Good morning! In today’s edition: What’s happening in the other half of Palestine; Mumbai’s air pollution crisis; ground report from MP’s Chambal; and more 🚨 Israel-Hamas War Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday to convey condolences over the loss of civilian lives at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. This was their first phone conversation since the ongoing Israel-Hamas war started on October 7. Modi also reiterated India’s “long-standing principled position on the Israel-Palestine issue”. Find out more here “The situation is going to be bad… politically, economically, even travel between Israel and Palestine… fearing the worst, people have already started stocking up on food.” In his latest dispatch from Ramallah, The Indian Express’s Diplomatic Affairs Editor Shubhajit Roy describes how the Israeli strikes on Gaza have impacted the people of West Bank, the other half of Palestine. “We hope India will play a positive role with people who are working hard for a ceasefire. But the (attitude of) Indian people in general — what we notice from social media — has changed from the time this conflict started on October 7.” Palestinian Ambassador to India, Adnan Abu Alhaija, discussed India’s role in the ongoing conflict, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and more, in an interview with The Indian Express. ⚡ Only in Express Diwali is a full three weeks and winter is two months away but Mumbai is already holding its breath — bracing for the choking winter that lies ahead. In a new series starting today, we take a long, hard look at the pollution crisis in India’s financial capital, and why no one seems to be listening to the alarm bells. With major and minor infrastructure projects taking over the city, we explain why construction dust is lethal for all, and why kids are particularly vulnerable. We also visited construction sites in several neighbourhoods that have registered high AQI this past week. Check out our ground report 📰 From the Front page A year after the public flogging of Muslim men who had been detained for allegedly attacking a garba event in Kheda district, a division bench of the Gujarat High Court sentenced four of the accused police personnel to 14 days in jail and a fine of Rs 2,000 each. The bench also called the public flogging “inhumane” and an “act against humanity”. The Centre rolled out an ‘import management system’ for IT hardware, including laptops and computers, modifying its initial stance of imposing physical restrictions. The notification comes just days after concerns were raised by the US, China, South Korea and Taiwan. Read more In the latest turn of events in the cash-for-query allegations involving TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Darshan Hiranandani, CEO of the Hiranandani Group, has told the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee that she provided him her Parliament login and password so that he could “post the questions” directly “on her behalf when required”. How did Moitra respond to this claim? Find out here 👩💻 Must read There is a strong yearning for “badlaav” in Madhya Pradesh, and the BJP might not be able to offer that by just changing its CM, who remains “not unpopular.” The steep mud hillocks of the Gwalior-Chambal region criss-crossed with deep gullies reflect the treacherous territory in which the BJP finds itself in the state. Read why amidst the ‘change call,’ CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is turning out to be the BJP’s biggest asset as well as its greatest liability in the region. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has time and again proved that, for him, offence is the best form of defence. Rajasthan remains the only poll-bound state where the Congress has failed to declare any names so far. As he battles detractors within and outside the party, the septuagenarian CM signalled that it would be a mistake to rule him out of the CM race, claiming that while he “wants to leave the top post”, “the post was not leaving me and may not do so in the future.” ISRO will carry out the first of a series of tests of systems and procedures on Saturday with the aim to ultimately launch an Indian astronaut into space, perhaps in 2025. The Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) will demonstrate the performance of the Crew Escape System of the Gaganyaan project. What is the first test on Gaganyaan journey? We explain. In our opinion section today, Indian Express’ veteran cartoonist E P Unny weighs in on the Guardian sacking its longtime staff cartoonist Steve Bell for his drawing of Benjamin Netanyahu: “Bell’s body of work spanning 40 years is very much part of The Guardian’s legacy. The newspaper was as much a beneficiary as the cartoonist. Bell drew blood for sure but then that was part of a robust editorial tradition. Post-colonial British press has sent out a sad message: Veteran Bell is only as good as his last cartoon. Was Don Bradman only as good as his last innings?” ⌛ And finally Two years ago, Lieutenant Eidi Mohammad Amani marched in the drill square of Indian Military Academy Dehradun and passed out as an officer in the Afghan Army. Today, he is eking out a living by doing bit roles of British Army officers in Hindi movies. Amani is one among the many Afghan Army officers who trained in India before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Unwilling to return home, he has no permanent job and does odd jobs for a living. Read more about his journey here. Delhi Confidential: As part of a convention, every SC judge on the day of their retirement sits in court number 1 with the Chief Justice of India. However, the ‘ceremonial bench’ for Justice Ravindra Bhat, who is set to retire on Friday, will sit in court number 2 as the CJI is not available on the day. Justice Bhat will be part of an unusual four-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, on his last working day. In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, Indian Express’ Anand Mohan talks about the Ladli Behna scheme by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh and what it means for the women in the state. Until next time, Arushi Bhaskar and Gargi Nandwana
