Daily Bulletin: Day-long bank strike today; Congress to revisit Mandsaur farmers' protest case; day's top stories

Bank strike today Services of state-owned banks are expected to be affected on Wednesday due to the call for a day-long, nationwide strike given by unions to protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda. This will be the second bank strike in less than a week. The strike is being organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella organisation of nine unions, including the All India Bank Officers Confederation, the All India Bank Employees’ Association, National Confederation of Bank Employees and the National Organisation of Bank Workers. The UFBU claims membership of 10 lakh officers and staffers. [caption id=“attachment_4852811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Venugopal holds meeting amid growing dissent among Karnataka Congress MLAs Amid continuing disgruntlement among miffed Congress ministerial aspirants, party general secretary in-charge of Karnataka KC Venugopal arrived in Bengaluru and took stock of the situation on Tuesday. He is expected to hold another round of talks with senior Congress leaders, including chairman of the coordination committee of Congress-JD(S) Siddaramaiah on Wednesday, a spokesperson said. On Tuesday, Venugopal held a meeting with senior leaders, including state Congress president Dinesh Gundurao and Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar, and discussed the developments. “Venugopal convened a meeting and took stock of the situation, regarding portfolios to be allotted to new ministers and discontentment among senior Congress MLAs, who were denied ministerial berths during latest cabinet expansion,” the spokesperson said. India vs Australia, 3rd Test at Melbourne, Day 1 India won the toss and opted to bat first in the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the visitors reaching 57/1 at lunch on the opening day. Debutant Mayank Agarwal was unbeaten on 34 at the end of the session, with Pujara on 10 for company. The four-match series is tied 1-1 at the moment, with the hosts having levelled the series with a 146-run victory at Perth. Follow LIVE updates on the day's play here. Congress to reopen Mandsaur farmers’ protest case Newly-inducted Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Jitu Patwari on Tuesday said the party will reopen the 2017 Mandsaur farmers’ protest case, which had claimed the lives of as many as six farmers. “We said before forming the government that people who fired at farmers shouldn’t be spared. People were killed but there’s no culprit, how is that possible? The investigation will be reopened,” the Congress leader said. Last year, Mandsaur witnessed a massive protest as farmers demanded loan waivers and better prices for their produce. The agitation led to the loss of lives of several farmers, drawing criticism from political parties. The situation forced the district officials to impose Section 144 in the region and restrict prominent personalities from visiting the violence-hit district. Toll in Indonesia tsunami rises to 429, 154 still missing The toll has mounted to 429 in the tsunami that hit the Sunda Strait beach in Indonesia on Saturday night. This figure is expected to rise as the search and rescue operation is underway and the teams continue to find bodies in the water, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho at a press conference on Tuesday, as quoted by the Jakarta Post. “The data will change, as the joint search team is scouring Pandeglang, Serang, South Lampung, Penawaran and Tenggamus [regencies],” Sutopo added. As many as 154 people are still missing after the tsunami hit the beach. One more Guatemalan child dies in US custody An 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died in government custody early Tuesday, US immigration authorities said, marking the second death of an immigrant child in detention this month. US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) said in a news release that the boy died shortly after midnight Tuesday. The boy showed “signs of potential illness” on Monday and was taken with his father to a hospital in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the agency said. There, he was diagnosed with a cold and a fever, was given prescriptions for amoxicillin and Ibuprofen and released Monday afternoon after being held 90 minutes for observation. The boy was returned to the hospital Monday evening with nausea and vomiting and died there just hours later, CBP said. The agency said the cause of the boy’s death has not been determined, and it has notified the US Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general and the Guatemalan government. The CBP has promised “an independent and thorough review of the circumstances”. Protests in Tunisia after journalist sets himself on fire Agitations erupted on Tuesday in Tunisia after the death of a journalist, who set himself on fire to protest economic problems in the North African nation, prompting clashes with police and nationwide concern. Journalist Abderrazak Zorgui posted a video online before his self-immolation in the struggling provincial city of Kasserine, describing his desperation and calling for revolt. He expressed frustration at unemployment and the unfulfilled promises of Tunisia’s 2011 Arab Spring revolution. Authorities said Zorgui died of his injuries on Monday soon after being taken to the hospital. His actions prompted a protest Monday night in Kasserine that degenerated into violence, with police firing tear gas to disperse protesters who blocked roads and threw stones at police. Interior Ministry spokesman Sofiane Zaag said Tuesday six police officers were injured and several people arrested in the protest. Honor View20 to be announced in China today The all-new flagship from Honor, the View20, is expected to be announced in Beijing on Wednesday. The phone will later be announced for global audiences on 22 January. The View20 will have an in-display hole for the front camera, which will have a diameter of 4.5 millimetres. The View20 rear camera will also sport the new 48 mega pixel Sony IMX586 sensor. Honor claims that the View20 will be the first smartphone to sport this 48 mega pixel camera. The phone will also have a new technology called Link Turbo, which basically switches from WiFi to mobile data or vice versa, depending on which mode has higher data speed. Link Turbo is also said to give faster LTE speeds and reduce lag. With inputs from agencies