When Vladimir Putin’s plane touches down in New Delhi this week, he will be met with the pomp and ceremony reserved for one of India’s most steadfast partners. Yet his host, Prime Narendra Modi, is simultaneously forging a deep strategic relationship with a key global rival: the United States.

By Dhwani Pandya, Aditi Shah and Chandini Monnappa MUMBAI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - IndiGo will cancel around 500 flights on Friday in India, with all departures from New Delhi grounded, amid a deepening crisis at the country's largest airline that has admitted it failed to plan for new flight duty timings imposed on pilots.

In the hours between, the 30 million residents of India’s capital region trudge along with chronic headaches and itchy eyes, symptoms of this rising superpower’s failure to provide its people with a most basic need: breathable air.

It’s easy to tell when it’s smog season in New Delhi; the air gets darker, heavier and starts scratching the throats and testing the lungs of the city’s 34 million residents.

Authorities have intensified a security crackdown in Indian-controlled Kashmir following a deadly blast near New Delhi's Red Fort

Researchers have tied the problem to widespread over-extraction of groundwater, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods where piped water is scarce.

At the state level, Rajasthan had the highest number of polluted cities, with 23 of 34 exceeding national limits in November. Haryana followed with 22 of 25, and Uttar Pradesh had 14 of 20 cities above the standard. High pollution levels were also reported in nine of 12 cities in Madhya Pradesh, nine of 14 in Odisha, and seven of eight in Punjab.

The new Spa menu at The Imperial, New Delhi is a soulful rendition of how life should be ensconced in meditative balance.

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began summit talks in New Delhi on Friday, as New Delhi rolled out the red carpet for the Russian leader and Modi told him India supported peace efforts in Ukraine.

After hours of counselling, he finally told investigators that he was from Bengaluru and had fled home on the evening of November 30.