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Temba Bavuma’s South Africa are aiming for their first Test series victory in India in 25 years when the second match starts on Saturday in Guwahati.The visitors stunned India in a low-scoring first Test at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens to extend their fine run after being crowned World Test champions in June.The victory was South Africa’s first in India since they won the opener of a two-match series in 2010.South Africa, who recently drew 1-1 in Pakistan, are now chasing a first series win on Indian soil since Hansie Cronje’s team triumphed there in 2000.”We won a World Test Championship final earlier in the year against Australia at Lord’s, but this was right up there for us,” coach Shukri Conrad said of the Kolkata win.”Coming to India, playing at Eden Gardens, doing something we haven’t done for 15 years, this is right up there.”What we lack in (ability) we certainly make up in the ability to play as a unit and the resilience that we show. We never give up.”Led by skipper Bavuma, South Africa defied the odds on a turning pitch with inconsistent bounce at Eden Gardens to beat India at their own game of spin.Bavuma’s gritty 55 not out in South Africa’s second innings paved the way for a thrilling win inside three days after the tourists bundled out India for 93 in their chase of 124.Bavuma’s half-century was the only fifty between the two teams on a track where bowlers dominated.South Africa have added Lungi Ngidi to their squad after fellow quick Kagiso Rabada missed the opener with a rib injury and is doubtful for the final match.Rabada watched his fellow bowlers rattle the Indian batting with spinner Simon Harmer taking a match haul of eight wickets.- Gill to miss out? -India are sweating on the fitness of skipper Shubman Gill as they look to rescue the two-match series.Gill suffered neck spasms in the first innings and pulled out of the remainder of the first Test, spending a night in hospital.The top-order batsman travelled with the team to the northeastern city of Guwahati but Indian media said he will not play the second match, with vice-captain Rishabh Pant to lead.India’s ploy to have a turning pitch at Eden Gardens has met with severe criticism from pundits after the hosts faltered badly in their chase.The defeat was India’s fourth at home in six Tests having been whitewashed by New Zealand 3-0 last year.”I completely believe that (coach) Gautam Gambhir and his team in India must play on much better wickets than what they played at Eden Gardens,” former captain Sourav Ganguly told TV channel India Today.Gambhir is under pressure after replacing Rahul Dravid following the T20 World Cup triumph last year.The going has been tough for the former opener, losing nine out of 18 Tests since being appointed coach of a team in transition.Stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quit T20 cricket after the World Cup win in Barbados and earlier this year called time on their Test careers.Gill was appointed Test captain and drew a tough Test series in England 2-2 before leading India’s 2-0 whitewash of the West Indies at home.Play in Guwahati at India’s newest Test venue will start at 9:00 am (0330 GMT) because of early sunsets, with the order of the session breaks reversed — meaning tea will be before lunch.

Australia and Manchester City winger Mary Fowler has claimed a teammate at French club Montpellier gave her and another black player bananas as a farewell gift.In a book released this week, “Bloom”, the 22-year-old speaks of her unhappiness in southern France, saying she even pondered leaving the game altogether.Fowler, who left Montpellier in 2022 at the age of 19 after a two-year stay, said the team held a presentation after their final home game at which flowers were handed out to departing players.But she said neither she nor her friend, Dutch winger Ashleigh Weerden, were mentioned at the ceremony.”Afterwards, when we got inside the changing room, some of our teammates questioned why we hadn’t received any flowers. We shrugged our shoulders, just as clueless as they were,” she wrote.”A few of the girls laughed about it and then one of the other players came over and handed my friend and me some bananas, saying, ‘Here, have these.’ That was the cherry on top.”Fowler said she and Weerden had discussed the alleged incident since.”Not receiving flowers was one thing, but as two of only six black girls in the squad, receiving bananas wasn’t something I could laugh off and forget about. “Was it an accident? Was it the only thing in the dressing room she could give us? Did she mean well by it?,” she wrote.- ‘Holding those bananas’ -“I’ve tried to justify it in many different ways, trying to find any indication that it was an honest mistake. But when I add in the many other times at the club when we were left feeling a similar way, it was hard to see it as merely a simple error.”Fowler said she wished they had done something at the time “to stand up for ourselves”.”But instead we just sat there holding those bananas.”Fowler described a struggle with loneliness at Montpellier and said she “genuinely considered quitting football” there.The Matildas star recounted how the Australia team doctor had told her to get her heart checked out before playing again after she experienced chest pains when running. But she claimed the Montpellier doctor gave her a five-minute check-up and some anti-inflammatory tablets, and told her she was fine to keep playing.”It wasn’t exactly the check-up I’d been hoping for,” she said, adding that a young physiotherapist at the club later told her that the coaching staff thought she was making up the pain to avoid playing.Fowler said more extensive heart checks had since concluded that the chest pain was most likely a muscular or skeletal issue.The Australian player said she and Weerden were also questioned by the coach for driving home together.  “She’d answer that we were friends and I didn’t have my driver’s licence yet. Moments like these made it hard for us to not notice we were being treated differently to other players.”AFP has contacted Montpellier for a comment.

India captain Shubman Gill has responded well to treatment for a neck injury, the BCCI said Wednesday, but it remains to be seen if he plays the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati.Gill suffered the injury on the second day of the first Test in Kolkata and spent one night in hospital, taking no further part in the match, which South Africa won by 30 runs.Ahead of the second Test on Saturday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said: “Shubman has been responding well to the medical treatment provided and will travel to Guwahati with the team (on Wednesday).”He will continue to be monitored by the BCCI medical team and a decision on his participation in the 2nd Test will be taken accordingly.”Top-order batsman Gill retired hurt on four and did not return to resume his innings and nor did he field, with vice-captain Rishabh Pant leading the hosts for the remainder of the first Test.

India’s $60-billion Bollywood industry is facing a deepening credibility crisis, as insiders warn that manipulated film reviews and inflated box office numbers are distorting public perception, ultimately hurting ticket sales.Streaming platforms have disrupted traditional cinema but industry veterans say Bollywood’s woes are also self-inflicted — including the trend to declare a film a “hit” even before its release.”If you don’t engage these influencers and critics, they will write bad reviews, even if the film is good,” producer-distributor Suniel Wadhwa told AFP.”If the film is bad, they will write good things about the film, provided the producer or studio has paid them.”Trade analyst and veteran distributor Raj Bansal said audiences have grown sceptical of early rave reviews.”As soon as the media gives four stars, people message me saying, ‘Sir, that means the movie is not good,'” Bansal said.”And, even if the film is good, they don’t trust it.”That distrust is now visible at the box office.”Regular cinema-goers wait to know the correct reports,” Bansal said.That means ticket sales during the vital opening shows “take a major dip” as film fans wait for word of mouth or “genuine reviews” to come out, he added.Industry insiders allege that some influencers have “rate cards”, with prices rising for films that generate low pre-release buzz.Producers, meanwhile, are accused of bulk-buying tickets to inflate opening-week numbers.”Everything is bought and manipulated,” Bansal said, referring to both reviews and social media personalities.- ‘Bleak’ -Sudhir Kasliwal, owner of Jaipur’s Gem Cinema, recalled seeing hundreds of online bookings for one of superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s releases, but only a fraction of the audience showed up in person.”Producers, directors and actors themselves buy tickets… the future of Bollywood looks very bleak if this practice continues,” Kasliwal said.”The wrong messages are conveyed to people and unless good content is produced, things will never improve.”Recent controversies include Bollywood A-lister Akshay Kumar’s fighter jet action movie “Skyforce”.The film’s director denied allegations of so-called “block booking” to boost first-week numbers, but a Mumbai-based trade analyst claimed its gross was inflated from about $6 million to over $9 million.”Online booking platforms showed full houses, but many theatres were nearly empty,” the analyst told AFP, requesting anonymity.Bansal said that critics who refuse to play along also risk being sidelined, while those who comply “flourish”. “Whenever I (post) that the film has opened with weak collections (ticket sales), I receive a barrage of calls from actors, producers asking me to remove it,” he said.- ‘Appetite to buy’ -Producer-distributor Wadhwa said that the box office collection of the 2025 romantic comedy horror “Thamma” was also manipulated, claiming true sales were around $15 million while the film reported $18 million.Thamma director Aditya Sarpotdar defended the $18 million figure, calling it the “most accurate”, having come from distributors and exhibitors.”When a film is still in theatres, the collection figures between producers and the trade will vary,” Sarpotdar told AFP.”Producer numbers are always the honest numbers.”Experts warn that falsifying box office data has lasting consequences, from inflated star salaries to shrinking opportunities for new talent.”You can’t take the audience for granted. They know the truth,” said Wadhwa, adding that to have both reviews and ticket sales manipulated was “a very sad situation.”Streaming platforms, now major players in film distribution, have begun demanding audited box office figures before striking deals which has added pressure on producers.”Streamers have now become sharp and careful about the film they are choosing,” said Wadhwa.Despite the backlash, few expect the trend to end anytime soon.”This practice will continue” Wadhwa said, until producers and studios lose their “appetite to buy tickets.”

Each morning, 17-year-old Ramati Mangla sets off barefoot with a steel pot in hand, walking several kilometres to fetch water from a distant spring in India’s Maharashtra state.By the time she returns, school has already started.”I have kept my books,” she said. “But what if I never get a chance to go back?”In the drought-hit villages of Maharashtra’s Nashik and Nandurbar districts, wells are drying up and rainfall has become increasingly erratic — forcing families to adapt to harsher living conditions.As men migrate to nearby cities in search of work, girls like Mangla are left to take on the responsibility of collecting water.It’s a chore that can take hours each day and leaves little time for school.Local officials estimate that nearly two million people in these regions face daily water shortages.A 2021 UNESCO report warned that climate-related disruptions could push millions of girls worldwide out of classrooms.It is a pattern already visible across India’s rural heartlands.Teachers say attendance among girls has sharply dropped in recent years, particularly during the dry months. Many families, struggling to survive, see no option but to keep their daughters home or marry them early.”Children living in drought prone areas, with family responsibilities for fetching water, struggle with attending school regularly — as collecting water now takes a longer time due to water scarcity and pollution,” the UN children’s fund wrote in a report.For Mangla, and many other girls across India, climate change is turning the simple act of fetching water into a choice between survival and education.Mangla’s story has been spotlighted alongside a photography series shot by Shefali Rafiq for the 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.

A Bangladesh court sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to be hanged for crimes against humanity on Monday, with cheers breaking out in the packed court as the judge read out the verdict.Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her.The highly anticipated ruling, which was broadcast live on national television, came less than three months before the first polls in the South Asian country of 170 million people since her overthrow in August 2024.”All the… elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled,” judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read to the court in Dhaka.The former leader was found guilty on three counts: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities, the judge said.”We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, sentence of death.”Crowds waved the national flag and celebrated on the streets of the capital.Former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death in absentia after being found guilty on four counts of crimes against humanity.Ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was in court and had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.- ‘Pays the dues’ -Hasina, who was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial, called the verdict “biased and politically motivated” in a statement issued from hiding in India.”Its guilty verdict against me was a foregone conclusion,” Hasina said.She can appeal against her sentence — if she is arrested or surrenders, her defence lawyer Md Amir Hossain said.Shamsi Ara Zaman, whose photojournalist son Tahir Zaman Priyo was killed during last year’s protests, said she was “satisfied” with the death sentences but “dismayed” that the ex-police chief was given only five years in jail.Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s autocratic rule, and violence has marred campaigning for elections expected in February 2026.The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power, deaths that were central to her trial.Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman said the trial “pays the dues to the martyrs”, while interim leader Muhammad Yunus called it an “historic verdict”.The trial heard months of testimony detailing how Hasina had ordered mass killings.Hasina was backed by New Delhi, fraying relations between the two neighbours since her overthrow, and Bangladesh reiterated its call for India to extradite her.India’s foreign ministry said that it had “noted” the verdict, adding it was “committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh”.It did not comment immediately on Bangladesh’s extradition request.The UN rights office said Monday that Hasina’s sentencing marked “an important moment for victims”, but that she should not have been sentenced to death.- Deepening crisis -Security forces surrounded the court for the verdict, with armoured vehicles guarding checkpoints and thousands of police officers posted across the capital.Crude bombs have been set off across Dhaka this month, mainly petrol bombs hurled at everything from buildings linked to Yunus’s government to buses and Christian sites.Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka this month, demanding that New Delhi block the “notorious fugitive” Hasina from talking to journalists and “granting her a platform to spew hatred”.The International Crisis Group said the “political repercussions of this verdict are significant”, arguing that the prospect of Hasina “mounting a political comeback in Bangladesh now appears very slim”.”The process has not been without critics,” ICG analyst Thomas Kean said.”In absentia trials are often a source of contention, and in this case the speed with which the hearings were conducted and the apparent lack of resources for the defence also raise questions of fairness… But they should not be used to downplay or deflect from Sheikh Hasina’s actions.”

Indian anti-terrorism investigators presented a suspect linked to last week’s deadly car bomb in New Delhi in court on Monday, one of three men now accused of involvement in the suicide attack.Officials have not disclosed any details about the motives or organisational backing of the alleged attackers, all three of whom they say came from Indian-administered Kashmir.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full. Tensions remain high between New Delhi and Islamabad after recent attacks.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said suspect Amir Rashid Ali was accused of having “conspired with the alleged suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi, to unleash the terror attack” on Monday last week.The NIA put the death toll at 10, although hospital officials told AFP that at least 12 people had been killed. It remains unclear whether Nabi was included in the tally.It also said in a statement issued late on Monday it had arrested another of Nabi’s alleged accomplices from Kashmir.The agency said Jasir Bilal Wani had “allegedly provided technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets” ahead of the blast.An AFP photographer earlier saw Ali being taken under heavy guard from a police truck to a New Delhi court to face charges.Indian media reported that the court had ordered he be held in custody by the NIA for 10 days.- ‘Prepared for the future’ -The blast erupted near a busy metro station close to the Red Fort in Old Delhi, from where the premier’s annual Independence Day address is delivered.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the attack a “conspiracy” and vowed to bring the “perpetrators, their collaborators and their sponsors” to justice.Nabi was a medical professor at a university in Haryana state, just outside the capital, while Ali had allegedly travelled to Delhi to “facilitate the purchase of the car which was eventually used as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED)”, according to the NIA.India has provided no further information on the alleged motives or network behind the suspects.The bombing was the worst attack since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir.New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing that attack, claims Islamabad denied.India launched strikes inside Pakistan in May, triggering four days of intense cross-border conflict that killed at least 70 people.Modi vowed after a ceasefire that “any attack on Indian soil will be considered as an act of war”.Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi also issued a pointed warning to Pakistan on Monday, comparing the brief May conflict to a “trailer” rather than a full-length film.”I’d like to say that the movie hasn’t even started — only a trailer was shown, and, after the trailer, it was over within 88 hours,” Dwivedi said in a speech at a defence conference in New Delhi.”So, we’re fully prepared for the future, and if Pakistan gives us such an opportunity, we’d like to provide them with a thorough education — on how a responsible nation should behave with its neighbours.”

Bangladesh signed on Monday a 30-year lease with global shipping giant Maersk to run a new container terminal at its largest port, a major deal inked despite dockers’ concerns.”It will be our economic gateway. It will open doors to the future” and help boost economic growth, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said in a statement.Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest garment exporter, relies heavily on Chattogram port — formerly known as Chittagong and strategically located on the Bay of Bengal — for the vast majority of imports and exports.The port is Bangladesh’s main trade gateway and a vital hub in the global garment supply chain.Shipping giant A.P. Moller–Maersk will develop the Laldia Container Terminal on the city’s outskirts through its APM Terminals subsidiary, according to Yunus’s statement.”This is a new beginning for the country,” the interim leader said.The lease agreement “opens a new door for larger and more diversified investment”, he added.Officials at the Chattogram Port Authority said the contract involves APM Terminals investing about $550 million over the next three years to develop the site, boosting cargo-handling efficiency, safety and transparency.APM Terminals will then operate the facility for the remainder of the 30-year concession.This is the first major port deal signed with foreign firms under Yunus, whose interim administration took over after the government of Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a mass uprising in August 2024.The role of foreign operators has sparked anger among some, with dockers this month escalated a strike, worried for their jobs.But supporters of the project say foreign expertise and investment would modernise operations.UAE-based DP World has expressed interest in operating another facility, Chattogram’s New Mooring Container Terminal, and port officials say contract negotiations continue.The government is also in talks with Medlog SA, part of the Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), for an inland terminal on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

Indian anti-terrorism investigators on Monday presented in court a suspect linked to last week’s deadly car-bomb in New Delhi, one of two men accused of involvement in the suicide attack.Officials have not disclosed any details on the motives or organisational backing of the alleged attackers, both of whom they say came from Indian-administered Kashmir.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and both claim the Himalayan territory in full. Tensions remain high between New Delhi and Islamabad.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said suspect Amir Rashid Ali is accused of having “conspired with the alleged suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi, to unleash the terror attack” last Monday.The NIA put the death toll at 10, though hospital officials told AFP that at least 12 people had been killed. It remains unclear whether Nabi is included in the tally.An AFP photographer saw Ali being taken under heavy guard from a police truck to to a New Delhi court to face charges.Indian media reported that the court had ordered he be held in custody for 10 days by the NIA.The November 10 blast erupted near a busy metro station close to the Red Fort in Old Delhi, where the prime minister delivers the annual Independence Day address.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the attack a “conspiracy” and vowed to bring the “perpetrators, their collaborators and their sponsors” to justice.Nabi was a medical professor at a university in Haryana state, just outside the capital, while Ali had allegedly travelled to Delhi to “facilitate the purchase of the car which was eventually used as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED)”, according to the NIA.India has provided no further information on the alleged motives or network behind the two suspects.The bombing was the worst attack since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir.New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing that attack, claims Islamabad denied.In May, India launched strikes inside Pakistan, triggering four days of intense cross-border conflict that killed at least 70 people.After a ceasefire, Modi vowed that “any attack on Indian soil will be considered as an act of war”.Separately on Monday, army chief General Upendra Dwivedi issued a pointed warning to Pakistan, comparing the brief May conflict to a “trailer” rather than a full-length film.”I’d like to say that the movie hasn’t even started — only a trailer was shown, and, after the trailer, it was over within 88 hours,” Dwivedi said in a speech at a defence conference in New Delhi.”So, we’re fully prepared for the future, and if Pakistan gives us such an opportunity, we’d like to provide them with a thorough education — on how a responsible nation should behave with its neighbours.”

A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to be hanged for crimes against humanity, with cheers breaking out in the packed court as the judge read out the verdict.Hasina, 78, defied court orders that she return from India to attend her trial about whether she ordered a deadly crackdown against a student-led uprising last year that eventually ousted her.The highly anticipated ruling, which was broadcast live on national television, comes less than three months ahead of the first polls since her overthrow in August 2024.”All the… elements constituting crimes against humanity have been fulfilled,” judge Golam Mortuza Mozumder read to the packed court in Dhaka.The former leader had been found guilty on three counts: incitement, order to kill, and inaction to prevent the atrocities, the judge said.”We have decided to inflict her with only one sentence — that is, sentence of death.”On the streets of Dhaka, crowds waved the national flag and celebrated.Former interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also sentenced to death in absentia, after being found guilty on four counts of crimes against humanity.Ex-police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, who was in court and had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.- ‘Pays the dues’ -Hasina, who was assigned a state-appointed lawyer for the trial, called the verdict “biased and politically motivated”, in a statement issued from hiding in India.”Its guilty verdict against me was a foregone conclusion,” Hasina said.Her defence lawyer Md Amir Hossain, who she did not recognise, said Hasina could only appeal if she “surrenders… or is arrested”.Shamsi Ara Zaman, whose photojournalist son Tahir Zaman Priyo was killed during last year’s protests, said she was “satisfied” with the death sentences but “dismayed” that the ex-police chief was handed only five years in jail.Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s autocratic rule, and violence has marred campaigning for elections expected in February 2026.The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power, deaths that were central to her trial.Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman praised the trial.”The verdict pays the dues to the martyrs, to the country, to all citizens, to democracy, the constitution, the rule of law, and to our obligation towards the next generation,” he told reporters.The trial heard months of testimony detailing how Hasina had ordered mass killings.- Deepening crisis -Security forces surrounded the court for the verdict, with armoured vehicles manning checkpoints and thousands of police officers posted across the capital.Crude bombs have been set off across Dhaka this month, mainly petrol bombs hurled at everything from buildings linked to interim leader Muhammad Yunus’s government to buses and Christian sites.Bangladesh’s foreign ministry summoned India’s envoy to Dhaka this month, demanding that New Delhi block the “notorious fugitive” Hasina from talking to journalists and “granting her a platform to spew hatred”.The International Crisis Group said the “political repercussions of this verdict are significant”.”The process has not been without critics,” ICG analyst Thomas Kean said.”In absentia trials are often a source of contention, and in this case the speed with which the hearings were conducted and the apparent lack of resources for the defence also raise questions of fairness… But they should not be used to downplay or deflect from Sheikh Hasina’s actions”.Kean added: “The prospect of Sheikh Hasina mounting a political comeback in Bangladesh now appears very slim”.But Hasina remains defiant.She said in October she “mourned all the lives lost during the terrible days” when students were gunned down in the streets. Her comments enraged many who said she had made a ruthless bid to maintain power at all costs.Hasina also warned that the ban on her former ruling party the Awami League by the interim government was deepening the political crisis in the country of 170 million people before the elections.