In the run-up to the winter session of Parliament, opposition parties have started a coordinated effort to demand a debate on the issue of "growing intolerance" and passage of a resolution condemning such incidents.  The parties seeking the debate include the Congress, JD(U), RJD, the Left parties and the NCP. The winter session is scheduled to start on November 26, which will be observed as 'Constitution Day' to commemorate the acceptance of the Draft Constitution on that day in 1949. Congress Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge said party whip KC Venugopal has sent a notice to the Lok Sabha Secretariat while CPM leader Sitaram Yechury has submitted his notice to the RS Chairman's office. Separate special sittings of both Houses will be held on the first two days to discuss 'Commitment to the Constitution' as a part of the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

Markets down in India and Asia due to Paris attack
The S&P BSE Sensex slipped over 100 points in morning trade on Monday, led by losses in Infosys, HDFC, ONGC, TCS, Tata Motors, and HDFC Bank. The Nifty50 was down below its crucial psychological level of 7,750, weighed down by losses in IT, metal, oil & gas, and realty stocks.  At 9.20 am the 30-share index was trading at 25,536, down 74 points or 0.30 per cent. It touched a high of 25,593.11 and a low of 25,491.65 in morning trade. The Nifty50 was at 7,742, down 20 points or 0.25 per cent. It touched a high of 7,743.00 and a low of 7,722.70 in the first 30 minutes of trade. Meanwhile, most other Asian markets traded lower after the Paris attacks as well weak economic data emerging from China and Japan. Japan's Nikkei shed a per cent in trade while South Korea's Kospi was down 1.07 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was also down 1.82 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite traded lower by 0.4 per cent.

Japan economy slips back into recession in July-Sept
Japan’s economy slid back into recession in July-September as uncertainty over the overseas outlook hurt business investment, keeping policymakers under pressure to deploy new stimulus measures to support a fragile recovery. A rebound in private consumption and exports offered some hope, despite slowing Chinese demand and the pain households are feeling from rising imported food prices. The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualised 0.8 percent in July-September, more than a median market forecast for a 0.2 percent contraction, government data showed on Monday. That followed a revised 0.7 percent contraction in April-June, which was the first decline in three quarters.

Congress behind Patel quota agitation, says Gujarat CM
Ahead of the local body polls in the state, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today claimed that Congress leaders were behind the Patel quota agitation and asked party workers not to get influenced by their propaganda. The members of Patel community led by 22-year-old firebrand leader Hardik Patel have been demanding reservation under OBC category since the past few months. "As the elections are approaching, Congress leaders and workers have resorted to various tactics to win the polls by hook or crook. It is now a well established fact that Congress was behind the agitation which took place across the state during the last few months," she said in Surat referring to the Patel quota stir.

Real estate bill changes by Rajya Sabha panel accepted
The government is clearing the decks for passage of the crucial real estate bill in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament. The urban development ministry has accepted all the amendments proposed by a parliamentary committee and is readying to move the amended legislation for Cabinet approval and finally push it through Parliament. The ministry's move comes after an informal Group of Ministers examined the Rajya Sabha select committee's report on Real Estate (Development and Regulation) Bill and decided that it would be politically correct to accept all recommendations and push through an acceptable bill. A major amendment is the proposed parity in the interest payable by allottee and developer in case of any default by either party. At present the scales are tilted heavily against the homebuyers, reports the Economic Times. The select committee not only reinforced the penalty provisions of up to three years' imprisonment proposed by the government but also introduced imprisonment clause for a realtor failing to abide by the orders of the appellate tribunal

Francois Hollande wants 3-month state of emergency
French president Francois Hollande said today that he wanted the state of emergency declared after the Paris attacks to last three months, parliamentary sources said, a move that would cover the upcoming UN climate conference. The 12-day UN conference, which will be attended by dozens of heads of state, begins on November 30. Any extension to a state of emergency beyond 12 days requires parliamentary approval.

France strikes back at heart of Islamic State
France launched “massive” air strikes on the Islamic State group’s de-facto capital in Syria Sunday night, destroying a jihadi training camp and a munitions dump in the city of Raqqa, where Iraqi intelligence officials say the attacks on Paris were planned. Twelve aircraft including 10 fighter jets dropped a total of 20 bombs in the biggest air strikes since France extended its bombing campaign against the extremist group to Syria in September, a Defense Ministry statement said. The jets launched from sites in Jordan and the Persian Gulf, in coordination with US forces.
 
After Paris, US Republicans hit refugee plan

The deadly attacks in Paris pushed terrorism and the Syrian refugee crisis to the center of the US presidential campaign on Sunday, as Republicans hammered Obama administration plans to take in more refugees. After officials said one of the Paris gunmen might have slipped into Europe among refugees fleeing Syria's war, more Republicans voiced their opposition to the 10,000 Syrian refugees the White House wants to admit in the coming year.

NMIMS, TIFR and BITS Pilani told to close off-campus centres
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has told ten institutions to immediately shut down their off-campus centres, saying these are "unauthorised" and have been set up against the rules. These include  Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Homi Bhabha National Institute. The notice said the new centre of TIFR in Hyderbabad is unauthorised, as is Homi Bhabha National Institute's Bhubaneswar centre; NIMIS' Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Shibpur centres; and PRIST's campus in Chennai, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Puducherry and Trichy. The UGC also raised the red flag against IVRI's centres in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mukteshwar, Palampur and Pune, along with LNIPE's Guwahati campus. Six of BIT Ranchi's centres in Allahabad, Deoghar, Kolkata, Lalpur, Noida and Patna,  BITS Pilani's Goa and Hyderabad centres, besides ISM Dhanbad's centre in Kolkata and Bansathali University's Rajasthan campus, have also been termed unauthorised.

Barack Obama hails India's economic growth and focus on renewable energy
US president Barack Obama today hailed India's economic growth under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its focus on renewable energy. Making an intervention during a G20 Leaders Summit session, Obama said the Modi government's ambitious plans for scaling up the use of renewable energy combines a concern for environment and creates opportunity for furthering global growth through fresh investment in renewable energy.