A look at the headlines today:
1. Day after attacks, JNU becomes rallying cry for pan-India student protests
With no arrests yet in the apparently planned attack on students and teachers at the Jawarharlal Nehru University, protests were held across India and the clamour grew for the resignation of the vice chancellor who is being blamed for inaction during the violence that left 34 people injured. As horrific first-person accounts emerged of the attack on Sunday evening, including on JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh, Delhi Police said that they have transferred the case to the Crime Branch, which claimed to have found "vital clues". Politicians of all parties condemned the violence. The opposition and JNU students blamed the ABVP, the students' wing of the BJP for the violence, and accused the Delhi Police of inaction. The BJP said campuses should not become political battleground. On Sunday, a mob of masked young people stormed the JNU campus in south Delhi and systematically targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings. They also attacked a women's hostel.
2. Court to take up Bhim Army chief's petition for medical treatment
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, arrested in connection with violence in old Delhi's Daryaganj area, had moved a court through his lawyer seeking a direction to the jail authorities to provide him treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital. It is likely to be taken up for hearing today. The application claimed that Azad was suffering from polycythemia, a disease of blood thickness, and "requires continuous checkup from the doctors concerned from AIIMS, who are supervising his treatment for a long time". If the treatment was not provided urgently to Azad, it might lead to cardiac arrest, the application moved through advocate Mehmood Pracha said. It is likely to be taken up for hearing. The plea sought a direction to the jail authorities or the Delhi government to provide medical treatment to Azad. The Bhim Army chief was sent to judicial custody on December 21 by a Delhi court.
3. Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to meet industrialists with a goal of $1 trillion economy
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will meet captains of the industry today to get their "inputs and expectations" to make the state's economy reach the $1 trillion (Rs 72 lakh crore at current exchange rate) mark in the next few years. This will be the first such meeting that Thackeray will hold with top industrialists since assuming office on November 28, an official said. "The chief minister will be focusing on pending issues of companies and their expectations from the government. If the state's economy has to reach the USD one trillion mark, inputs and expectations of industries are valuable. Hence, the CM has called this meeting," the official said. The size of the state's economy is a little over USD 400 billion currently.
4. US troops won't pull out from Iraq; message a 'mistake'
The US military told the Iraqi government American troops were preparing to pull out of the country, but a top US general in Washington said the message was sent by "mistake". It came after a deadly American drone strike on Baghdad on Friday that killed senior Iranian and Iraqi military commanders, sparking fury in both countries with Tehran vowing "revenge". The head of the US military's Task Force Iraq, Brigadier General William Seely, informed his Iraqi counterparts in a letter dated Sunday that troops were preparing to leave. "We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure," said the letter, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by both Iraqi and US defence officials. Seely said the US-led coalition would "be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks". "In order to conduct this task, Coalition Forces are required to take certain measures to ensure that the movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner," said the letter. It said helicopters would be travelling in and around Baghdad's Green Zone where the US embassy is located as part of the preparations. AFP could hear helicopters flying low over Baghdad throughout the night.
5. Pentagon contradicts Trump; says won't hit Iranian cultural sites
The Pentagon distanced itself from President Donald Trump's assertions that he would bomb Iranian cultural sites despite international prohibitions on such attacks. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the US will follow the laws of armed conflict. When asked if that ruled out targeting cultural sites, Esper said pointedly, That's the laws of armed conflict. The split between the president and his Pentagon chief came amid heightened tensions with Tehran following a US drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force. Trump had twice warned that he would hit Iranian cultural sites if Tehran retaliates against the US. Esper's public comments reflected the private concerns of other defense and military officials, who cited legal prohibitions on attacks on civilian, cultural and religious sites, except under certain, threatening circumstances. Trump first raised the prospect of targeting cultural sites in a tweet on Saturday and reiterated that view to reporters the next day.
6. Second T20I: India has upper hand against Sri Lanka at Holkar Stadium
Team India has an enviable record at the Holkar Stadium, where it will be playing the second T20 International match against Sri Lanka today, as the hosts have remained unbeaten across all formats at the venue since 2006. Given that the 27,000-capacity Holkar Stadium in the city has been a happy hunting ground for India, the hosts will be favourites when they take on their Asian rival. The stadium has hosted two Tests, a T20 international and 5 ODIs since 2006 and India have emerged victorious on all the eight occasions. Coincidently, the first T20I at the Holkar Stadium was played between India and Sri Lanka on December 22, 2017 and the Men in Blue had thrashed the visitors by 88 runs. Before the Holkar Stadium was built, cricket matches used to take place at the city's Nehru Stadium. In 1997, Sri Lanka had played against India at the Nehru Stadium, but the match was abandoned after the visitors had complained about the quality of the pitch.
