A look at the headlines today:
1. In BSP's first list of 42 candidates for Delhi, MLA who was denied ticket by AAP finds place
MLA Narayan Dutt Sharma, who quit the AAP recently, will contest the February 8 Delhi Assembly election from his Badarpur constituency on a BSP ticket. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) announced its first list of 42 candidates. The party has decided to field its nominess in all 70 seats in Delhi. Another list is expected today. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) denied Sharma ticket this time and has fielded Ram Singh Netaji, a Congress leader and former MLA who joined the party recently. Ram Singh Netaji had won the Assembly elections in 2008 from Badarpur on a BSP ticket. The BSP won two seats in the 2008 elections. Of the 42 candidates fielded by the BSP on Saturday, eight belong to the Scheduled Castes.
2. Amid row over Saibaba's birthplace, bandh in Shirdi today
A bandh has been called at Shirdi in Maharashtra today over a controversy related to the birthplace of 19th century saint Saibaba, even as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would be holding talks to defuse the row. Local residents and leaders in Shirdi are demanding that Thackeray withdraw his official statement where he described Pathri in Parbhani district as Saibaba's birthplace. It was at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district where Saibaba, whose devotees cut across religious lines, spent much of his life. Bandh would be observed in surrounding villages too, sources in Shirdi said. But the grand Saibaba temple which is visited by lakhs of devotees every year would remain open, said Deepak Mugalikar, CEO of Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust. Former Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who is the local BJP MLA, said he supported the bandh call. The controversy began after chief minister Thackeray announced a grant of Rs 100 crore for development of facilities at "Sai janmasthan" (birthplace) at Pathri. Local residents and leaders in Shirdi took exception to the CM's announcement, saying the birthplace of the famed saint was not known, and Pathri can not make a claim to being his birthplace.
3. Delhi under National Security Act from today
Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has granted power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act, which will come into power from today. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated. The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG. It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
4. 17 new cases of mystery virus in China
China reported 17 new cases of the mysterious SARS-like virus on Sunday, including three in a severe condition, heightening fears ahead of China's Lunar New Year holiday when hundreds of millions of people move around the country. The virus—a new strain of coronavirus that humans can contract—has caused alarm because of its connection to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. Of the 17 new cases in the central city of Wuhan—believed to be the epicentre of the outbreak—three are described as "severe". The virus has now infected 62 people in Wuhan, city authorities said, with eight in a severe condition, 19 cured and discharged from hospital, and the rest remaining in isolation receiving treatment. Two people have died so far from the virus, including a 69-year-old man who died on Wednesday, with the disease causing pulmonary tuberculosis and damage to multiple organ functions. Authorities said they had begun "optimised" testing of pneumonia cases across the city to identify those infected with the virus, and would begin "detection work... towards suspected cases in the city" as a next step.
5. NSA Doval meets Sri Lankan Prez Rajapaksa, pledges USD 50 mn assistance from India
India pledged a $50 million assistance to Sri Lanka on Saturday as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval called on president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and discussed a range of bilateral issues, including strengthening cooperation in defence, intelligence sharing and maritime security. Doval arrived in Colombo on Saturday on an official visit during which he will also meet several foreign diplomats and discuss important issues of mutual interest. "A very cordial discussion was held with National Security Advisor of India, Ajit Doval today. Strengthening of bilateral cooperation on national security, intelligence sharing, maritime security & fostering of regional collaboration, were some of the key points of discussion," Rajapaksa said in a tweet. The President's office said Doval pledged that India will provide $50 million to Sri Lanka to help the country purchase equipment for its security forces. Doval has become the second highest ranking Indian official to visit Colombo after Rajapaksa assumed office in mid November.
6. Series at stake, India and Australia ready for showdown today
A coveted series-victory will be at stake when a resilient India face a feisty Australia in the third and deciding ODI today, promising a fitting finale between the two leading teams in world cricket. The series was very much expected to go down to the wire but with the way the Australians hammered the hosts in the series opener, it seemed the tourists would run away with their second straight series win in India. However, India showed commendable character in Rajkot to level the series, proving that the panic buttons were pressed prematurely following the 10-wicket loss in Mumbai. More importantly, India got their batting combination right for the second ODI, a fair comment considering the way K.L. Rahul seized the opportunity in his new batting position number five. With Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opening, team's best batsman and skipper Virat Kohli returned to his usual number three spot while Shreyas Iyer was back at number four. The same order is likely to be followed today.
7. Struggling Jamshedpur out to end Kerala juggernaut
A desperate Jamshedpur FC will eye nothing but a win as they host Kerala Blasters in a Hero Indian Super League clash today. Jamshedpur are winless in six games now and lost their last three games which has put them in a precarious position in the race for top-four. Anything less than a win against Kerala Blasters could virtually see the gap with the top four become insurmountable. While Jamshedpur are eighth on the table with 13 points, Kerala Blasters are a point ahead of them. The Men in Yellow will also be desperate for a victory. They have their tails up though, given they are coming into this game after back-to-back wins over Hyderabad FC and ATK. Jamshedpur FC were second on the table at one point in the season before the poor run of form. Much of that is down to the injuries to key players like Sergio Castel and Piti. Castel's goals have been sorely missed by Antonio Iriondo. No Jamshedpur player has, in fact, scored more than one goal this season apart from Castel.
-Inputs from PTI
