IIt is quite a tradition for the Bengali imagination to create catchy limerick-like slogans rhyming native words with English. But the latest one that is flooding social media timelines is going to stick around for a long time – even in its cheery goofiness, it has given rise to an entire zeitgeist, at least within the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). “Akasheya batase positive energy / Naam ta mone achhe na: Abhishek Banerjee,” it goes. Yes, the air seems filled with positive energy, and party loyalists owe a lot of it to Mamata Banerjee’s 37-year-old nephew, the anointed successor. Generally cool with the media, he becomes very sharp when he allows himself to speak occasionally, and uses sharp sarcasm when speaking from the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha, where he now faces a young and very audible TMC contingent. He also knows how to keep an aura around himself. The glamor of a scion is not inherited for free, but the aura of hard-earned authority of a man who fought and won in the toxic dust-filled battlefields of Bengal. He says that some of them were also internal to TMC.

More than just a race, the event represents the growing running culture across the capital. Participants from different age groups and professions, students, corporate professionals, families and experienced runners, come together with a common goal: to run, challenge themselves and celebrate an active lifestyle. With structured race categories designed for both beginners and experienced runners, the marathon ensures everyone has a place at the starting line.

A marathon was created for every runner

One of the defining features of the Times Internet Delhi Half Marathon is its inclusive structure. The event, scheduled for March 29, 2026, offers four race categories, making participation accessible regardless of experience level. register now.The main event is the 21.1K Half Marathon, a timed race designed for serious runners who have trained for endurance and long-distance performance. Completing a half marathon requires preparation, discipline, and mental resilience, making it the ultimate challenge for many participants.For runners looking for a competitive but slightly shorter challenge, the 10K Timed Run offers a perfect middle ground. It allows participants to test their speed and stamina while experiencing the excitement of race-day competition.The 5K Timed Run opens the event to those who are new to structured running but still want to experience the thrill of a professionally managed race. It has become one of the most popular categories for young runners and individuals starting their fitness journey.Finally, the 2K Fun Run is designed for beginners, families, and children. This category turns the marathon into a community event where participation and enjoyment are prioritized over competition.Together, these categories ensure that the marathon remains accessible to everyone from first-time runners to experienced athletes.

race day energy

As the first light spreads across Delhi, runners gather at the stadium, tying their shoe laces, adjusting race bibs, and warming up with thousands of fellow participants. The atmosphere combines excitement with anticipation.Professional race management, clearly timed categories, and organized on-ground support helps create a seamless race experience for participants. This structure allows runners to focus solely on their performance while enjoying the sense of community that comes with large sporting events.As the race begins, the streets of the city become a shared stage of determination and celebration. Runners pace themselves through the course, while supporters, volunteers and fellow participants contribute to the electric atmosphere that defines marathon events.

more than just a race

Times Internet Delhi Half Marathon reflects a sea change in fitness culture in urban India. In recent years, structured running programs have grown rapidly, encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles and participate in community fitness activities.For many participants, the journey begins long before race day. Registering for a marathon often becomes the motivation needed to create a routine around running, training, and personal fitness goals. From morning runs to weekend training sessions, the preparation process becomes part of everyday life.Events like Delhi Half Marathon provide the platform that transforms individual fitness goals into shared experiences. By bringing together thousands of runners in a professionally organized environment, the event reinforces the idea that fitness is not just an individual endeavor, it is a collective movement.On March 29, 2026, the streets of Delhi will once again be filled with runners, each step representing commitment, grit and the shared spirit of the city. Registrations are openChoose your race category and reserve your place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75 on September 17, exactly a year into his historic third consecutive term – a feat unmatched since the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. India Today takes a look at the making of ‘Brand Modi’, one of the defining political stories of contemporary India

New Delhi: Air India Express’ Boeing 737 Max aircraft carrying 138 people had to make a hard landing in Phuket on Wednesday. The plane, which had taken off from Hyderabad, reportedly bounced once after hard landing and then on second contact with the runway, with both the nose wheels separating. It then got stuck on the runway and the airport was closed to flights until its only runway became available again after necessary checks.Fortunately no one on board the plane was injured. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is in touch with Thai aviation authorities. The plane has been grounded and the airline will send its engineers to repair it. “The aircraft (VT-BWQ) operating Flight IX 938 (Hyderabad-Phuket) was involved in a suspected hard landing with bounce while landing on Runway 09, Phuket. Passengers were deboarded on the runway and taken to the terminal building. The aircraft was towed to the bay. On March 8, 2026, both nose wheels were replaced as routine maintenance. Investigation followed by consultation with Thailand Aviation Investigation Authorities The incident will be handled by the appropriate authority, Thailand being the state,” said a senior DGCA official.An AI Express spokesperson said: “We confirm that our Hyderabad-Phuket flight on March 11 experienced an issue with the nose wheel at Phuket Airport. The crew followed all standard protocols, and guests were deplaned. We thank our guests, Phuket airport authorities and all stakeholders for their cooperation.” The flight with 132 passengers and six crew members had taken off from Hyderabad at 6.23 am and landed at 11.25 am (all times local). A senior B737 captain said: “This is clearly a case of hard landing, with damage to the nose wheel on the second touch down. The best thing would have been for the plane to take off again after bouncing. However only investigation can reveal what really happened. It is also possible that there is a problem with the front wheel of the aircraft. The pilots must have tried their best to make a safe landing.”Experienced pilots say Phuket’s runways have a pronounced slope followed by a downward slope, which can lead to a “winding effect”. Flare perception is the visual and sensory process of sensing altitude, speed, and rate of closure, usually within 15–30 feet of the ground, for a smooth, near-zero vertical speed transition from a descending approach to touchdown. This involves shifting focus from the end of the runway to the sides to use peripheral vision to sense altitude and “ground rush”. One pilot said, “Phuket is a difficult place to land if the winds are strong and thermal on a hot afternoon, which they usually are.”

heyOn the afternoon of September 29, as families flocked to packed Durga Puja pandals in Patna, election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor presented a different kind of scene. Calling a press conference, he waved a dossier in front of journalists making fresh allegations against some senior leaders of the ruling Janata Dal (United)-BJP government in Bihar. Kishor’s target was five senior figures: veteran JD(U) minister Ashok Chaudhary, and deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary, health minister Mangal Pandey, state unit chief Dilip Jaiswal and BJP West Champaran MP Sanjay Jaiswal. Each allegation, new and old, was accompanied by its own set of legal notices, threats of lawsuits and pledges to publish more documents so that the dispute quickly became both a legal contest and a media spectacle.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the campaign for the upcoming Kerala elections from Kochi and said the people of the state are now ready to move on from the long-standing dominance of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), asserting that the BJP’s recent electoral surge in the state is indicative of a broader political shift.PM Modi also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi and said that the ‘prince’ of Congress does not know the youth and many companies in India and Kerala are into drone manufacturing.He said, “The people of Kerala have seen that the Congress prince is unaware of the remarkable achievements of India’s youth in drone manufacturing. The Congress leaders are unaware that many companies are manufacturing drones in India.”Addressing a large public gathering in Ernakulam, Kochi, the Prime Minister cited the BJP’s victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat and Thiruvananthapuram civic polls as evidence of the party’s expansion in the state.PM Modi said, “I am happy that the people of Kerala have now decided to free themselves from the vicious cycle of LDF and UDF. This confidence is clearly visible in this huge gathering.”Beginning his speech by greeting the audience in Malayalam, the Prime Minister referred to the state widely referred to as “Keralam”, calling it a tribute to the heritage of the Malayalam language.“It was your heartfelt call that Kerala should be known as Keralam. I am proud that now the entire country and the world is calling this great state as Keralam.” I am also proud that this historic work has been completed by the BJP-NDA government. It is a tribute to the wonderful heritage of Malayalam,” he said.PM Modi urged voters in the state to break the traditional cycle of alternating governments between the LDF and UDF and give the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a chance to govern.“It is important to break the LDF-UDF pattern of government and give the BJP-led NDA a chance to serve you for the next five years. You have Modi’s guarantee,” the Prime Minister said.The comments come as the BJP looks to expand its political presence in Kerala, a state historically dominated by Left and Congress-led alliances. Party leaders are projecting the recent electoral successes as a sign of growing support for the BJP in the southern state.

PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday sharply criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioned his silence in the case of a US official. repeated The United States has temporarily “allowed” India to buy Russian oil.In a post on Twitter, the opposition party highlighted comments by White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt, who called India a “good actor” while using the word “permission”. The Congress asked, “Why is the Government of India not objecting to this blatant insult to our sovereignty and dignity? Instead of protecting India’s honour, Prime Minister Modi clearly prefers to remain silent.”

The party sought answers from the BJP-led government and alleged that PM Modi’s silence was tantamount to tacit acceptance. The Congress said, “So the country should ask: What are they afraid of? Why are India’s decisions being decided from outside? Why is Narendra Modi being blackmailed by the United States? The people of India deserve answers. Because India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised.”Read this also India once rejected pressure to buy Russian oil. So why did it need an American ‘concession’ now?Levitt said during a media briefing on Tuesday that Washington has given New Delhi “permission” to temporarily buy Russian oil to address disruptions in global energy supplies amid the Middle East conflict. He stressed that India has been a “good actor” by stopping purchases of previously approved Russian oil and that the measure would not yield significant financial benefits to Russia.“I have spoken to the President and the Secretary of the Treasury, and the national security team has made this decision because our allies like India have been good actors. As we work to address the temporary global oil supply gap caused by the Iranians, we have temporarily allowed India to accept Russian oil,” Leavitt told reporters.Read this also ‘Mind your own business’: Kamal Haasan’s sharp message to Trump on India’s oil policyHis comments come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following the assassination of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint US-Israel strikes on February 28. In retaliation, Iran targeted Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries. Several senior Iranian officials were also killed in the attacks.On March 5, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant announced a 30-day waiver, allowing New Delhi to buy Russian crude.Last year, US President Donald Trump had imposed 50% tariffs on India, including 25% on Russian oil imports. Washington had alleged that New Delhi’s purchases were “funding Putin’s war machine” in Ukraine.In February, India and the US announced a delayed bilateral trade agreement, under which US tariffs on India were reduced to 18%. Later that month, the US Supreme Court, through a majority decision, invalidated Trump’s tariffs, prompting both countries to postpone further trade negotiations.

TeaHe expressed concern that the combined forces of climate change and human action could spell disaster for the fragile ecosystem of North Bengal, a point that had been raised in recent years but ignored. This proved costly, as a massive disaster struck this region of mountains, lush foothills (the Dooars) and alluvial plains with fast-flowing streams on 5–6 October. More than 300 mm of rainfall in 12 hours caused hundreds of landslides in Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts. Rivers burst their banks, roads were blocked, villages were cut off or destroyed. Adding to the human suffering list, more than 40 people have died, while 10,000 people are taking shelter in relief camps. “Out of the 32 cattle I have, 22 have either died or been lost. In our tea garden, at least 70 families are affected,” says Sikander Majhi, 41, a resident of Tandu tea garden in Nagarakata block of Jalpaiguri district. North Bengal was also forewarned: On October 4, 2023, a glacial lake outburst in Sikkim sank the Teesta III dam and caused havoc downstream.

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New Delhi: Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar He spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday to discuss regional developments and concerns over shipping security in the region. A later post on X EAM detailed the conversation and said both sides agreed to remain in touch.

“Had detailed talks this evening with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict. We agreed to remain in touch.”Later, Iran’s Foreign Ministry gave details of the phone call between the two ministers in a statement on Wednesday. .In a post on Twitter, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said: “India’s Foreign Minister Subramanian Jaishankar held a phone conversation with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, during which they discussed regional developments.” According to the statement, the two ministers also discussed the impact of the ongoing conflict on maritime traffic through the key waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to global shipping routes.“The foreign ministers of Iran and India also discussed the consequences of the US and Israeli regime’s military aggression on the security of shipping and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.During the call, Araghchi detailed the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran over the past 11 days, including a missile attack on a girls’ elementary school that killed more than 100 girls, and attacks on civilian sites and public service centers. “In this telephone conversation, Iran’s Foreign Minister detailed the crimes committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian nation over the past 11 days, including the missile attack on the girls’ elementary school in Minab on the first day of the war and the subsequent widespread attacks on civilian sites and public service centers. He stressed Iran’s determination to comprehensively defend Iran’s integrity,” the post added. He said such actions are a violation of international law and the principles of the UN Charter. The Iranian minister also noted Iran’s principled approach to safeguarding navigational security in the Persian Gulf, adding that the instability affecting maritime traffic in the region was a result of “the aggressive and destabilizing actions of the United States.”According to the statement, Jaishankar stressed the importance of continuing and strengthening bilateral relations between India and Iran and the need for continued consultations aimed at restoring stability in the region.