AHEAD OF TALKS WITH CENTRE, FARMERS DEMAND SPECIAL PARLIAMENT SESSION TO

REPEAL FARM LAWS

Ahead of another round of talks with the Centre, the protesting farmers

Wednesday demanded that the government call a special session of the

Parliament to repeal the contentious farm laws even as Union Agriculture

Minister Narendra Singh Tomar assured that all their objections would be

addressed.

The fear relating to the weakening of APMC mandis and MSP regime are among

the main factors behind the ongoing protests, as part of which thousands of

farmers, primarily from Punjab, have gathered at the capital's doorstep.

Emphasising that their demand for repeal of the new farm laws was

"non-negotiable", the farmers also threatened to block other roads leading

to Delhi if their demands are not met.

Addressing a press conference, president of Krantikari Kisan Union Darshan

Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmer organisations. "Centre should call

a special session of Parliament to repeal the three farm laws," PTI quoted

Singh as saying.

Gurnam Singh Chadoni, another farmer leader, said they would take further

steps in the coming days to press their demand if the Centre does not

withdraw the new laws.

The leaders of around 32 farmer organisations also held a meeting that was

also attended by Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait at the Singhu

border. "We held talks with Tikait Ji and he told us that he is with us. We

are together in this struggle," Darshan Pal said.

Meanwhile, the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), which is the apex

body of transporters representing about 95 lakh truckers and other entities,

has threatened to halt operations in northern India from December 8 if the

government fails to address concerns of the farmers.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will meet Union Home Minister Amit

Shah this morning, before the talks between the Centre and farmer union

representatives.

CHINA SAYS ITS CLOSE TIES WITH NEPAL WILL NOT AFFECT 'ANY THIRD PARTY'

China on Wednesday said that its close ties with Nepal, reinforced during

the recent visit of its Defence Minister to the Himalayan nation, will not

affect "any third party".

Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe met Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and

exchanged views on matters of mutual interest and held talks with Army Chief

Gen. Purna Chandra Thapa on ways to resume military cooperation and training

impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic during his visit on Sunday.

"We believe that our cooperation is in the benefit of both peoples and

conducive to the socio-economic development in Nepal. This relationship will

not affect any third party," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua

Chunying told a media briefing here on a question on Gen. Wei's visit.

During his visit, Gen Wei, also a State Councillor, lauded Nepal's

leadership for resolutely pursuing the "one-China" policy and offered firm

support to the Himalayan country in safeguarding its sovereignty,

independence and territorial integrity, the defence ministry in Kathmandu

said. He also pledged to provide additional assistance to the Nepali Army in

fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement issued by the Nepal

Army.

Gen. Wei's visit came days after India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan

Shringla wrapped up his maiden two-day visit to Nepal. In the first week of

November, Indian Army Chief Gen. M M Naravane paid a three-day visit to

Nepal aimed at resetting bilateral ties that came under severe strain

following a bitter border row between the two countries.

Gen. Wei's visit also comes amidst an ongoing political rift in the ruling

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) that resurfaced following a meeting between

Prime Minister Oli and his rival Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

UK FIRST COUNTRY TO APPROVE PFIZER/BIONTECH COVID VACCINE, ROLLOUT IN DAYS

The UK on Wednesday became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech

vaccine against COVID-19, paving the way for mass vaccinations against the

deadly novel coronavirus from as early as next week.

The British regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory

Agency (MHRA), says the jab, which claims to offer up to 95 per cent

protection against COVID-19 illness, is safe for roll out.

The UK government said the approval follows a "rigorous" analysis of the

data, conducted at a faster pace but without any compromise on standards.

The government has formally accepted the recommendation from the MHRA, which

means the two-dose vaccine can be injected into arms of high-risk categories

within days. Around 10 million doses should be available soon, with the

first 800,000 arriving in the UK in the coming days.

The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) will now

publish its final advice for the priority groups to receive the vaccine,

including care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and the

clinically extremely vulnerable.

The Pfizer/BionTech formula is an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of

genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight COVID-19

and build immunity. An mRNA vaccine has never been approved for use in

humans before, with people only receiving them in clinical trials so far.

SC DIRECTS CENTRE TO INSTALL CCTV CAMERAS IN OFFICES OF CBI, ED, NIA ETC

The Supreme Court directed the Centre on Wednesday to install CCTV cameras

and recording equipment at the offices of investigating agencies, including

the CBI, the ED and National Investigation Agency (NIA), which conduct

interrogations and have the power of arrest.

A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman said that states should ensure that

CCTV cameras are installed at each and every police station, at all entry

and exit points, main gate, lock-ups, corridors, lobby and reception as also

areas outside the lock-up rooms so that no part is left uncovered.

The apex court had in 2018 ordered installation of CCTV cameras in police

stations to check human rights abuses.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

RUSSIA: PRESIDENT PUTIN TELLS OFFICIALS TO START MASS VACCINATIONS AGAINST

COVID-19 NEXT WEEK

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian authorities on Wednesday to begin

mass voluntary vaccinations against COVID-19 next week as Russia recorded 58

new daily deaths from the coronavirus. Russia will have produced 2 million

vaccine doses within the next few days, Putin said. Russia said last month

that it Sputnik V jab was 92% effective at protecting people from COVID-19

according to interim results.

"Let's agree on this - you will not report to me next week but you will

start mass vaccination.let's get to work already," Putin told Deputy Prime

Minister Tatiana Golikova. Golikova said large-scale vaccination could begin

on voluntary basis in December. The rise in infections has slowed since

reaching a high on Nov. 27, with 25,345 new cases reported on Wednesday.

BRIBERY FOR PARDON FROM US PRESIDENT?

The US justice department has been investigating a "bribery-for-pardon"

scheme under which intermediaries of a federal convict offered White House

officials large political contributions in exchange for release from prison,

according to court records revealed on Tuesday.

President Trump denounced the investigation as "fake news".

There have been extensive reports of Trump discussing with aides granting of

preemptive pardons to a range of people, including a self-pardon for himself

and to his family, and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, amid fears that

they would be prosecuted by a "vindictive" Biden administration. Legal

experts have been debating the merits of a president granting himself a

self-pardon and how much protection such pardons can provide for crimes

prosecuted by states, as opposed to federal charges.

The discussions have become animated as Trump's ignominious exit looks

inevitable. On Tuesday, Trump's own Attorney General William Barr, seen as a

loyal frontman for the president's exertions, declared that the US justice

department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could

change the outcome of the 2020 election.

Coming on top of embarrassing setback in courts and even Republican

officials and lawmakers certifying a Biden victory, the "desertions" have

enraged Trump's extremist followers, some of whom urged the president to

declare a limited form of martial law, and hold a national "re-vote" under

military supervision.

THE REST

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NOW PUNJAB AND DELHI CMS IN A WAR OF WORDS

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh called his Delhi counterpart Arvind

Kejriwal "this sneaky little fellow" as the two traded charges over the

notification of one of the three new Central farm laws in the national

capital.

At a press briefing in Delhi on Wednesday, Kejriwal hit back, but that

triggered the release of another press statement by the Congress veteran in

Chandigarh.

Amarinder Singh trashed Kejriwal's assertion that states are "helpless"

against Central legislation, and said it was clear that the AAP leader did

not even want to try to fight the "draconian" laws., He accused Kejriwal of

"undermining" the farmers' fight by notifying one of the laws and reminded

that the Punjab Assembly had passed its own Bills in an attempt to "negate"

them.

"Instead of meekly just notifying the central laws, Kejriwal could have

tried to make some effort to counter them and protect the rights of the

farmers," the Punjab Chief Minister said. He alleged it is evident that

"this sneaky little fellow, whose double standards have been exposed time

and again, is now completely cornered on the issue."

In his briefing earlier, Kejriwal had accused the Punjab CM of playing

"dirty politics", and suggested that he was under pressure from Central

agencies. "I want to ask Captain saheb, are you under the pressure of these

very same people because of which you are making these false allegations

against me, abusing me. I know that the reason may be that your family is

charged with cases and receiving notices from the ED," he said.

Kejriwal also said his AAP government had angered the BJP government at the

Centre by refusing to give permission for turning city stadiums into

temporary jails for protesting farmers.

Singh hit back, saying it was apparent that Kejriwal, whose survival

depended on the Central government, was more worried about angering it than

about the farmers' plight.

FORMER HC JUDGE CS KARNAN ARRESTED IN CHENNAI OVER REMARKS ON JUDGES

Former judge of the Calcutta and Madras High Courts, Justice C S Karnan, was

arrested in Chennai on Wednesday by the cybercrime wing of the city police,

for allegedly uploading a video containing "obscene, defamatory remarks"

against several former and serving judges of Supreme Court and High Court,

their wives, and woman judges.

In the video, which was doing the rounds on social media, Karnan was

purportedly seen making objectionable comments against women, threatening

sexual violence against people in the judiciary, spouses of judges and

judicial officers.

The complaint sent to CJI Bobde said Karnan's statements amount to "a

horrific act of violence and an affront to the dignity of all women" and

that his statements "reveal a deep-rooted misogyny and are an assertion of

patriarchal construction of gender and sexuality, where women are considered

as private property of men."

Karnan had courted controversy during his service as well, and faced

six-month imprisonment by a seven-judge bench headed by the then Chief

Justice of India JS Khehar in May 2017, for contempt of SC, judiciary and

the judicial process.

TWO ADULTS CAN LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT INTERFERENCE: ALLAHABAD HC

Two adults in a live-in relationship have the right to cohabit peacefully,

the Allahabad High Court has observed while directing the SSP Farrukhabad to

provide security to a couple that live together and has been facing

harassment by family members.

"Hon'ble Apex Court in a long line of decisions has settled the law that

where a boy and a girl are major and they are living with their free will,

then nobody including their parents has authority to interfere with their

living together," a bench comprising Justice Anjani Kumar Mishra and Justice

Prakash Padia said in an order passed on Monday.

The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by Kamini Devi and Ajay Kumar of

Farrukhabad.

The petitioners contended before the court that both of them are adults and

in love with each other. They have been living together as a couple for the

last six months but Kamini's parents were harassing them as they want her to

marry another man.

The couple said they made a complaint to the SSP, Farrukhabad in this regard

on March 17 but their application was still pending.

TWITTER TAGS AMIT MALVIYA'S TWEET AS 'MANIPULATED MEDIA'

Twitter has placed a "manipulated media" label and disclaimer on a tweet by

the BJP's national head for information and technology Amit Malviya in what

could be the first instance of the microblogging site flagging an Indian

political account following the US elections.

Referring to a photo posted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that showed a

security personnel officer raising his baton as an elderly man passed by at

the farmers' protest, Malviya put out two screenshots - one of the photo

that was labelled "propaganda" and the other a "reality" video that was

captioned: "Police didn't even touch the farmer."

"Rahul Gandhi must be the most discredited opposition leader India has seen

in a long long time," Malviya said in the tweet he posted on November 28,

which Twitter tagged as "manipulated media." The video of the police baton

missing an elderly man was edited, the social media site said, citing

factchecking websites BoomLive and AltNews. The farmer protests have

dominated conversations on social media since last week.

'INDIA SEES SHARP DECLINE IN MALARIA CASES IN 2019'

India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden and is

the only high endemic country to have reported a decline of 17.6% in cases

during 2019 as compared to the previous year, says the World Malaria Report

2020 by the World Health Organisation.

India also witnesses the largest absolute decline in WHO's South-East Asia

region, though it still accounted for 88% of malaria cases and 86% of

related death in the region.

In India, between 2000 and 2019, malaria cases dropped by over 83% to around

3.38 lakh, whereas deaths declined by 92%. Cases and fatalities have

declined a significant 21.3% and 20% respectively in 2019 from a year ago.

Total number of malaria cases reported till October this year fell 45.02%

year-on-year, the government said.

LEADING HONEY BRANDS FAIL ADULTERATION TEST BY FOREIGN LAB, CLAIMS CSE

Some of the country's top honey brands, including Dabur, Patanjali, and

Emami, have failed an adulteration test carried out by a foreign laboratory,

the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday.

Among big brands, only Marico's Saffola Honey cleared all the tests,

pointing to the level of adulteration among popular honey labels, the CSE

said. Smaller brands, on the other hand, failed laboratory tests for both

Indian and foreign standards, the organisation based in New Delhi said.

According to the CSE, honey, which is a natural product acquired from bees,

is mixed with sugar syrup acquired from rice, corn, beetroot, and sugarcane

and passed off as pure.

Brands named in the study were quick to dispute the CSE's claims. A Dabur

India spokesperson said, "The report seems motivated and aimed at maligning

our brand."

Patanjali Ayurved's MD Acharya Balkrishna also denied any adulteration in

their honey. "We make 100 per cent natural honey which has been tested on

standards laid down by the FSSAI...The study seems to be an attempt to mark

down Indian honey and promote German technology," he said.

KANGANA CALLED OUT OVER 'SHAHEEN BAGH DADI' FAKE TWEET

Sharing a photo of the woman in the farmer's protest, Kangana Ranuat had

tweeted: "Ha Ha she is the same Dadi who had featured in Time Magazine for

being the most powerful woman. And she is available for 100 rupees."

She had later deleted the tweet.

A Chandigarh-based advocate Hakam Singh has sent a legal notice to the actor

for mistaking an elderly woman participating in the rally to be the one

famous for Shaheen Bagh protests and claiming she was 'available for Rs 100'

to protest.

Expressing displeasure for making a 'mockery of an old female', he sought an

apology from her on social media within seven days.

Even Punjabi singers Kanwar Grewal, Parmish Verma, Amrit Mann and others

have lashed out at her for disgracing and using such words for an old lady

despite herself being a woman.

INDIA PULL ONE BACK, AUSTRALIA WIN SERIES 2-1

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo and the Indian team its winning

ways in a morale-lifting 13-run triumph over Australia in the third and

final ODI on Wednesday in Canberra, salvaging some of the lost pride in a

1-2 series defeat.

An in-form Hardik Pandya blasted 92 not out off 76 balls and Ravindra

Jadeja's useful 66 off 50 took India to a healthy 302 for 5 in 50 overs

after an inept show in the first 30 overs.

It was at least 30 runs short of a par-score on a good batting track but a

rejigged bowling attack managed to restrict the home team to 289 all out in

49.3 overs.

Shardul Thakur (3/51) and debutant Thangarasu Natarajan (2/70 in 10 overs)

did their bit but it was Bumrah's (2/43 in 9.3 overs) controlled effort with

some swing upfront and the dismissal of a marauding Glenn Maxwell in the

nick of time which ultimately turned the match in India's favour.

The inconsequential match became something of consequence for Virat Kohli

and his men as they gear up for the next white-ball series-three T20

Internationals.

Pandya and Jadeja stitched 150 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket, taking

the score from a dismal 152/5 in 32 overs to 302/5 in 50.

INDICATORS

Sensex 44,618 (-37), Nifty 13,114 (+5), Trading Value NSE ,(Rs.crores)

67069.75

Nasdaq 12,349 (-6) Dow 29,884 (+60), S&P 3,669 (+7)

US$-Rs. 73.58 GBP-Rs. 98.39, Euro-Rs. 88.88, UAE Dhm-Rs.20.02, Can$-Rs.

56.88, Aus$- Rs. 54.32

GBP 0.74 /US$, Euro 0.82 /US$, Jap.Yen 104.50 /US$, Aus$ 1.35 /US$, Sing

1.33 /US$, Bang Taka 83.11 /US$, Can$ 1.29 /US$, Mal Ring 4.07 /US$,

Pak Re 159.16 /US$, Phil Peso 48.01 /US$, Russian Rouble 75.52 /US$, NZ$

1.41 /US$, Thai Baht 30.18 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 28.15 /US$, Norway NOK 8.82

/US$

Bitcoin - USD 19,083

Dollar Index 91.00 Brent Crude 48.08 BDI 1,211

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,829 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 4,864 / 4,764

Silver (Rs. Per KG) 66,400

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are

unconquerable. - Theodore N. Vail

OFF TRACK

If you're going to work here, young man," said the boss, "one thing you must

learn is that we are very keen on cleanliness in this firm. Did you wipe

your feet on the mat as you came in?"

"Oh, yes, sir."

"And another thing, we are very keen on truthfulness. There is no mat."