Monday 87 dead or missing in Gaza strike 21 Israeli strikes on homes in north Gaza Strip left at least 87 people dead or missing, the territory’s Health Ministry said October, 2024 The US is investigating how secret documents indicating Israel was moving military assets for a strike on Iran were leaked epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard d o l l a r -s ta r v e d maldives notifies new forex rules The new regulation limits types of transactions allowed in foreign currency and imposes mandatory forex controls on tourism establishments & banks Page 9 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Brinkmanship as Uddhav’s Sena, Cong bicker on 15 Both refuse to yield; grand old party looks to contest from more if push comes to shove S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai as early as Monday . “The party leadership told us While the BJP announced its that the Congress should prefirst list for 99 candidates for pare to contest 150 to 160 seats the assembly elections on Sun- as a contingency plan if push day, politics of brinkmanship comes to shove. We were ready played out in the Opposition for 110-120 seats; now we have Maha Vikas Aghadi between to expand our horizon and look the Congress and the Uddhav for potential candidates. We Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, par- have started tapping Congress ticularly over 15 seats in the Vi- aspirants from other constitudarbha region and elsewhere. encies to get a sense of their Since the Congress winning potential,” the has a better strike rate RJD may go leader said, requesting it alone in anonymity. in Vidarbha, it does not want to yield. But Ud- Jharkhand Another Congress dhav is equally stub- With the rift in leader claimed that the born and the dispute Uddhav Sena neither the ruling has reached Delhi. has presence in these INDIA bloc After the Congress’ widening over 15 seats nor does it have refusal, Uddhav called candidates, yet they are seat sharing, a meeting of his senior the RJD said it adamant about them. party leaders to weigh may go solo in “If the Uddhav Sena his options and decide eventually contests the assembly on the next steps. Earfrom these seats, all of polls in lier in the day, his son Jharkhand. The them would easily fall Aditya and Anil Parab party wants to into the ruling Mahaymet former Union min- contest 18-20 uti’s pocket. The Sena ister Sharad Pawar to seats but has (UBT) should underfind a middle ground to stand the gravity of the been offered resolve the situation. situation and back off,” just 4-5 | P7 A meeting of the he said. Congress election and screenHowever, a Sena (UBT) leader ing committee, scheduled in accused the Congress of being Delhi on Sunday got cancelled a habitual offender in not giv, due to the stalemate. But for the ing space to its allies. “It should impasse, the party was expect- learn lessons from the Haryana ed to announce its first list of debacle. We are expecting this candidates after the meeting. issue would be resolved soon in A senior Congress leader the larger interests of the from the state, who is in Delhi state,” he said. for the meeting, said they were Uddhav has also asked the advised not to return as the Congress not to stretch things next meeting could take place beyond the breaking point. P7 l New Delhi l J8.00 l PAGES 12 40 Lebanese army says 3 soldiers killed in Israeli strike others were wounded in the strikes on a Hamas target in the town of Beit Lahiya wool Blankets washed ‘once a month’: railways J o s e K J o s e p h @ Tiruchy How often does the Indian Railways wash the blankets provided to passengers paying for AC coach travel? In an RTI response to TNIE, the Ministry of Railways said the linen provided to passengers is washed after each use but the wool blankets are to be washed “at least once a month, preferably twice in a month, subject to available capacity and logistics arrangements”. TNIE spoke to around 20 housekeeping staff of various long-distance trains, most of whom said the blankets are only washed once a month. They are only washed more frequently if stained or smelly , many said. Asked if Indian Railways charges passengers for blankets, bedsheets and pillow covers, the Railways said in the RTI response, “It’s all part of the train fare package. Further, in trains like Garib Rath and Duronto, the bedroll (pillow, bed sheets, etc.) can be obtained by paying an additional amount for each kit after opting for the option of bedroll while booking the tickets.” The responses were filed by Rishu Gupta, section officer, Environment and Housekeeping Management (EnHM) of the Ministry of Railways. Housekeeping staff of vari- press clusive ous trains, including Duronto, shared the dirty truth of the Railways’ laundry “ . After every trip, we put the bedsheets and pillow covers (the linen) in bundles to give it to the laundry service. In the case of blankets, we fold them neatly and keep them in the coach. We send them for laundry service only if we there is a foul smell or notice some food on it,” a housekeeping staff said. Another housekeeping staff, who had worked on various trains for over 10 years, said there is no monitoring of the cleanliness of the blankets. He said, “There is no guarantee that the blankets are washed twice a month. In most cases, we would give the blankets for washing only if we noticed a foul smell, wetness, vomit, etc. Mysterious blast outside CRPF school in Delhi, multi-agency investigation on UJ W A L JA L A L I @ New Delhi A mysterious blast occurred near a CRPF school in Delhi’s Rohini area on Sunday morning, sparking a security alert in the national capital. The blast, which appeared to be triggered by a crude bomb, partially damaged the school’s wall and some cars parked nearby. Nobody was injured. Delhi Police personnel reached the spot soon after the explosion. The National Security Guard and National Investigation Agency also sent their teams to inspect the blast site. Investigators lifted fragments of some white powder from the spot, which indicated the use of a crude bomb having chemical mixture of ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride. “As of now, we don’t think any improvised explosive device was used as no metal-like substances, shrapnel, or ball bearings were found at the National Security Guard personnel inspect the blast site outside the CRPF school at Prashant Vihar in Rohini area of New Delhi on Sunday morning | Parveen Negi site,” a senior official told this newspaper. DCP (Rohini) Amit Goel said the police was alerted about the blast at 7.50 am. He said the police personnel who rushed to the spot reported foul smell emanating from the area. “The glasses of a nearby shop and some cars parked nearby were shattered. However, no one was injured,” the DCP said. A video of the incident, possibly recorded by some locals, showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from the blast site. “A multi-agency probe is on. I am keeping a constant watch on the progress of the investigation and assure that the guilty will be brought to book. I appeal to all to maintain restrain and not indulge in fear mongering,” Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said. Official sources said there was no intelligence input about any possible disruption. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi blamed the Centre for the blast. “The bomb blast exposes the deteriorating security situation in Delhi. The BJP-led Central government is responsible for law and order in the city However, they spend . their time obstructing the efforts of the elected Delhi government rather than fulfilling their responsibilities. This neglect has resulted in Delhi resembling the 1990s Mumbai underworld era, with shootings, extortion, and rising criminal confidence,” she said. P3 IMD: Severe cyclone ‘Dana’ to hit Odisha on October 23 90 and counting as 25 more Indian flights get hoax bomb threats j i t e n d r a c h o u b e y @ New Delhi S h e k h a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Over the next 48 hours, a severe cyclonic storm threatens to roar over the Bay of Bengal following the formation of a low pressure area over the Andaman Sea. Various current models suggest that the fall of the cyclonic storm would be at the coast of Odisha or adjoining West Bengal or it may recurve towards Bangladesh. The cyclone, named as ‘Dana’ by Oman, has started moving towards West-North in the Bay of Bengal and intensifying into a depression by October 22 morning and into a cyclonic storm by October 23 over East Central Bay of Bengal. India Meteorological Department’s all models suggest the Odisha coast would bear the brunt of the emerging Dana. The three Indian models IMD-GFS, NCMRWF’s NCUMG and INCOIS predict the weather system will intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by October 24 and make a landfall between Gopalpur and Jagatsinghpur in the morning hours of October 25. Under influence of the cyclogenesis, the IMD forecast very heavy rainfall over Andaman & Nicobar on October 20-21 and over Gangetic West Bengal on October 24-25 and isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Odisha on October 24-25. It has issued an advisory to fishermen not to venture into sea in the next five days. Those fishermen already out in the sea were told to return by October 21. Seer samman Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Kanchi Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal at an event to inaugurate the RJ Sankara Eye Hospital, in Varanasi on Sunday. Run by the Kanchi Math, the hospital aims to cater to the needs of people in 20 districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as those in the border areas of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh | PTI | P8 Kuno awaits more cubs as one of the cheetahs pregnant, may deliver soon a n u r a a g s i n g h @ Bhopal One of the African cheetahs introduced to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh is pregnant and is expected to deliver cubs soon, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav shared on micro-blogging social media platform X. “Happiness is coming to Kuno… A female cheetah (Veera) is soon going to give birth to cubs at the KNP. This news is a symbol of the great achievement of the Cheetah Project. The project started un- Hezbollah fires more than 170 rockets into Israel on Sunday der the leadership of PM Narendra Modi is proving to be continuously improving the ecological balance,” he wrote. In total, 17 cubs have been born to the Namibian and South African cheetahs on the Indian soil since their induction at KNP in September 2022. The inter-continental cheetah translocation project was devised seven decades after the animals were officially declared extinct in India due to excessive poaching. Among all the feline family cubs, cheetah cubs are said to have the lowest survival rate, with only 5 per cent of them reaching adulthood. Out of the 17 cubs born in India so far, 12 have survived, with the eldest of them being an 18-month female, Mukhi, which was abandoned by its Namibian mother, Siyaya, since its birth in March 2023. The KNP presently has 12 adults and 12 cubs — all of them housed in enclosures. The adult cheetahs will be released back into the free ranging forests of the Kuno National Park in phases, reportedly from end of this month. Kozhikode-Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Pune-Jodhpur, and Hoax bomb threats continued Goa-Ahmedabad sectors. to disrupt the aviation sector Akasa Air said six flights — for the seventh consecutive day Ahmedabad to Mumbai, Delhi on Sunday, grounding planes to Goa, Mumbai to Bagdogra, and unnerving passengers. Delhi to Hyderabad, Kochi to As many as 25 flights Mumbai and Lucknow across major carriers— to Mumbai — received IndiGo, Vistara, Air Insecurity alerts. “The dia and Akasa Air— Akasa Air Emergency were forced into Response teams were emergency security in touch with security measures after receivand regulatory authoriing hoax threats. Since ties,” said an airline X handle October 14, over 90 Inspokesperson. blocked dian flights have been Sources said six Air On Sunday, a af fected by similar India flights, too, faced handle on bomb scares. a similar situation social media Though these threats though its officials did turned out to be fake, platform X that not share the number. had issued the fallout is real: deThey, however, conlayed flights, disrupted bomb threats firmed that some flights schedules, and mount- to some flights were subject to security was blocked ing anxiety among pasthreats received on sosengers and airlines. cial media. “Following “We received security threats the laid down protocols, releon six of our flights,” a Vistara vant authorities were immedispokesperson said, listing major ately alerted, and all security international routes — Delhi to procedures strictly adhered to, Frankfurt, Singapore to Mum- as per guidance from the regubai, Bali to Delhi, Singapore to latory authorities and security Delhi, Singapore to Pune, and agencies,” said an official. Mumbai to Singapore. While the source of bomb Six of the affected IndiGo threats has largely been conflights included those on the fined to social media, their Delhi-Istanbul, Mumbai-Istan- growing number and frequency b u l , J e d d a h - M u m b a i , are a cause of concern. TOXIC air the story repeats. winter isn’t here yet, but air quality in city has already been hit Delhi, consistently ranked among the world’s most polluted cities, faces severe air quality challenges, especially during winter months. It’s time for the city to devise a longstanding solution | P4 In certain cases, we immediately ensure a clean blanket is provided if the passenger raises complaints.” A retired senior officer of EnHM opined that the Railways should discontinue the use of wool blankets. “The blankets are heavy and it is difficult to ensure they are properly washed. It is high time the Railways stopped using these blankets,” she said. According to the RTI response, Indian Railways has 46 departmental laundries and 25 BOOT laundries in the country . Terror strike Doc, 6 migrant workers shot dead in J&K’s Ganderbal dist F AYAZ W ANI @ Srinagar IN a major terror attack, militants on Sunday evening shot dead a local doctor, identified as Dr Shahnawaz, and six migrant labourers working in a key infrastructure project at Gagangir area of Sonmarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. Seven others were injured in the terror attack. Sources said the terrorists fired indiscriminately from close range at a group of workers at Gagangir area of Sonamarg. “They also fired on a vehicle carrying migrant workers,” sources said. The workers were part of a construction team working on key Z Morh tunnel, which connects Gaganeer to Sonamarg in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. Of the six workers who were killed, three were from Bihar, one from Madhya Pradesh, and one hailed from Jammu. One is yet to be identitied. Confirming the militant attack, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on X: “Very sad news of a dastardly & cowardly attack on non-local labourers. These people were working on a key infrastructure project... I strongly condemn this attack”. Home Minister Amit Shah termed the attack on civilians a despicable act of cowardice. “Those involved in this heinous act won’t be spared and will face the harshest response from our security forces,” he wrote on X. After the attack, a joint contingent of police, CRPF, and Army launched a combing operation to trace the militants. This is the second targeted attack on migrant workers after the Omar Abdullah government assumed charge in the UT. On Thursday, a Bihar native was shot dead in Shopian district. Express read RG Kar: Jr docs warns of resuming cease-work A day after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called a meeting on Monday to resolve the impasse over the RG Kar hospital rape-murder, the protesting junior doctors on Sunday said they would launch a cease-work along with senior doctors from Tuesday if their demands are not met. | P8 Bahraich: Plea in SC to stop demolition Three people allegedly involved in the October 13 Bahraich violence in UP have approached the Supreme Court seeking urgent relief against the demolition notices issued to them for Sunday. On October 18, the PWD pasted 23 backdated notices on their “10-70 years old” properties, it said. | P7
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