Good morning! ‘Look up at the sky and when you see a cloud, think of me’ – this is what Yoko Ono would write to a lovestruck John Lennon in 1968, then staying at an ashram in Rishikesh. Years later, her words would be immortalised in a meditation hut of the now-abandoned Chaurasi Kutiya. John and Yoko's love story epitomises the idea of 'all you need is love', and now, the ashram where The Beatles stayed is set to get some love, with the Uttarakhand government's plans for its renovation. With that, let’s move on to today’s edition: 🚨Big Story The coastal regions in Odisha and West Bengal woke up to heavy rains and gusty winds early on Friday as severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ continues its landfall process along the Odisha-Bengal coasts overnight. Eye of the storm: Dana tore through the North Odisha coast close to Habalikhati Nature Camp and Dhamra during the early hours today. Now, the storm is likely to move west-northwestwards and weaken into a cyclonic storm by forenoon. On ground: No major damages or casualties have been reported so far, but train and flight operations in both the states remain suspended. Anxious evacuees, busy officials: In light of the storm, both state machineries have jumped into action, with Odisha having evacuated nearly 1 million people and West Bengal over 2.82 lakh. In Odisha: Generally deserted throughout the year, Odisha’s multipurpose cyclone shelters were packed with people on Thursday, including children, who were evacuated from various low-lying and vulnerable areas of the state. And Bengal: In a shelter camp at Ramnagar Block of Purba Medinipur district, people had only one question on their minds and lips — “Will our homes be still standing when we return?” Catch the latest updates on indianexpress.com, where we trace the storm and its impact, live. ⚡Only in Express 'Not just another BRICS in the wall' In our Opinion pages today, Sanjay Bhattacharyya reflects on the success of the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, and how the bloc has become a magnet for other countries. 📰 From the Front Page Security in the Valley: After back-to-back attacks in Kashmir last week, two soldiers and two civilian porters working with the Army were killed in another terrorist strike near the Line of Control in Kashmir’s Gulmarg sector on Thursday. The Army confirmed the exchange of fire but said that “details are being ascertained”. This marks the fourth militant attack in the Valley this week. India gets new Chief Justice: Justice Sanjiv Khanna is the 51st Chief Justice of India. He was appointed by President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday and is likely to take oath on November 11, succeeding CJI D Y Chandrachud. Justice Khanna carries an illustrious surname in the legal circles with both his father and grandfather having held high-level positions. This is his first big administrative role as a judge, however, he will have a relatively short tenure of just six months as he is due to retire on March 13, 2025. “Agreements, once reached…”: Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS outreach, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed the need to “respect” border agreements. He also said “disputes and differences must be settled by dialogue and diplomacy”. This came in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping as Delhi took note of the absence of any reference in Beijing’s statements to their agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Road to agreement: The agreement, as per India’s announcement, is expected to set things motion towards disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in eastern Ladakh in 2020 – the process ultimately leading to normalisation. However, Indian strategic circles are cautious about the next steps. 📌Must Read ‘Charged global atmosphere’: Three seminars at Jawaharlal Nehru University on the ongoing conflict in West Asia, which were to be addressed separately by the Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanese Ambassadors to India, have been cancelled due to “unavoidable circumstances”. While the Embassies said they were unaware of the reasons for the university’s decision, a university source told The Indian Express that there were “concerns about how the campus might react”. The winner from behind: The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has worked out a compromise formula for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls. With each of the three allies getting 85 seats, it is the NCP(SP) led by Sharad Pawar that appears to have stolen a march in the game of one-upmanship between the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). NCP(SP) which was believed to be angling for about 70-75 seats carries extra seats in the kitty, thanks to the touch of chief Sharad Pawar’s political heft and his negotiation skills. ⏳And Finally… Taller, right-handed version of Jadeja: Washington Sundar’s 7/59 proved to be Team India’s secret weapon with the ball on Day 1 of the Test against New Zealand in Pune. He said: “It was God’s plan”. But he did not just turn things around for it to be a dream day for him – from the anonymity of domestic cricket to potentially a series-saving spell. The 25-year-old also brewed fire on the field, on a day that otherwise seemed like a page torn off the classical cricketing manual. 🎧 In today’s episode of our 3 Things podcast, we cover an interesting mix of topics for you: From discussing the top court’s verdict on Section 6A of the Citizenship Amendment Act and its implications on broader citizenship issues to decoding why India might win significantly fewer medals in the next edition of the Commonwealth Games. We also trace a new trend in stubble burning data and how much it impacts New Delhi’s air quality. That’s all for today. Until tomorrow Ayesha Jain and Vibha B Madhava
