Morning Digest: Heavy rain hits 17 Odisha districts amid Cyclone Arnab; 64.5 lakh voters potentially missing from Karnataka rolls, most young, and more

A worker uses a hand saw to clear a tree that fell and blocked a road due to strong winds and rain triggered by Cyclone Arnab, in Bhubaneswar. | Photo Credit: ANI Cyclone Arnab: 17 Odisha districts affected by heavy rain, Gajapati worst hitChief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) said 17 districts of Odisha had been affected by heavy rainfall triggered by severe cyclonic storm Arnab, which crossed the Andhra Pradesh coast early in the day. The State government is prepared to deal with any eventuality, as the cyclonic system is expected to bring heavy rainfall until the morning of October 29 before weakening.Karnataka SIR: 64.5 lakh voters potentially missing in rolls, majority of them youngAround 64.5 lakh electors are potentially missing from the final electoral rolls of Karnataka released after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise on Tuesday (October 27, 2026), based on the Elector-to-Population (E-to-P) ratio of 66.11 released by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).Cockroach Janta Party backs INDIA bloc’s November 1 rallyThe Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Wednesday (October 28, 2026), extended its support to the INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally against the irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, reiterating its demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.Railways to turn off charging points in trains during nightTrain passengers will no longer be allowed to keep their mobile phones charging overnight, with the Railway Board issuing strict instructions to all zonal railways to switch off charging points between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.Jamia stir: two NSUI members detained; exams moved onlineDelhi Police on Wednesday detained two members of the National Students’ Union of India from outside the Jamia Millia Islamia campus, where public assembly has been banned under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. The police action comes amid an ongoing hunger strike by students demanding the restoration of their students’ union, which was dissolved in 2006.Bihar MLC polls: Upper caste candidates dominate election resultsOut of eight State legislative Council seats which had gone to poll on October 23, 2026 and final results of them which were scheduled to be announced on October 27, some are new faces with upper caste dominating the poll on six seats while, the Backward caste and Extremely backward caste candidates won one seat each respectively from Kosi and Tirhut Graduate constituencies.Tiger Shroff firing case: 11 accused re-arrested under MCOCA after court grants permissionAll 11 accused arrested in connection with the firing on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff’s car were re-arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Wednesday (October 28, 2026), after a special court in Mumbai granted permission to the Crime Branch to proceed under the stringent law.All 17 escapees from Theni district jail apprehended in less than 40 hours: IGP South ZoneWith the arrest of all 17 remand prisoners who escaped from the Theni district jail, the combing operation concluded successfully on Wednesday (October 28, 2026). On Monday night (October 26, 2026), the remand prisoners claimed that one of the inmates suffered epileptic seizures and required assistance. When a jail warder opened the cell, they overpowered him and escaped.U.S. Fed holds interest rates steady despite surging inflationThe US Federal Reserve on Wednesday (October 28, 2026) held interest rates steady, in line with market expectations, days ahead of crucial midterm elections where surging inflation has been a key issue.Pioneering U.S. labour leader Dolores Huerta dies at 96Dolores Huerta, the U.S. labour leader and civil rights icon whose union work changed the lives of migrant workers, has died, her family said Wednesday (October 28, 2026). She was 96. For nearly four decades, Huerta was vice president of United Farm Workers, the union she founded with Cesar Chavez, organising strikes and walkouts that won improvements in working conditions for the millions of men and women who labour in U.S. fields. Published - October 29, 2026 06:47 am IST