a deviation from its stand on previous occasions when it did not allow politicians to share its platform.

"December 11th, Jantar Mantar debate with no adjournments on Lokpal. Come, listen, ask questions and clarify doubts. Political representatives are invited to speak," activist Kiran Bedi tweeted.

A Team Anna spokesperson said formal invites are being sent to parties.

Here's an update: Police say speeding was identified as a possible cause of what is believed to be one of the world's most expensive ever road accidents when up to 2.6 million-worth of supercars ended up in a crumpled heap on a motorway in Japan.

Watch the video on the Telegraph, UK.

Porn star and Bigg Boss contestant, (not necessarily in that order) Sunny Leone, finds mention in the Guardian.  Karen's her real name. Read

Barclays is set to axe over 1,000 jobs in India -- nearly 10 per cent of its workforce -- as part of a sweeping review of its operations in Asia's third-largest economy, The Times, London, has learnt.

The move by Barclays, which employs 11,000 people in India -- its biggest workforce outside the UK, represents a new setback for UK hopes for improved trade ties with India.

Barclays began a strategic review of its Indian business earlier this year over concerns that it was failing to attract sufficient volumes of business, particularly in the nation's highly competitive retail banking market that is dominated by local players such as HDFC and ICICI.

Super cars ranging from Ferrari to Lamborghini ended up in a crumbled heap, in Japan's worst-ever traffic pile up in which SUVs worth up to USD 4 million turned to trash. Involved in the crash over 400 metres east-bound side of the Chucks Expressway were eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini, two Mercedes and host of Toyota Prius, the world's most fuel efficient car, Japan's NTV reported.

See the picture on the Huffington Post.

Anna Hazare's team deconstructs how corruption in Group C employees should be checked. It says there is an intense public debate on whether all government employees should be brought within the purview of the Lokpal. In this, three models are being discussed the governments model, the NCPRIs model and IAC (Anna's) model.

It may be recollected that the government did an U-turn on inclusion of Group C employees, first saying the would be under the Lokpal purview, and then saying they would not.

Full report, shortly on rediff.com.

MDMK chief Vaiko today complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Kerala government was creating "panic and fear psychosis" among the people on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue while contending that the 116-year-old structure was safe. 

As the confrontation between the neighbouring states escalated over the safety of the dam, political leaders and lawmakers have been demanding Singh's intervention in the issue for the past few days. Vaiko, who met the Prime Minister at his residence, told Singh that the Centre should take "urgent measures" to prevent the proposed construction of a new dam by Kerala Government.

He alleged that political parties in Kerala at the behest of the government were indulging in "atrocious, nefarious and illegal threatening activities" that pose a "serious threat" to the dam's safety.

The Supreme Court-appointed committee on Mullaperiyar Dam dispute met today during which lawyers representing Tamil Nadu and Kerala made
representations on their stands and asked the panel to hear them before submitting its report. 

The committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand is expected to submit its report on the controversial issue by February, 2012. 

At today's meeting, Kerala submitted a memorandum before the committee stating that frequent tremors in Idduki district, where the 116-year-old structure is located, was causing damage to the dam and that the state should be heard before the report is finalised.

The National Human Rights Commission today deferred till March hearing on the Mullaperiyar Dam issue, saying it will wait till the Supreme Court-appointed empowered committee submits its report. 

The decision was taken at a meeting of the full commission of the NHRC on the dam issue, a senior NHRC official said."The Commission has decided to wait till the empowered committee submits its report on February 29," the official said.

Read: Centre will be blamed if Mullaperiyar dam collapses: Kerala

Shah Rukh Khan: Just saw a male Sarpanch slap and rough up a woman teacher on tv...disgusting & should be punished for sure... 

Here's what happened:

In a shocking incident, a Shiromani Akali Dal Sarpanch Balwinder Singh of Gidderbaha in Punjab slapped and manhandled a woman teacher during the public visit program of Harsimrat Kaur Badal who is Member of Parliament and wife of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Read the report on CNN IBN.

You read it first here, and now details are in.

The Congress has issued a three-line whip to its members in the Lok Sabha asking them to be present during proceedings on December 7 and 8. Parliament sources said this has been done not for any particular issue but keeping in view the possibility of some "important business". 

The development has come at a time when Parliament has remained paralysed for the last nine days on several issues including over FDI in retail. The opposition has been demanding a rollback of the FDI decision and has been pressing for an adjournment motion on the issue so a censure the government. 

The two Houses will now meet on Wednesday. The current session is slated to conclude on December 22. 

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee tells opposition leaders that FDI in retail is being put on hold. Pranab tells BJP senior leader and leader of the opposition in the LS, Sushma Swaraj, that FDI will be on hold till there is a consensus on the issue.

In turn, the BJP has promised not to disrupt Pranab Mukherjee's statement in Parliament on Wednesday. The party has also asked for FDI to be discussed at an all-party meet.  

Sushma Swaraj however says that the BJP wants a rollback, not a holdback till the consensus is reached.  

The Queen is facing a freeze to her income until 2015 as part of austerity measures imposed in a shake up of the royal finances, it has emerged.

Breaks your heart, but read the story on Telegraph.com.

Actor Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao have been blessed with a baby boy.

The baby was born through IVF to a surrogate mother on December 1 at a private clinic in Mumbai, says a Hindustan Times report.

"Due to medical complications, we were advised to go for IVF-Surrogacy. We are absolutely delighted. This baby  is very dear to us as we've got him after a lot of difficulty. We are so happy and would like to thank all our well wishers." said Aamir Khan.

In other news:

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is holding talks with the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation to jointly develop a new type of nuclear reactor. Gates has been talking with CNNC since 2009 about developing a travelling-wave reactor, reports the South China Morning Post. Gates has visited CNNC at least twice. TWR, a virtual design by TerraPower that has yet to be built or tested, is a new type of reactor that could reduce the need for the enrichment and reprocessing of uranium.

And another important development:

The Sports Ministry today has asked the Indian Olympic Association to immediately raise the Dow Chemicals' Olympics sponsorship issue with the International Olympics Committee, says a Zee News report.

In a letter addressed to the IOA, the ministry said, "Strong public sentiment exists in this matter and a number of ex-Olympians have raised the issue."

Dow Chemicals, which is one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, had bought Union Carbide -- the company responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy. The victims of the tragedy are demanding that India pull out of the Games if Dow continues to be the sponsor of the event.

India plans to fly 20,000 to 30,000 Afghan troops to training bases in India over the next three years and is expanding its presence in Afghanistan as US troops leave.

The US is reportedly eager for more countries to take on part of the US$12 billion training bill for the Afghan security forces, and is also running out of time, having set 2014 as the deadline for transferring combat duties to local troops.

Read it on The National

Reverse trend: America's recent grads, now sought after in India.

On the New York Times, India blogs. Read

And on the other side of the spectrum:  

Kiran Bedi tweets: Are rigidity & firmness not 2 sides of d same coin? Does It not depend on which side one looks at. Is Anna being rigid or firm? Anna knows.

However, the US has already played down the boycott by Pakistan. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who arrived in Bonn for the international talks today aimed at charting a course for Afghanistan after Nato combat troops withdraw, will meet with President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan officials at a conference in Bonn.

The conference is also aimed at ensuring international financial and technical support continues after the troops withdraw in 2014, says AFP.

Even as that BBC report announced Pak would boycott the Bonn conference, a report on the Pakistani paper Dawn, says diplomatic circles in Washington are expecting a low level participation from Pakistan in the conference on Afghanistan.

Sources claimed that Pakistan might attend the talks on a diplomatic level. The breakthrough was made possible after US President Barack Obama held a telephonic conversation with President Asif Ali Zardari.

A major international conference on Afghanistan's future is due to open in the German city of Bonn today.

It comes 10 years after a similar gathering held in the city, weeks after the Taliban fell from power.

Organisers want to bolster long-term international engagement with Afghanistan and support efforts to restore security. But key player Pakistan is boycotting the talks in protest at a Nato attack on a border checkpoint last month.

Read more on the bbc.

Meanwhile, Union MoS for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla has said that the government will not dilute the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill. "We are waiting for the Parliament's Standing Committee to draft the  Bill. It is a commitment of the government that the Prime Minister has also assured. As soon as the bill comes to us, it would be referred to the concerned department," Shukla said today.
 
"The department might amend the Bill as per its needs. After that it would be discussed in Cabinet before being introduced in Parliament. We are committed to bring it to Parliament. We are not backing away," he added.

More on Beant Singh in a bit, but first this.

Our sources tell us that all Congress MPs have been issued a three-line whip to be present in Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday. As we said earlier, there is no session of Parliament today or tomorrow. Pranab Mukherjee will chair a Congress Parliamentary Party meet at 9.30 am on Wednesday.

The CBI has approached the Supreme Court seeking death sentence for former Punjab CM Beant Singh's killer Jagtar Singh Hawara.

It may be recollected that the Punjab and Haryana high court in October last year, had commuted the death sentence of Hawara, the mastermind in the Beant Singh assassination case, to life imprisonment, while it upheld the trial court's penalty to the four other accused in the case.

A division bench of the court comprising Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar termed the case of Hawara, who was awarded the capital punishment by the trial court in 2007, as a 'boundary line for death' and converted his sentence to life.

"It was found that Hawara was not found near Chandigarh on July 30 and 31 in 1995, his case is boundary line for death. He is sentenced to life and will not be released till death," Justice Gill said while pronouncing the order.

In courts today:

Custody of journalist Jigna Vora ends today. She has been accused of conspiracy in the murder of senior crime reporter J Dey. She will appear before the court today. 

In New Delhi, Parliament will now convene on Wednesday, which means our MPs have a four-day weekend. And that, after ensuring both houses were adjourned every day ever since Parliament convened for the winter session on December 21.

India woke up on Sunday morning with Dev Anand's death. In some he touched everyone's life -- his films, his music, his zest for life, his spirit. In the rediff.com office in Mumbai, a colleague's ringtone -- Main zindagi ka saath nibhatha chala gaya -- isn't just a nice tune; it's become a poignant reminder of his death. RIP.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has termed as "regrettable" Pakistan's decision to boycott the Bonn conference on Afghanistan and said that its participation
was required as the country has a role to play in its war-torn neighbour's peace and stability. 

Ban is in the German city for the international conference, where he also met Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Addressing the media, Ban said Pakistan not attending the crucial meet is "their sovereign decision."

Show spine while dealing with China: Omar Abdullah (The Times of India)

Expressing concern over China's involvement in J&K, chief minister Omar Abdullah has said India should show "some spine" while dealing with that country. Read

Global crisis, graft made Prime Minister to push for retail FDI (The Times of India)

Allowing foreign investment in multi-brand retail has been tossed about in government for the last three years or so without anyone getting too serious about it. Read

Dev Anands last rites may be performed in London (The Times of India)
While an aide of Dev Anand said the last rites will be performed in London, India may ask the high commission in London to bring Anand's body back to Mumbai. Read

Pak demands equal treatment from Australia on uranium sale (The Hindu)

Pakistans High Commissioner to Australia, Abdul Malik Abdullah, said if Australia is willing to export uranium to India then it should sell it to Pakistan as well. Read

WikiLeaks chief Assange in final plea to avoid extradition (The Hindustan Times)
WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange will today play his final card in a lengthy legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape claims when he appeals to Britain's top court to overturn the order. Read

Andhra Pradesh govt faces no-confidence motion today (The Hindustan Times)
The no-confidence motion moved against the Congress government by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly will be put to vote today. Read