Morning Digest: Stopped from going to Delhi, farmers block Jaipur highway; pandemic, poverty spur child marriages in M.P., and more

A select list of stories to read before you start your day

More farmers joined the ongoing protest at Singhu border in New Delhi on December 13, 2020.

Dilli Chalo | Stopped from going to Delhi, farmers block Jaipur highway

Hundreds of farmers from Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and several other States, including Maharashtra and Gujarat, staged a sit-in on the the Delhi-Jaipur Highway blocking the carriageway towards the national Capital after they were stopped by the Haryana Police at the border with Rajasthan on December 13.

Pandemic, poverty spur child marriages in M.P.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have proved to be new drivers of child marriages in rural Madhya Pradesh with several reports of such ceremonies from different parts of the State during the ongoing marriage season.

Dilli Chalo | Agriculture Minister meets Home Minister as farmers stir continues

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar met Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday amid the farmers’ protests against the Centre’s

three agriculture laws , officials said. Mr. Tomar was accompanied by Som Parkash.

RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch alleges ‘nexus’ in retail trade

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on December 13 demanded that the government not allow a “nexus” of multinational companies and large Indian business houses such as Reliance Industries to dominate the retail industry in the country as it would lead to the exploitation of farmers, 

kirana  store owners, wholesalers and even consumers.

Wife of arrested Muslim man did not have a miscarriage, claim U.P. officials

A 22-year-old Hindu woman whose alleged husband, a Muslim man, was arrested by the Moradabad police last week under the new unlawful conversion ordinance , was admitted to a hospital after complaining of abdomen pain, but was discharged on Sunday, an official said.

Bengaluru iPhone factory violence | Wistron assesses damage at ₹437 crore

The total loss incurred by Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India) after thousands of workers  ransacked its iPhone manufacturing factory  at Narasapura industrial area, near here, on Saturday is estimated at ₹437.70 crore.

Rajinikanth’s entry will not split BJP’s votes, says party’s Tamil Nadu chief

A week after concluding the month-long ‘Vetrivel Yatra’, State BJP president L. Murugan insists that the religious-political roadshow was a success. In an interview, he disagrees that actor Rajinikanth’s proposed political entry will affect the national party.

IRCTC sends nearly 2 crore emails in 5 days flagging Narendra Modi’s relationship with Sikhs

IRCTC sent out nearly 2 crore emails between December 8 and December 12 to its customers listing 13 decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support the Sikh community, amidst farmers’ protest against the Centre’s three farm laws .

Modi-Hasina summit to highlight infrastructure, connectivity projects

Connectivity projects including the resurrection of the 12-km Chilahati-Haldibari rail link after 55 years will be highlighted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hold a virtual bilateral summit on December 17, officials in Dhaka and Delhi said.

Coronavirus | Vaccine literacy key to creating public trust, say experts

With a COVID-19 vaccine now seemingly just round the corner in India, vaccine literacy, and not publicity blitz about emergence of one or more vaccines, is essential to build public trust in the vaccine, say health experts. They add that this should be supplemented with aggressive testing and tracing strategies until public trust on a vaccine is sufficiently built to keep a steady check on the infection numbers and to test the efficacy of vaccines.

26/ 11 Mumbai terror attacks | U.S. court rejects bail plea of Tahawwur Rana

A U.S. court has rejected the bail plea of  Tahawwur Rana , key accused in the  26/11 Mumbai terror attack  lodged in a Los Angeles prison, who awaits extradition to India.

400 students missing after attack on Nigerian school

Hundreds of Nigerian students are missing after gunmen attacked a secondary school in the country’s northwestern Katsina State, police have confirmed.

Verstappen drives to a lights-to-flag win

Max Verstappen won the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP from pole position for Red Bull on Sunday. Mercedes completed the podium places in a processional race with Valtteri Bottas second and seven-time World champion Lewis Hamilton third.