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South Africa had India tottering at 27-2 after setting the hosts a mammoth target of 549 in the second Test on Tuesday, moving to the brink of a first series win in the country for 25 years.South Africa declared on 260-5 in the final session on day four in Guwahati after Tristan Stubbs made 94.World Test champions South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0 and even a draw would seal their first series victory in India since 2000.The Proteas kept on batting despite the lead crossing 500 in the second session and coach Shukri Conrad said they wanted to make sure they ended India’s hopes of a series-levelling win.”We wanted them to really grovel… Bat them completely out the game and then say to them well come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening,” Conrad told reporters.”So far so good but we also know they’re not just going to roll over. We’re going to have to be at our very best tomorrow.”India suffered their fourth defeat in six home Tests in the opener in Kolkata, after a humiliating 3-0 series loss to New Zealand last year, and they need to bat for three more sessions to avoid another loss.India had been unbeaten in home Test series for 12 years before being swept by the Black Caps.The highest successful run chase in Test cricket was West Indies’ 418 against Australia in 2003. India’s highest chase was 406 against West Indies in 1976.Sai Sudharsan (2) and nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav (4) were battling for survival when bad light ended play in the northeastern city, where the sun sets early.South Africa pace spearhead Marco Jansen dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal with a short delivery outside the off stump to have him caught behind for 13.Left-arm quick Jansen took his match tally to seven wickets after figures of 6-48 in India’s first innings, after also hitting 93 with the bat earlier in the game.Off-spinner Simon Harmer bowled KL Rahul for six with a sharp, spinning delivery which turned through the gate.- Draw will be ‘win’ -India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said the home team had their eyes set on surviving for a draw, despite needing to attempt the record run chase to salvage the series.”The ball would spin and bounce more on day five — that is expected,” said Jadeja.”But if we don’t give away a wicket in the first session then put pressure on the bowlers. It will be win-win for us if we bat out day five and save the Test.”South Africa earlier resumed on 26-0 after bundling out India for 201 on day three to lead by 288 on the first innings.They did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again to pile the misery on the hosts.Opener Ryan Rickelton hit three fours in the first session before he fell to Jadeja while attempting another hit over cover but was caught for 35.Jadeja bowled the other overnight batter, Aiden Markram, for 29, before fellow spinner Washington Sundar dismissed visiting captain Temba Bavuma for three.Stubbs put on 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Tony de Zorzi, who was on 49 when Jadeja broke through.The veteran trapped De Zorzi lbw to deny him his fifty, but Stubbs stood firm in a 180-ball stay peppered with nine fours and a six.Stubbs was the last man out when he was bowled by Jadeja, who took 4-62, attempting to hit a second six of the over to bring up a hundred.Bavuma immediately declared, leaving Wiaan Mulder unbeaten on 35.The Indian fielders looked tired during a South African innings that lasted for 78.3 overs, as disappointed home fans at a largely empty stadium waited for the agony to end.

Tristan Stubbs made 94 as South Africa declared their second innings on 260-5 to set India a record victory target of 549 and close in on a series win in the second Test on Tuesday.World Test champions South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0 and even a draw in Guwahati would seal their first series win in India since 2000.India suffered their fourth defeat in six home Tests in the opener in Kolkata and the hosts need to bat for more than three sessions to avoid another loss.The highest successful run chase in Test cricket was West Indies’ 418 against Australia in 2003. India’s highest was 406 against West Indies in 1976.Stubbs was the last man out as he fell bowled to Ravindra Jadeja (4-62) and South Africa declared in the final session on day four.Stubbs put on 101 runs for the fourth wicket with Tony de Zorzi, who made 49, until left-arm spinner Jadeja broke through.Jadeja had De Zorzi lbw but Stubbs stood firm to frustrate the Indian bowlers in a 180-ball stay peppered with nine fours and a six.South Africa resumed on 26-0 after bundling out India for 201 on day three to lead by 288 in the first innings.They did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again to pile the misery on the hosts.Left-handed opener Ryan Rickelton hit three fours in the first session before he fell to Jadeja while attempting another hit over cover but got caught out. He made 35.Jadeja bowled the other overnight batter, Aiden Markram, for 29 before fellow spinner Washington Sundar dismissed skipper Temba Bavuma for three.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government vowed Tuesday to “respond appropriately” to overnight border strikes it blamed on Pakistan that killed 10 people, as tensions soar following a suicide bombing in Peshawar a day earlier.”The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X.”As a result, nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman were martyred” in Khost province.Air strikes targeting the border regions of Kunar and Paktika wounded another four civilians, he added.The raids were carried out by drones and aircraft, according to Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost.In Jige Mughalgai, near the Pakistan frontier, an AFP correspondent saw residents searching through the rubble of a collapsed house and preparing graves for victims.”The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time,” Mujahid said in a separate statement.The Pakistani military did not comment on the strikes when contacted by AFP.The bombardment follows a suicide attack Monday that targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar, killing three officers and wounding 11 others.No group has claimed responsibility, but state broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals and President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij” — Islamabad’s term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.Another suicide blast outside a court in the Pakistan capital Islamabad this month killed 12 people and was claimed by a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.Islamabad blamed a militant cell which was “guided at every step by the… high command based in Afghanistan” for the capital attack.- Truce under strain -Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar held a press conference Tuesday focused on the Islamabad attack.He broadcast a video confession from one of the four suspects in custody, and said: “There is clear-cut evidence that TTA (Afghan Taliban) and TTP did it together, and the suicide bomber was a resident of Afghanistan.””Afghanistan is fully involved… and their soil is also involved. The people being sheltered there are also involved,” he added on live television, without mentioning the strikes in the neighbouring country.Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been fraught since the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, and worsened after deadly border clashes in October that killed around 70 people on both sides.The fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but several rounds of talks in Doha and Istanbul failed to produce a lasting deal, with security issues, especially Pakistan’s demand that Kabul curb TTP fighters proving a sticking point.Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, including the TTP, which has waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan for years. Kabul denies the charge and counters that Pakistan harbours groups hostile to Afghanistan and does not respect its sovereignty.Meanwhile, the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned this week that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border, each incurring $150–$200 in daily charges, calling the economic burden “unbearable”.

India’s Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets but South Africa extended their lead to a formidable 395 as they closed in on a series win in the second Test on Tuesday.World Test champions South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0 and even a draw in Guwahati would seal a series victory, their first in India since 2000.India suffered their fourth defeat in six home Tests in the opener in Kolkata and the hosts would need to bat long to avoid another loss.The Proteas reached 107-3 at the first break after they lost three wickets in the morning session. Tristan Stubbs, on 14, and Tony de Zorzi, on 21, were at the crease.Play starts 30 minutes early in the northeastern city because of early sunsets with the order of intervals reversed, meaning the shorter tea comes before lunch.South Africa resumed on 26-0 after bundling out India for 201 on day three to lead by 288 in the first innings.They did not enforce the follow-on.Left-handed opener Ryan Rickelton hit three fours in the first session before he fell to Jadeja’s left-arm spin while attempting another hit over cover but got caught out. He made 35.Jadeja (2-20) bowled the other overnight batter, Aiden Markram, for 29 before fellow spinner Washington Sundar dismissed skipper Temba Bavuma for three.

Towering pace spearhead Marco Jansen took six wickets to put South Africa in sight of a first Test series win in India in 25 years after bundling out the hosts for 201 in the second match on Monday.Replying to South Africa’s 489, India were 288 behind in their first innings but the tourists did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again on day three in Guwahati.After winning the first Test in the two-match series in Kolkata, South Africa are closing on a first series win in India since Hansie Cronje’s team triumphed in 2000.India are under massive pressure once more, having suffered their fourth defeat in six Tests at home in the first match.A dominant South Africa reached 26-0 at stumps to extend their lead to 314 in the second innings.Left-handed Ryan Rickelton, on 13, and Aiden Markram, on 12, were batting when bad light ended the day’s play in the northeastern city, where the sun sets early.Jansen, a left-arm quick, claimed his fourth five-wicket Test haul before wrapping up the Indian innings with his sixth strike of the day in the final session to return figures of 6-48.”Obviously a good day for the chaps and for myself in particular,” said Jansen.”I feel the spinners did a really good job when the ball wasn’t moving as much and there was a dead period at some stage. I really feel the spinners did a brilliant job and I’m just lucky to be the one who cashed in.”India slumped to 122-7 despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 58 as wickets kept tumbling on what still seems like a good pitch to bat on.- Shell-shocked India -Washington Sundar, who made 48, and fellow left-hander Kuldeep Yadav resisted in a partnership of 72 off 208 balls before off-spinner Simon Harmer struck to end Sundar’s defiance.Jansen then dismissed Kuldeep for 19 off 134 balls and Jasprit Bumrah for five to pack a shell-shocked India off in under three sessions.”There is quite a few ways you can play the game and it’s up to the individuals on what their plans are,” said Sundar. “We just back our plans but at times it doesn’t go our way.”On the pitch, Sundar said, “It’s a true wicket and not many days you get to bat on such tracks, especially in India. If you spend time there runs are for the taking.”Earlier, the left-handed Jaiswal lost overnight partner KL Rahul for 22 in the first hour of play before reaching his 13th Test half-century.Jaiswal used the sweep to good effect and took on the bowlers, hitting seven fours and one six until his departure off Harmer.Harmer had Sai Sudharsan caught at mid-wicket for 15 and Jansen removed Dhruv Jurel for a duck to further put India on the back foot at the first break.The 6ft 8ins (2.03 metres) tall Jansen, who made 93 in South Africa’s imposing first-innings total, used the bouncer to snare the Indian batters with Jurel falling to the pull off a short ball.Skipper Rishabh Pant fell caught behind for seven to Jansen soon after in the second session and the batting fell apart like nine pins.Aiden Markram took a stunning catch as he ran from second slip to take a one-handed diving catch to his right to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy off Jansen. Reddy made 10.

Towering pace spearhead Marco Jansen took six wickets to put South Africa in sight of a first Test series win in India in 25 years after bundling out the hosts for 201 in the second match on Monday.Replying to South Africa’s 489, India were 288 behind in their first innings but the tourists did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again on day three in Guwahati.After winning the first Test in the two-match series in Kolkata, South Africa are closing on a first series win in India since Hansie Cronje’s team triumphed in 2000.India are under massive pressure once more, having suffered their fourth defeat in six Tests at home in the first match.A dominant South Africa reached 26-0 at stumps to extend their lead to 314 in the second innings.Left-handed Ryan Rickelton, on 13, and Aiden Markram, on 12, were batting when bad light ended the day’s play in the northeastern city, where the sun sets early.Jansen, a left-arm quick, claimed his fourth five-wicket Test haul before wrapping up the Indian innings with his sixth strike of the day in the final session.India slumped to 122-7 despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 58 as wickets kept tumbling on what still seems like a good pitch to bat on.Washington Sundar, who made 48, and fellow left-hander Kuldeep Yadav resisted in a partnership of 72 off 208 balls before off-spinner Simon Harmer struck to end Sundar’s defiance.Jansen then dismissed Kuldeep for 19 and Jasprit Bumrah for two to pack a shell-shocked India off in under three sessions.Earlier, the left-handed Jaiswal lost overnight partner KL Rahul for 22 in the first hour of play before reaching his 13th Test half-century.Jaiswal used the sweep to good effect and took on the bowlers, hitting seven fours and one six until his departure off Harmer.Harmer had Sai Sudharsan caught at mid-wicket for 15 and Jansen removed Dhruv Jurel for a duck to further put India on the back foot at the first break.The 6ft 8ins (2.03 metres) tall Jansen, who made 93 in South Africa’s imposing first-innings total, used the bouncer to snare the Indian batters with Jurel falling to the pull off a short ball.Skipper Rishabh Pant fell caught behind for seven to Jansen soon after in the second session and the batting fell apart like nine pins.Aiden Markram took a stunning catch as he ran from second slip to take a one-handed diving catch to his right to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy off Jansen. Reddy made 10.

India’s hugely popular star Dharmendra was lovingly known as the “He-Man” of Bollywood, thanks to his roles in a string of action movies that cemented his legacy spanning more than six decades and 250 films.Born Dharam Singh Deol on December 8, 1935 in Punjab, he also served as a member of parliament and was honoured with one of India’s highest civilian awards.He struck stardom after becoming the first Bollywood actor to bare his chest on screen, prompting a flood of love letters from female fans.Dharmendra, who died on Monday aged 89, moved to Mumbai in 1958 after winning a celebrity magazine’s talent competition.”I only had my dreams,” he told biographer Rajiv Vijayakar. “I was an untutored villager, with no idea of acting.”His matinee-idol looks quickly caught the eye of producers, and he made his screen debut in 1960 with the melodrama “Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere” (“My Heart is Yours, As am I”).It was in the lead role in the 1966 drama “Phool Aur Patthar” (“Flower and Stone”), that he appeared topless.”When he whipped off his shirt in the film, for the first time Hindi filmmakers woke up to the need to cater to female sexuality,” noted the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema.Over the years, Dharmendra shared the screen with leading stars including Nutan, Meena Kumari, and Sharmila Tagore, but his most enduring partnership was with Hema Malini, Bollywood’s first woman superstar.Their irresistible chemistry in films such as the 1972 hit “Seeta Aur Geeta” (“Seeta and Geeta”) and the 1975 blockbuster “Sholay” (“Embers”) blossomed into a real-life romance.Their 1980 wedding ruffled many feathers, as Dharmendra refused to divorce his first wife, Prakash Kaur. He and Malini had two daughters.The controversy did little to dim his popularity. Fans continued to cheer for “Garam Dharam” (“Hot Dharam”) in theatres across India.- Underrated actor -In the 1980s, Dharmendra starred in a string of action movies, earning him the nickname “He-Man”.But the accolades he received as a handsome leading man overshadowed his versatility and subtle performances in films such as “Bandini” (“Imprisoned”), “Anupama” (“Incomparable”) and “Satyakam”, now regarded as classics of Indian cinema.The father of six also dabbled in production, with movies starring his sons Sunny and Bobby Deol, and briefly served as a member of parliament.Yet acting remained his greatest passion.He continued acting into his eighties, starring in the “Yamla Pagla Deewana” (“Crazy, Mad Lover”) franchise alongside his sons from 2011 to 2018.Even in his later years, his charisma endured. His performance in 2023’s romantic family drama “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani” (“The Love Story of Rocky and Rani”) showed that, even in his 80s, Dharmendra could still make audiences swoon.Away from the spotlight, Dharmendra retreated to his farm, where he shared videos with his hundreds of thousands of social media followers of himself tending crops and caring for cows.Despite his fame, he often spoke with humility about his career.”I was always dissatisfied with the way I looked on screen,” he said in a 2011 interview with Bollywood site Glamsham. “I always used to ask my directors for reshoots, saying I am not looking good from this angle or that angle.” His fans, however, would have begged to differ.

India’s hugely popular Bollywood star Dharmendra, who was equally at ease in romantic comedies and high-octane action blockbusters, died aged 89 on Monday.”The passing of Dharmendra Ji marks the end of an era in Indian cinema,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement on social media.”He was an iconic film personality, a phenomenal actor who brought charm and depth to every role he played.”The actor had not been well recently and was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai.Over a remarkable six-decade career, Dharmendra appeared in more than 250 films, served as a member of parliament, and was honoured with one of India’s highest civilian awards.In the 1980s, Dharmendra starred in a string of action movies, earning him the nickname “He-Man”. The most iconic role of his career was arguably the lovable rogue Veeru that he played in the 1975 classic “Sholay” (“Embers”).The father of six also dabbled in production, with movies starring his sons Sunny and Bobby Deol.His last film will be Sriram Raghavan’s “Ikkis” (“Twenty-one”) which is set for release next month.

A suicide bombing killed three Pakistani paramilitary personnel on Monday at a security headquarters in Peshawar city, officials said, the latest deadly violence in the province bordering Afghanistan.Witness Bilal Ahmed, a hospital employee, said he was on his way to work when he heard a “large blast” from the border force facility, located on one of the city’s busiest routes and across the street from a shopping mall.An AFP reporter saw body parts of a suspected bomber lying outside the main gate on Saddar Road, which was riddled with shrapnel holes. A single discarded black shoe was left nearby.Rescue workers made their way through the scene, which was peppered with shattered glass from a vehicle.One assailant detonated explosives at around 8:10 am (0310 GMT), just before rush hour, killing “three FC (Federal Constabulary) personnel deployed at the gate”, said Peshawar police chief Mian Saeed.Security forces shot dead two other suspected attackers, Saeed said.Four people were wounded in the attack, he added.Security personnel in high-visibility jackets cordoned off the road, while armed forces in camouflage began combing the area, AFP correspondents saw.”The attack has concluded, and a clearance operation is under way to determine whether any unexploded ordnance is present,” Zulfiqar Hameed, the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told AFP.The province, whose capital is Peshawar, borders Afghanistan and has seen repeated bouts of militant violence which has intensified since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Monday’s attack and said that “the perpetrators of this incident should be identified as soon as possible and brought to justice.”He also praised the “timely action” of security forces for averting greater loss of life.”We will thwart the evil designs of terrorists who attack Pakistan’s integrity,” said Sharif.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistan’s state-run broadcaster PTV reported that the assailants had been identified as Afghan nationals.- Border tensions -Pakistan has blamed previous attacks on militants, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it claims operate from Afghan soil.Kabul denies the charge, saying Islamabad must address its own security failings.On November 11, a suicide bomber killed 12 people outside a court building in the capital Islamabad, an attack Pakistan said was planned from Afghanistan. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed that assault.Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have sharply deteriorated in recent months.Deadly cross-border clashes last month killed more than 70 people on both sides, in the South Asian neighbours’ worst fighting in years.The two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire but failed to finalise its terms after several rounds of talks, each blaming the other for the impasse.

On Bangladesh’s coast, where mighty Himalayan rivers meet the sea, water defines every rhythm of life, and every struggle.Rising seas driven by climate change are swallowing low-lying areas, while stronger storms push saltwater further inland, turning wells and lakes brackish, according to government scientists.For the millions living in the ecologically sensitive deltas of mudflats and mangrove forests, finding clean drinking water has become an escalating challenge.Cyclone Aila in 2009 was a turning point.Embankments broke and saltwater swept inland, flooding not only homes, but seeping into once-fertile land.The water that once sustained communities became undrinkable, and the land began to crack under layers of salt.The people of Khulna and Satkhira districts today live in a fragile balancing act between land and sea.Many families live in houses built on bamboo stilts to escape tidal floods.Children bathe in yellow, saline water and grow up in a landscape of constant change, where rivers erode their homes and schools, and displacement has become the norm.Men migrate for months seeking work. Women and children walk for hours across parched, cracked soil to fetch water from distant ponds, or harvest rainwater, and store it in tanks supplied by charities. Each household stores a few thousand litres, rationed carefully until the next monsoon arrives.The daily act of collecting and storing water has become a quiet ritual of endurance.This reporting accompanies a photography series carried out by Muhammad Amdad Hossain for AFP’s 2025 Marai Photo Grant, an award open to photographers from South Asia aged 25 or under.The theme for 2025 was “climate change” and its impact on daily life and the community of the photographers who enter.The award is organised by Agence France-Presse in honour of Shah Marai, the former photo chief at AFP’s Kabul bureau.Shah Marai, who was an inspiration for Afghan photographers throughout his career, was killed in the line of duty at the age of 41 in a suicide attack on April 30, 2018 in Kabul.