MONDAY KENYA’S SAWE ENTERS HISTORY BOOKS IN LONDON MARATHON 27 APRIL, 2026 African athlete, the current World No. 1, created history by becoming the first human to clock under the two-hour mark in the marathon epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard NUCLEAR FEAR Importance of breaking two-hour barrier STRIKES KILL 16 IN UKRAINE, RUSSIA Strikes across Ukraine and Russia killed 16, as the 40th Chernobyl disaster anniversary prompted warnings about the risks posed by attacks near plant PAGE 9 1:59.30 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 SAWE’S TIMINGS AT LONDON MARATHON ON SUNDAY For a long time, humans thought this record would be impossible to achieve. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, in fact, went below the two-hour mark at Vienna in 2019 However, he did it in a controlled environment so it was not valid for the purposes of a world record. Now, Sawe has done it. Yomif Kejelcha, who came second, also went under two-hour mark (1:59.41) Big breach as gunman opens fire at US says Iran sent DC gala attended by Trump, Vance ‘better’ proposal, Suspect stopped by Secret Service agents as he rushed to ballroom where prez was seated Gunman was ‘engineer’ and ‘teacher of the month’ A G E N C I E S @ Washington Spl session of Delhi House on women’s quota bill EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Delhi Assembly will hold a special session on April 28 to discuss the women’s reservation issue after related bills were defeated in the Lok Sabha. The BJP has called similar special sessions in other states as well that it rules. A Delhi Assembly secretariat statement said that the fifth session of the eighth legislative Assembly is scheduled to commence on Tuesday at 11 am. Officials said that the session is likely to last for a day, but can be extended further if required. The secretariat has finalised necessary arrangements to ensure smooth and uninterrupted conduct of the proceedings, officials said, particularly security arrangement in the light of recent bomb threats. A few days ago, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with many BJP leaders, protested the non-passage of the Mahila Shakti Amendment Bill in Parliament by wearing a black armband. Terming it a “painful” development, she had slammed the Opposition for blocking the passage of the 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha. The chief minister had alleged that this was not the first time the Congress and its allies had obstructed women’s empowerment, saying their approach exposed their real intent. “Women are watching and understanding everything. This injustice will not go unanswered,” she had said. FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY After the government pushed for three-language formula, teachers of foreign languages in city schools are fearing job losses | P4 A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby of a hotel in Washington where US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night. Reports said the gunman was confronted and stopped just outside the ballroom of the hotel where the president and other senior government officials had gathered. Investigators said they believe the gunman, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Los Angeles, planned to target Trump. Video posted online showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured. The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.Vice President J D Vance was removed from the room first, while agents initially covered Trump in place before escorting him and first lady Melania Trump from the room. They were held On his LinkedIn profile, suspect Cole Tomas Allen calls himself an engineer with a passion for game development. It says he was also a part-time teacher at a test prep firm, which named him as “teacher of the month” in an Instagram post from 2024 Trump calls for unity and bipartisan healing Secret service agents evacuate US President Donald Trump from the venue of an event after gunshots were fired; (inset) Trump speaks at the White House later on | AP I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He hadn’t reached the area at all. They really got him — Donald Trump for some time in a secure presidential suite at the hotel before returning to the White House. According to acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche the suspect was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel where the black-tie dinner was held on Saturday evening. As per reports, he is a teacher, who donated to Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. His motive was not clear. Trump said the suspect had written an anti-Christian mani- festo. “The guy is a sick guy he ,” told Fox News. “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians.” Trump said the suspect’s family had reported him to the police ahead of the event. Questions swirled regarding the security at the reception and how a gun was brought into the hotel. Attendees pointed out while there was a magnetometer placed outside the ballroom, there was no security screening at the entrance to the hotel itself. P9 US President Donald Trump called for unity and bipartisan healing after the incident, saying his personal politics had made him a repeated target. “It’s always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” a subdued Trump told reporters Relieved to learn Trump and Vance are safe: Modi Reacting to the shooting incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was relieved that US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President J D Vance are safe and unharmed. Violence has no place in a democracy, he added Araghchi back in Pak A G E N C I E S @ Washington / Islamabad THERE were hopes on Sunday that the eagerly awaited second round of talks between Iran and the US could take place in the days ahead, after President Donald Trump said Iran has sent a “better proposal” and the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Pakistan briefly for further talks with the Pakistani leadership. Trump proposed the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict. In an interview on Fox News Channel, Trump said he made that decision rather than send DAY a delegation on a 17-hour flight. It came hours after he told reporters that his administration received a new proposal from Iran. Israel bombs “They gave us a paper that should south Lebanon have been better. And interestingly , immediately, when I cancelled it, Lebanese official media said within 10 minutes, we got a new paIsrael’s military began striking per that was much better,” Trump the country’s south on Sunday after issuing an evacuation said. warning for seven locations, In a sign that indirect efforts were despite a ceasefire with the ongoing, the ISNA news agency reIran-backed Hezbollah group. ported that Iran had transmitted “Israeli warplanes launched “written messages” to the Ameria strike” in Kfar Tibnit—one cans via Pakistan that were “about of the locations included in some of the red lines of the Islamic the warning—the state-run Republic of Iran, including nuclear National News Agency said issues and the Strait of Hormuz”. Meanwhile, a day after he left Islamabad without meeting the US delegation, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Pakistan on Sunday and met Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Geo News, quoting sources, reported that Araghchi left for Moscow after the brief visit. The Iranian leader arrived at Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi after completing a day-long visit to Oman, the Dawn newspaper reported, quoting sources. Araghchi was to convey “Iran’s positions and views on the framework of any understanding to completely end the war”, Geo TV reported. P9 58 4 hurt amid rescue after ‘Cool rooms’ at city hospitals to fight heat fire on Swiss jet in Delhi A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi S L A L I T H A @ New Delhi FOUR passengers were injured during evacuation after a Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) jet carrying 245, including four infants, aborted takeoff from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport due to a fire in the early hours of Sunday . A source said the passengers were injured during the evacuation process and are being treated at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. It is not clear how they were injured. Flight No LX147, bound for Zurich, was about to take off at 1.08 am from runway 10/28 of Terminal 3 with 245 on board, including four infants and 13 crew members, when smoke was detected near a wheel, prompting the pilot to abort takeoff. “The Airbus A330 aircraft was accelerating on the runway for take-off when the pilot detected smoke from the left wheel located at the rear of the plane. He immediately decided to abandon the take-off,” the source said. The airline spokesperson later said an issue occurred with one of the engines during the takeoff. An emergency was declared for 30 minutes at the runway 10/28 in Delhi airport, he added. Passengers being evacuated from Swiss International Airlines flight | X Switzerland to send specialists to Delhi The Swiss said technical specialists from Switzerland will travel to Delhi to inspect the aircraft. Passengers have been accommodated in hotels and rebooked onto alternative flights OVER 30 hospitals in the city will soon have “cool rooms” to provide immediate relief to individuals affected by heat stress and heat-related illnesses. This measure is part of a series of measures announced by the Delhi government on Sunday, which are aimed at attending to heat-related medical emergencies. The national capital witnessed the maximum temperature at 42°C on Sunday and , the authorities issued a heatwave alert for Monday . Termed the Heat Wave Action Plan, 2026, the government will make arrangements for essential medicines at more than 339 health centres across the city under it. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that Delhi has seen temperatures exceeding 40°C for nearly 40 consecutive days in the past two to Women braving heat in Delhi. The city has seen hot days since Saturday | SAYANTAN GHOSH three years, necessitating the city-specific plan. Officials say, this year, the government has carried out a detailed scientific assessment of the entire city using satellite data to identify high-risk zones. Among the most sensitive areas is Ayanagar, which has pre- viously recorded temperatures as high as 45.5°C. Najafgarh at 43.7°C in 2025 and Safdarjung at 46.8°C in 2023 have also seen extreme highs. Other emerging ther mal hotspots include Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, Khayala, Shastri Park, Vishwas Nagar, Harkesh Nagar, Hari Na- RAGHU RAI NO DIES AT 83 MORE LEGENDARY PHOTO JOURNALIST “Four passengers remain in the hospital... A cabin crew member sustained a sprained ankle. The other crew members are unharmed,” an airline spokesperson said. All passengers and crew were evacuated via the emergency slides. “For a small number of individuals who were unable to use the slides, stairs were provided,” the airline spokesperson said. The chronicler of the real India story, who captured the nation’s fleeting moments with his lens for six decades, lost his battle to cancer on Sunday. He shot some of the most significant historical events, including the Bangladesh refugee crisis and Bhopal gas tragedy, and his black-and-white photos shed light on ordinary lives with abundant clarity and unmatched compassion | P7 FINAL LAP Swing factors ahead of crucial phase-2 polls in West Bengal S U B H E N D U M A I T I @ Kolkata THE calculations may all come down to whether the talk of a 5-6 per cent “Hindu swing” is fully borne out, even if that may not necessarily be the correct political designation for those looking for a change in West Bengal. With the state careening towards the climactic second and final phase of voting in the remaining 142 out of 294 assembly constituencies on Wednesday, the signs are certainly not those of unquestioned status quo. But how much mobility will be there in set voting patterns? Polarisation has created tight consolidation at the core but also shakiness at the edges, with even Trinamool Congress supporters not immune to doubt and restlessness. Speaking to this newspaper, Debashis Ghosh, a packaged milk seller, said: “I have been voting for Mamata Didi since 2011 but this time, I may not.” Ghosh participated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sunday roadshow around Thanthania Kalibari and Shobha Bazaar in north Kolkata. The BJP’s campaign, spearheaded by Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and backed up by meticulous ground work by RSS volunteers, preaches to the choir with its strong antiimmigrant line, and with the debate raised to fever pitch, it may be winning some new converts. Not all of it is on account of the politics of religion. Plain old anti-incumbency and the desire for change may be enough to explain it. For TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the crucial part is whether there is any parallel thinning of her minority vote bank, estimated at around 30per cent. Neither the Hindu vote nor the Muslim bloc is a monolith, with competitive voting restricted to certain areas and vote blocs. Subtle shifts of allegiance are visible even on the latter side. Matiur Rahaman, a resident of Murshidabad district (70 percent Muslim population), said: “A large number of Muslim voters are worried about Didi’s stand on Waqf and OBC issues and may support the Left and the Congress this time.” It is on these buffer zones that the match may get decided. P8 gar, and Delhi Gate. The government has proposed special protection measures for these zones, including increased ORS stock at health centres, deployment of quick response teams, and stationing of additional water tankers. Other proposals under the plan focus on school children and labourers. The government agencies may administer ORS solutions to school children before they leave school, if required. The government may halt outdoor work between 12 noon and 3 pm during severe heatwave conditions. Workers will also be provided with drinking water, caps, and gamchas. First-aid kits and ice packs will be made available at worksites when needed. The government said it has applied reflective coating over nearly 28,674 sq ft at the Kashmere Gate ISBT. P5 EXPRESS READ Ladakh talks to resume, Centre calls meet in May Amid deadlock, the Centre on Sunday decided to hold talks with Ladakh leaders on May 22. The Ladakh leaders, who are pressing for grant of statehood and 6th Schedule status to the UT, have termed the sub-committee-level meeting with MHA officials as “meaningless”. They demanded that talks be chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the Union Territory. P7 Record 3L pilgrims visit Char Dham shrines The Char Dham Yatra, which commenced on April 19, has witnessed a spectacular start, with an overwhelming surge of devotees flocking to Uttarakhand’s Himalayan shrines. While all four shrines have seen significant turnout, Kedarnath attracted over 1.6 lakh pilgrims in the opening days. The four shrines crossed the 3-lakh mark by Sunday evening. P8