Morning Digest: Israel launches retaliatory strikes on military targets in Iran; Report finds 84.8 lakh workers registered under MGNREGS ‘deleted’, and more

The Hindu Morning Digest gives a select list of stories to start the day. Read the top news today on October 26, 2024

Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday (October 26, 2024) targeting what it described as military targets in Iran in retaliation for a ballistic missile assault on October 1, officials said. There was no immediate information on damage in the Islamic Republic. Israel’s military described the attack as “precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” without immediately elaborating.

Between April and September this year, as per a study released by Lib Tech, a consortium of academics and activists, 84.8 lakh workers registered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) found their names deleted from the programme. At the same time, 45.4 lakh new workers have been added, with net deletion of workers standing at 39.3 lakh. 

Chinese hackers tapped into Verizon’s system targeted phones used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, the New York Times reported on Friday (October 25, 2024), citing people familiar with the matter. The newspaper said investigators were working to determine what communications, if any, were taken.

Days after South Block announced a breakthrough in Indo-Chinese border talks, and as the disengagement process begins at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), doubts about the agreement have started to sprout up. Questions are being asked about whether the “buffer zones” set up in eastern Ladakh will be abolished, with experts and former diplomats calling for full “transparency” on the contours of the resolution.

India and China will undertake “coordinated patrolling” in Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh to avoid face-offs, as disengagement in both the areas was expected to be completed by October 29, Army sources said. They added that the patrols were set to resume by the “month-end”. As per an official source, it was agreed that Chinese patrols will be allowed in Yangste, Arunachal Pradesh “as before and not be blocked”.

Severe cyclonic storm Dana spared Odisha on Friday (October 25, 2024), crossing the coast in Kendrapara district with a much-weakened intensity. The destruction was significantly less than feared. In West Bengal, heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds lashed Kolkata and the adjoining southern districts. One person died at Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas district.

Over 40 students were admitted to hospitals on Friday following a gas leak at the laboratory in a school in Tiruvottiyur. Officials are yet to identify the cause of the leak. According to the police, the leak occurred in the chemistry laboratory of Victory Matriculation Higher Secondary School. As students in a few classrooms were exposed to the gas, parents and relatives gathered on the premises.