"Over the next few days we will decide the fate of this planet," PM Modi said.

"Since ancient times different civilizations have given a special place to Sun," Prime Minister Modi said.

Speaking at the 'Mission Innovation' at COP21, Prime Minister Modi said, "Innovation must be backed by means to make it accessible to all."

DMK chief Karunanidhi today urged the Centre to get in touch with the Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, now in Sri Lanka, to facilitate talks with that government so as to end problems faced by Indian fishermen.

Eleven people were today sentenced to death for killing a politician over a decade ago in Bangladesh. Jalal Uddin Sarkar, former president of Awami Juba League's Kapasia Upazila unit, was hacked to death on August 17, 2003.

BlackBerry today announced that it will stop operating in Pakistan by the end of next month due to restrictions imposed on its services by the government which has been demanding access to the user data of the Canadian smartphone maker.

A Kolkata-bound flight from Hyderabad made an emergency landing at Biju Patnaik International Airport here today after a passenger became unwell and complained of chest pain.

The last rites of the Army jawan Surendra Singh Gohil who died in a mishap while on patrolling duty in Tangdhar sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara region were performed at his village Ainabad in the district today. A large number of people had gathered to pay homage to Gohil, 22, who was attached to the Rajputana Rifles.

The intolerance debate is still on in the Rajya Sabha. Congress MP Kumari Selja breaks down in Parliament saying she was discriminated against in Gujarat when she was a minister because she is a Dalit. She said she was not allowed to enter a temple in Gujarat. Selja was the union tourism minister in the UPA government.

You can always depend on Ram Jethmalani for a stinging statement: The BJP MP reacts to PM Modi's brief interaction with Pak PM Nawaz Sharif at the climate summit in Paris: "Must talk to Pak, but things we need to say are not being said. Mr Modi seeks advice from no one but his incompetent ministers. Sorry to say but the politicians in power now are as illiterate as the previous ones." 

US President Barack Obama urged world leaders gathered for the UN climate conference in Paris to act now to secure a future for humanity. The "future is one that we have the power to change right here right now, but only if we rise to this moment," Obama told 150 leaders at the summit.

PM in Paris: Recycling and conservation comes naturally to India.  Our commitment to tackle climate change arises from our timeless traditions and beliefs. Climate change due to developed nations progress. Desire of well being should include the entire humanity, the planet and nature.


PM Modi with Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff at the climate summit. 

PM Narendra Modi begins his speech at the inauguration of India Pavilion at the Climate Conference in Paris. Highlights...


"This pavilion is a window to our heritage and our progress. Climate change is a major global challenge. But it is not of our making. It is the result of global warming that came from an industrial age powered by fossil fuel.


"We want a comprehensive, equitable and durable agreement in Paris. I speak not just to the world, but our own people. India must lead in combating climate change. India's progress is our destiny and right of our people."


The PM outlines the changes taking place in India as it adapts: "By 2030, 40% of our installed capacity will be based on non-fossil fuel. Yet, we face its consequences today, and that is why the outcome in Paris is so important and we are here today. We want the world to work with urgency." 

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi in the Lok Sabha on the intolerance debate: "Why does Award Wapsi brigade not see 84 riots, Nellie massacre, riots in Hashimpura, Muzaffarnagar?"


A debate in Parliament today on 'rising intolerance' was waylaid by a controversial comment attributed to Home Minister Rajnath Singh by Left parliamentarian Mohd Salim. For the first time since the Winter Session began last Thursday, uproar forced repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha. Rajnath Singh strongly denied ever saying that India had the "first Hindu ruler after 800 years" after Narendra Modi came to power at the head of a BJP government last year.  Salim, initiating the debate on "intolerance" in the Lok Sabha, had said: "How did fringe elements get the courage? I want to question the home minister. When Modi came to power, Rajnath Singh said "800 saal baad koi hindu phir se is desh ka shaasak bana hai (After 800 years, this country has a Hindu ruler once again.) Is this democracy? Is this secularism? Is it a part of the Constitution?"

PM Narendra Modi and World Bank President Jim Kim in discussion at COP21.

Just in: Anil Kumble has decided to step down as the Chief Mentor of Mumbai Indians with immediate effect. The former India captain was appointed chief mentor of Mumbai Indians in January 2013. The 44-year-old not only holds the record of being the country's highest wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs, but is also highly respected for his enormous experience and cricketing acumen.

Sheena Bora case: Peter Mukerjea's CBI custody extended till tomorrow.

PM Modi, Nawaz Sharif have a short, but intense conversation ahead of his meet with French prez Francois Hollande. Courtesy: The Express Tribune 

Congress reacts to PM Modi's meeting with Pak PM Nawaz Sharif in Paris saying India should not talk with Pakistan until terror stops. 

PM Modi and French president Francois Hollande at the Climate conference. Hollande and PM Modi will launch an international alliance of over 100 solar-rich countries in the tropics, aimed at eventually bringing clean and affordable solar energy within the reach of all.

ANI reports that India and Pakistan had a 'pull aside' meeting on the sidelines of the climate summit in Paris. There was a brief exchanged between the two PMs where they exchanged smiles and a 'warm' handshake. This is their first meeting after UFA in Russia in July this year.

PM Narendra Modi meets Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif at the Climate Conference in Paris. The Obama administration is keen to see a resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India.  The PM will also meet US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the 21st session of the Conference of Parties or COP21.

PM Modi, French president Francois Hollande meet in Paris for the Climate
Summit.

Shiv Sena on its pet peeve: Indo-Pak cricket matches on Indian soil:   Sanjay Raut says, "Hindustan mein cricket nahi hoga Pakistan ke saath, itni toh Shiv Sena ki takaat hai aur rahegi. Agar Sri Lanka mein khelna chahte ho, toh Bharat ki sarkaar ko tay karna hai ki desh bhaavna ke saath aapko jana hai ya uske khilaaf. 

Expelled Aam Aadmi Party members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav have been detained by Delhi Police for leading a march to the state assembly.


The duo were leading the volunteers of Swaraj Abhiyan, rebel group floated by ex-members of AAP. Yadav and Bhushan were protesting against the Jan Lokpal bill which is scheduled to be tabled in the legislative assembly today.


Both, Bhushan and Yadav were dismissed from the party earlier in the year for raising their voice against the autocratic style of leadership of Kejriwal. According to Bhushan, the bill prepared by the AAP government is altered and drastically different than the one proposed during the 49-day tenure of erstwhile Kejriwal government.


Prashant Bhushan has accused Kejriwal of diluting the purpose of Lokpal by ensuring that the ombudsman elected would be a political appointee. The 4-member committee which will select the Lokpal will comprise the Delhi Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition, Speaker of Assembly, apart from a High Court judge. On the contrary, the previous bill suggested a five-member committee, out of which only 2 members would be political personalities.

Seven years on, the Supreme Court has asked actor Govinda to apologise to a man for slapping him.

While on the sets of his film Money Hai Toh Honey Hai in 2008, Govina had allegedly slapped a fan called Santosh Raj, who had come to watch the shooting.

Govinda, while defending himself, had said that the fan tried to get too close to the female dancers and actors on the sets and also tried to misbehave with some of them.

Raj moved the Supreme Court in 2014 alleging that the actor humiliated him in front of the public. He also claimed he had spent Rs 5 to 6 lakh on lawyers' fees. He said that since the actor did not call him and apologise, he was more determined to fight a case against him.

On Nov. 28, 17 days after Diwali, Narendra Modi held a Diwali meet-and-greet programme for journalists at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Delhi. At the event, editors and reporters disgraced themselves by mobbing the prime minister for joint selfies. Soon, social media was flooded with pictures of their teenager-ish behaviour. Read more

In a blunt warning to rich nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told developed countries which powered their way to prosperity on fossil fuels that it would be "morally wrong" if they shift the burden of reducing emissions on developing countries like India.


"The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should be the bedrock of our collective enterprise. Anything else would be morally wrong," he wrote in the Opinion section of today's 'Financial Times'.


He asked the developed nations to fulfill their duty to shoulder the greater burden of the fight against climate change.


In the article in the UK's leading financial daily, timed to coincide with the launch of COP 21 conference on climate change here, Modi said, "Some say advanced countries powered their way to prosperity on fossil fuel when humanity was unaware of its impact."


"Since science has moved on and alternative energy sources are available, they argue that those just beginning their development journey bear no less responsibility than those who have reached the zenith of their progress. New awareness, however, should lead advanced countries to assume more responsibility. Just because technology exists does not mean it is affordable and accessible."


"Justice demands that, with what little carbon we can still safely burn, developing countries are allowed to grow. The lifestyles of a few must not crowd out opportunities for the many still on the first steps of the development ladder," he added.


Modi reiterated his plans to launch an alliance of 121 solar-rich nations in the tropics aimed at bringing affordable solar power to villages that are off the grid.


"We expect the same from the world with respect to responding to climate change," he said. Modi along with nearly 150 world leaders world leaders are here to attend the opening of the climate summit with a central aim of the new agreement to keep global warming below 2C over pre-industrial temperatures.


Modi, with a reference to Mahatma Gandhi, said, "We look forward to Paris with the sense of duty that Mahatma Gandhi called us to assume: We should act as trustees' and use natural resources wisely as it is our moral responsibility to ensure that we bequeath to future generations a healthy planet. India will do its part for success in Paris."


His assertion came days after US Secretary of State John Kerry said India could be a "challenge" at upcoming climate change talks in Paris beginning November 30 as it "has been more cautious, a little more restrained in its embrace of this new paradigm".

Seven years after the barbaric 26/11 terrorist attacks, the city is set to witness the inauguration of the phase-I of the pan-Mumbai CCTV camera surveillance network -- wherein 1,000 cameras will cover half of South Mumbai.


Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will be inaugurating the phase-I in presence of various ministers and IPS officers at the Taj Hotel, Colaba, today.


Crediting the BJP-led state government for completing the project, Fadnavis said, "Proud to announce that our government will launch 'Go Live' phase-I of Mumbai CCTV network on November 30. It has been pending for the last seven years and we completed it in less than one year.'

Parliament has been adjourned till 2:05 pm.

In other news: Offices of the Marathi newspaper Lokmat witnessed angry protests on Sunday by outraged Muslims who claimed that the newspaper had insulted their faith by publishing a blasphemous picture.


Copies of the newspaper were burnt at various cities in Maharashtra and the protesting men demanded the arrest of the editor and the artist who drew the illustration. A couple of offices are reported to have been attacked too, as the editor extended an immediate apology.

Read more

Rajnath Singh says, :If any Home Minister makes this kind of a statement (what Mohd. Salim claimed HM said), he has no right to keep his post."


Reactions to Mohd Salim's statement (wrongly attributed to Rajnath Singh).



Budhaditya Roy ‏@budhadityaroy  Bengal can choose between Mohd Salim & Mamata. Poor chaps. The name of the state should be spelled the way Bongs pronounce it. Waste Bengal.

@SuperGops  Mohd Salim is in Lok Sabha given the opportunity to speak, and says India is intolerant in every sector LMAO


‏@vivek_fca  "Mohd Salim" talking against Hindus in Parliament, shows India is a bit Over Tolerant.  I think India needs to be mildly intolerant.


‏@chiragrdotme  Mr. Mohd Salim, I understand your need for "tolerance", but please at least be truthful -- don't lie.


‏@shubhamjhadash1  Mohd Salim just give more power to govt. Thank u. Rajnath is great leader.


@sanbond007  With this kind of start, I have no doubts that the #IntoleranceDebate is just as insignificant as lies of Mohd Salim.

:Kuch na kuch sensational bolna, out of context quote karna, desh mein aadat ban rahi hai. Sensationalism, attributing quotes of out context, has become a habit in this country," Venkaiah Naidu on Mohd Salim's statement on HM.

"I was quoting from a magazine,if Rajnath ji is denying then let him send a legal notice to the publication," Mohd Salim,CPI(M) in LS..

Salim seems to have got the names a little mixed up. In fact, it was senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal who said in November 2014, that "it was after 800 long years that Delhi is being governed by Hindus" while he was addressing the inaugural session of the three-day World Hindu Congress in Delhi.  Read

Rajnath Singh reacts to the Mohd Salim's remarks saying, "I have never been so hurt by any comment. I seek your (Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's) protection here."

The Speaker says expunges the remarks.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm over Salim's comments.

Uproar in LS after CPI-M's Mohd Salim says Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said that first time in 800 years a Hindu has become India's PM and that India has a Hindu government.

The home minister denies the allegations and asks Salim to apologise. 

This promises to be a session marked by 'intolerance'.


Pic: Narendra Modi who was then PM designate offers prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple with Amit Shah and then party chief Rajnath Singh in 2014 just after the BJP won the elections.

Intolerance debate in Lok Sabha: Mohd Salim, CPI (M), who has opened the debate says, "What are these fringe elements? Members of parliament? Ministers? We want a rational India, we want a secular India. Nobody is calling the country intolerant or insulting it, these kind of allegations are manufactured." 

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan flags off intolerance debate in the Lok Sabha under rule 193. The CPM's Mohammad Salim is the first to speak and says there is an "explosive situation in the country with growing intolerance. There is no such thing as manufactured dissent.

"India is a democratic nation, not a fascist one. Our culture is one of tolerance, we are deviating," he says.


On Sunday, parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government was ready for a debate on intolerance if the Opposition allowed the House to function but defended the government's record, indicating the debate was likely to be stormy.

"Nothing has gone wrong during Narendra Modi's regime as PM, there is absolute tolerance in the country," Naidu said today.


"Different writers have different opinions, Things used to happen earlier also. During the emergency, constitutional and fundamental rights were crippled, these people (writers) were silent then and violent now."

During the opening day of the winter session, finance minister Arun Jaitley had also referred to the Emergency imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi to attack the Congress.

Just in: Congress president Sonia Gandhi leaves for the US for what is being termed a 'routine health visit'. The Congress president has been making visits to the US for an unspecified health condition since 2011. Reports in 2011 said that Sonia Gandhi was advised by her doctors to go abroad for the surgery "because they felt she would convalesce better without the throng of visitors who would have clamoured to see her during the recovery." The inconvenience that her presence in a hospital would
have caused to other patients was another consideration, it added.


This is the third day of the winter session of Parliament with the opposition targetting the government on 'intolerance'.

A Muslim family was being made to leave a PVR cinema hall in either Mumbai or Bengaluru (no clarity on that yet) for not standing up when the national anthem was being played. The incident has become a new subject of heated social media conversation with many questioning the rationale of playing the national anthem in a movie hall before the start of the film. The video of Muslim family first being physically threatened before being forced to leave the theatre has gone viral now.

Take a look at the video

The over two-minute video clip shows a few people arguing with the family, who they accuse of making excuses for not standing up when the national anthem was playing. The video shows the family, surrounded by the group of people, trying to defend itself.


The Muslim family is then forced to leave the theatre and the people present there welcome that with applause.


Here are some of the tweets on the issue.


@rashi_kakkar  Nationalism is like love. YOU CANNOT FORCE ANYONE TO LOVE YOU. Love happens from within.

‏@AskAnshul  One can sit for continuously 3 hours to watch a Movie in theater but cannot stand up for 2 minutes to respect our National Anthem.

 ‏@absolutelydanny  So if I were to tweet the lyrics of the national anthem, would you have to stand up while scrolling through your TL? Asking for a friend.


‏@ashwinpande  India is pretty tolerant. That family didn't get killed or stabbed or shot or set aflame for not standing up during the National Anthem.


@jaishrisai1 If your ego is higher than pride for Nation you are not worthy of being here.National Anthem mst b honoured.


‏@rameshsrivats  My personal advice is -
See National Flag: Salute or look respectfully.
Hear National Anthem: Stand up.
Meet National Animal: Run away.


‏@IndiaExplained You can respect the national anthem while sitting too. Supreme Court has ruled no need to stand for it



Pic: A video grab of the incident.

The AICC distanced itself from senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's comment that the Rajiv Gandhi regime's "ban" on The Satanic Verses was wrong. The AICC said the book had never been banned in India and only its import was stopped. Estranged Congress leader K Natwar Singh, who was a minister in the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet, and Mani Shankar Aiyar, who was then in the PMO, also differed with Chidambaram's view.  Read more

Nestle India today said it has resumed production of Maggi noodles at all five facilities in India. Nestle, which relaunched Maggi noodles on November 9 after a five-months ban, has started production of Maggi noodles from its Tahliwal plant in Himachal Pradesh.


Nestle manufacturers Maggi noodles at its plants in Nanjangud (Karnataka), Moga (Punjab) Bicholim (Goa) and Tahliwal and Pantnagar in Himachal Pradesh. "The company has resumed manufacturing of Maggi noodles at its Tahliwal (Himachal Pradesh) factory.


With this, the company has resumed manufacture of Maggi noodles at all five noodle manufacturing facilities," Nestle said in a BSE filing.


Last week, the Swiss food major had started production of Maggi noodles from its fourth plant at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand. In June, FSSAI had banned Maggi noodles, saying it was "unsafe and hazardous" for consumption after finding lead content beyond permissible limits.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today hinted at retiring from politics, while also admitting to a crisis of credible leadership in a small state like Goa.


Speaking at a function organised by the Lokmmanya Multipurpose Co-Operative Credit Society, in Mapusa town about 10 km north of Panaji, Parrikar, a former Goa chief minister, also said that his attention would always linger on Goa and that if the state government veers onto the wrong path, he would endeavour to bring it back on track.


"After 60 (years), one has to think about retirement. I turn 60 on December 13, therefore, I had started thinking about retirement two-three years back. I have to intensify that, therefore, I don't feel inclined to take up big responsibilities," said Parrikar, one of the state's tallest politicians.


After serving as chief minister since 2012, Mr Parrikar was inducted into the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government in late 2014.


"Finally, there is a question mark over the possibility of finding people with leadership qualities in a small state. But one thing I will say, my attention will be on Goa. And if the government in Goa goes on a wrong path, then I will bring it back on track. I can give this guarantee to Goans," he asserted.

M Venkaiah Naidu addressing the Rajya Sabha" Discussion on commitment of the government to India's Constitution.

The Upper House is still debating the Constitution, while the Question Hour is on in the Lower House.

The BJP-led NDA government will face a tough week in Parliament beginning today with Opposition parties giving a number of notices in both Houses seeking a debate on 'intolerance' in society and action against some ministers for their alleged provocative remarks.


Congress and JD-U have given notices in Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue after suspension of business under Rule 267, while in Lok Sabha Congress and CPI-M have submitted notices for a debate under rule 193, which does not entail voting or require suspension of business.


BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy has said that the Opposition wants a debate on intolerance and the govt has admitted it  and is ready to take it up in Parliament as soon as the Speaker decides to do it: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan says there is no need to suspend Question Hour to discuss issues of price rise, intolerance. The Congress also demands a discussion on price rise in Parliament and moves an adjournment motion.

Twenty countries, including India, the US and China, will today launch an initiative to double their clean energy research and development budget over the next five years as part of global efforts to tackle climate change.

The total amount of money being committed by these 20 countries -- under Mission Innovation -- amount to USD 20 billion, about half of which would come from the US, White House officials said.

A formal announcement of the initiative is expected later in the day at a meeting attended by US President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Francois Hollande along with other leaders from the private and public sector, a White House official told reporters before Obama left for Paris to attend the crucial climate change summit in Paris.

These additional resources will dramatically expand the new technologies that will define a future global power mix that is clean, affordable and reliable, the White House said.


"This is an effort designed to accelerate clean energy innovation and address global climate change, provide affordable clean energy to consumers with a special focus on the developing world in creating commercial opportunities for creating clean energy in developing countries," top Obama adviser Brian Deese told reporters.

Other participating countries include France, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the UAE and the UK. These 20 countries accounts for over 80 per cent of global clean energy R&D.

Shiv Sena today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make taking oath on Constitution mandatory, replacing the holy books, so that the country can be pulled out of the tentacles of "religion-based politics".


"The Constitution should be the sacred book for (people of) all religions. All religions are equal before law and this was what late Bal Thackeray said," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.


"All are equal before law but the Constitution is supreme before the law," the editorial said.


"Let people swear by the Constitution in courts instead of religious holy books," the Sena said.


"Modi has said it will be suicidal to think of replacing the Constitution given by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The PM also said the Constitution is a holy book. "He should now extend that thought and pull out the country from tentacles of religion based politics," the Sena said.

Even as the Lok Sabha prepares to discuss the growing intolerance in the nation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that there was no problem in the country since Modi had come to power. "Nothing has gone wrong during Narendra Modi's regime as PM, there is absolute tolerance in the country," the Union minister said. 

India could conceivably lose the Kashmir valley in the next 10 years unless a serious effort is made to resolve the situation, Radha Kumar, a former interlocutor on Jammu & Kashmir for the Indian government, warned at the Times LitFest, Delhi on Sunday. Kumar said the situation in Kashmir had progressively deteriorated. "It hasn't been as bad as this in a long time," she maintained. "The government doesn't seem to be working, and little of the common minimum program has been implemented." 

Lalu Prasad Yadav's younger son Tejaswi Yadav has been elected at the Rashtriya Janata Dal's legislature party leader in Bihar. RJD chief Lalu officials handed over the party command to his younger son on Monday. Tejaswi is also the deputy chief minister in Bihar. 

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar hinted at retiring from politics, while also admitting to a crisis of credible leadership in a small state like Goa. "After 60 (years), one has to think about retirement. I turn 60 on December 13, therefore, I had started thinking about retirement two-three years back. I have to intensify that, therefore, I don't feel inclined to take up big responsibilities," said Parrikar.

The idol of a famous temple dedicated to the ruling deity of Saturn was purified on Sunday after a woman broke a long-held tradition which bars females from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Hindu place of worship in Maharashtra. The temple dedicated to 'Shani' is located at Shingnapur, a town of 4,000 in Ahmednagar district and around 330 km northeast of Mumbai, where no house has doors but only the frames as entrances. 

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor will introduce a private member's bill in Parliament today to decriminalise consensual sex between adults of any gender. "Hope it will be admitted for discussion," he tweeted. He also revealed that he had submitted the bill 10 days ago.

US President Barack Obama will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in Paris where the two leaders would review progress in bilateral relationship and discussion on regional and global issues including terrorism. The two leaders are expected to meet at 2.45 pm local time Paris on the sidelines of the crucial climate change conference. 

Today, at the Paris Climate Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally open the India pavilion which has impressed everyone -- it is the first time India has put up a pavilion at this annual conference to showcase its philosophy and approach towards climate change.