A United Nations report has found that Israel maintains “a de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture,” documenting abuses over the past two years and warning of continued impunity for Israeli security forces accused of war crimes.The report, released on Friday as part of the committee’s routine review of countries that have signed the UN Convention Against Torture, stated that Palestinian detainees were subjected to humiliation, including “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” and were routinely denied medical treatment, as cited by the Guardian.It further noted that detainees faced excessive use of restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” according to the findings.The Committee said it is deeply concerned “over allegations of repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, waterboarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence”, highlighting a pattern of grave abuse reported by detainees.The UN committee of 10 independent experts also raised alarm over Israel’s extensive use of its unlawful combatants law, saying it was being applied to justify the prolonged detention of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children without trial. According to the latest figures from Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the Israel Prison Service was holding 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention”, meaning detention without trial, as of the end of September.The UN report highlights a surge in the detention of Palestinian children since the Gaza war began in October 2023, noting the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand” and pointing out that Israel’s age of criminal responsibility is 12, with even younger children reportedly held. It states that minors classified as security prisoners “have severe restrictions on family contact, may be held in solitary confinement, and do not have access to education,” urging Israel to ban solitary confinement for children. The committee, which monitors compliance with the UN convention against torture, warns that the cumulative impact of Israeli policies in the occupied territories “may amount to torture.”The report said 75 Palestinians have died in custody since the Gaza war began, noting that detention conditions for Palestinians had undergone a “marked deterioration.” It described the death toll as “abnormally high” and affecting only Palestinian detainees, adding that “to date, no state officials have been held responsible or accountable for such deaths.”Israel has consistently denied using torture. The UN committee heard from officials of the foreign ministry, justice ministry and prison service, who maintained that detention conditions were adequate and subject to oversight, as reported by the Guardian.Meanwhile, a report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warns that two years of Israeli military operations and longstanding restrictions have driven the occupied territory into an economic freefall, now ranked among the 10 worst collapses globally since 1960. The UN says the occupied Palestinian economy is experiencing its most severe downturn on record, fuelled by the scale of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and ongoing curbs on movement and trade, as cited by Al Jazeera.

NEW DELHI: Uranium contamination in Delhi’s groundwater has emerged as an alarming concern. The capital is now third in the country, after Punjab and Haryana, in percentage of samples breaching the permissible limit. According to the latest Annual Ground Water Quality Report 2025 submitted by Central Ground Water Board, 13-15% of the analysed samples in Delhi contain uranium levels above the acceptable threshold of 30 ppb (parts per billion), raising red flags for public health and drinking-water safety.

This marks a worrying rise from 2020, when a detailed assessment revealed that the radioactive metal exceeded the threshold in 11.7% of the samples. That study also recorded one of Delhi’s highest ever uranium readings — 89.4 ppb from a tubewell in North West district. By 2024, groundwater in six districts — North, North West, South, South East, South West, and West — was found to have uranium levels beyond the safe limit, contributing to a citywide contamination share of 10.7%.The new report has triggered concern among environmental groups, which have sought more granular water quality data and details of treatment protocols being followed. “Particularly alarming is the presence of uranium along with high nitrate, fluoride and salinity levels in groundwater, all of which pose severe health risks,” environment group Earth Warrior warned in a letter to the lieutenant governor and chief minister.The group flagged that Delhi Jal Board (DJB) relies on 5,500 tubewells to supply nearly 450 mld (million litres per day) of semi-treated or untreated groundwater to residents. After testing 3,754 groundwater samples across the country during pre- and post-monsoon periods of 2024, Central Ground Water Board, which is under ministry of jal shakti, found that safe limits of uranium were breached in 6.71% and 7.91% of the samples, respectively, indicating a slight spike after rainfall. Punjab showed the highest level of contamination — 53% of pre-monsoon and 62.5% of post-monsoon samples crossed the limit — followed by Haryana (15% and 23.75%, respectively) and Delhi (13% and 15.66%, respectively).In Delhi, areas like Narela’s Auchandi (42 ppb) and Kanjhawala’s Nizampur (46.5 ppb) have been marked as hotspots.The latest report says that long-term consumption of uranium, arsenic and lead in water can cause neurological damage, skeletal deformities, kidney disorders, apart from carrying an elevated cancer risk. Elevated iron and manganese levels further endanger the health of infants and children, while the overall contamination compromises the potability of groundwater and threatens agricultural productivity by enabling accumulation of toxins in soil and crops.Beyond uranium, the report flags other worrying parameters for Delhi. At 179.8, the city recorded one of the highest sodium adsorption ratio in the country. It placed Delhi among 1.11% of areas nationwide where groundwater is unsuitable for irrigation and 7.23% of areas reporting high salinity or electrical conductivity. The board issues fortnightly alerts of ground water quality to state govt agencies to facilitate action and raise awareness on water safety.

India’s engineering goods exports fell a steep 16.71 per cent year-on-year in October 2025 to $9.37 billion, primarily due to a sharp drop in shipments to the US and a high base effect, the Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) said on Saturday.Exports to key markets recorded widespread declines, with the Asean region seeing an almost 50 per cent fall to $1.02 billion.The US remained India’s top destination for engineering goods, but shipments dropped 14.5 per cent to $1.39 billion in October 2025, compared with $1.63 billion a year earlier. The decline was driven by the combined impact of Section 232 tariffs and reciprocal tariffs, EEPC said. Exports to the UAE fell 19.3 per cent to $667 million, while North America and the EU — the top two regions — also witnessed year-on-year declines for the second consecutive month. Significant drops were noted across WANA, South Asia, Latin America and the CIS region.“While a high base effect was one of the reasons for the drop in exports during October this year, it was also a result of the US-administered reciprocal tariffs… The industry believes that trade diversion due to US tariffs is one of the reasons behind the declining exports,” EEPC Chairman Pankaj Chadha said. He added that the industry welcomed the government approving over Rs 25,000 crore for the Export Promotion Mission and Rs 20,000 crore for credit guarantee support.The fall in October marked the second monthly decline of FY26 after May, ending a four-month streak of growth. Panel-wise data showed major contractions in ‘Aircrafts and Spacecraft’ and ‘Ships, Boats and Floating structures’, both falling over 80 per cent.Key categories including ‘Electrical machinery’, ‘Products of iron and steel’, ‘Industrial machinery’ and ‘Aluminium products’ also registered year-on-year declines. Overall, 23 of 34 engineering panels recorded negative growth in October.India’s exports to the US have been under pressure for months due to steep tariff hikes. Between May and October 2025, US-bound shipments fell 28.5 per cent as American duties climbed from 10 per cent in April to 50 per cent by late August, as per a GTRI report. Labour-intensive goods, which faced 50 per cent tariffs, saw a 31.2 per cent drop in the same period.Despite the October setback, engineering exports grew 1.68 per cent on a cumulative basis during April-October 2025, rising to $68.73 billion from $67.60 billion a year earlier, ANI reported.

Adelaide Strikers Women face Brisbane Heat Women in the 30th match of the Women’s Big Bash League 2025-26 at North Sydney Oval, Sydney, on November 30. The Strikers hold a mid-table position with 6 points from 7 games (2 wins, 3 losses, 2 no results), while the Heat languish at the bottom with just 1 point from 7 outings (0 wins, 6 losses, 1 no result).​

Adelaide Strikers recently edged Brisbane Heat by 6 wickets in their earlier encounter (Match 23), chasing 170 with half-centuries from Laura Wolvaardt (51 off 33) and Tammy Beaumont (51 off 33), aided by Bridget Patterson‘s unbeaten 32 off 22 in a tense finish. Brisbane Heat posted 169/5 in that game, led by Lauren Winfield-Hill‘s 47, but struggled against Strikers’ spin duo Amanda-Jade Wellington (2-31) and Sophie Ecclestone (2-36). The Heat remain winless this season, highlighting batting inconsistencies despite contributions from Grace Harris and Jess Jonassen.

AS-W vs BH-W, WBBL|11: Match details

• Date and Time: November 30; 06:40 am IST/ 01:10 am GMT/ 12:10 pm Local
• Venue: North Sydney Oval, Sydney

AS-W vs BH-W, Head-to-Head Record in WBBL|11

Matches played: 26 | Adelaide Strikers won: 11 | Brisbane Heat won: 14 | Tied: 01

North Sydney Oval Pitch Report

North Sydney Oval offers a balanced surface favoring batters, with good pace and bounce early, transitioning to spin grip later; average first innings score hovers around 160-170 in T20s. Pacers find assistance in powerplays, while teams prefer batting first under lights. Expect high scores, as seen in prior WBBL games here.

Squads:

Brisbane Heat: Charli Knott, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen (c), Chinelle Henry, Nadine de Klerk, Georgia Redmayne (wk), Lauren Winfield-Hill, Annie O Neil, Mikayla Wrigley, Nicola Hancock, Lucy Hamilton, Sianna Ginger, Lily Bassingthwaighte, Lucinda Bourke, Bonnie Berry, Grace Parsons

Adelaide Strikers: Laura Wolvaardt, Tammy Beaumont, Madeline Penna, Tahlia McGrath (c), Bridget Patterson (wk), Ellie Johnston, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Sophie Ecclestone, Jemma Barsby, Darcie Brown, Megan Schutt, Tabatha Saville, Anesu Mushangwe, Ella Wilson, Eleanor Larosa

Also READ: WBBL|11: Meg Lanning guides Melbourne Stars to top of the table with 45-run win Melbourne Renegades

AS-W vs BH-W, WBBL|11: Today’s Match Prediction

Case 1:

• Adelaide Strikers wins the toss and bats first
• Adelaide Strikers powerplay score: 40-50
• Adelaide Strikers total score: 140-150

Case 2:

• Brisbane Heat wins the toss and bats first
• Brisbane Heat powerplay score: 50-60
• Brisbane Heat total score: 150-160

Match result: Team batting first to win the game

Also READ: WBBL|11: Sophie Devine’s all-round show powers Perth Scorchers to a dominant win over Melbourne Renegades

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

File photo: External affairs minister S Jaishankar (Picture credit: ANI)

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the world has entered an era where “politics increasingly trumps economics” and stressed that India must continuously diversify supply sources to safeguard national interests. The minister was speaking after receiving an Honorary Doctorate from IIM-Calcutta, reported PTI.

“This is an era where politics increasingly trumps economics… and that is not a pun,” he said, adding that in an “uncertain world”, India must guarantee its needs by widening supply networks. He noted that the United States, “long the underwriter of the contemporary system”, has now set “radically new terms of engagement” by dealing with countries individually. He said China has “long played by its own rules” and continues to do so.Jaishankar highlighted that India and the US are currently engaged in two parallel negotiations — one on a framework trade deal focused on tariffs and another on a comprehensive agreement. His remarks come at a time when Indian exports to the US have seen a sharp 28.5 per cent decline between May and October 2025 due to aggressive tariff hikes, which pushed duties as high as 50 per cent by late August, as per a GTRI report.He said the global landscape is marked by fragmentation, supply insecurity and competing geopolitical pulls, with nations hedging against uncertainties.Jaishankar added that a third of global production “currently takes place in China”, putting the spotlight on supply-chain reliability. Conflicts and climate events have increased the risk of disruption.The minister asserted that India has been actively pursuing self-reliance and developing itself as a manufacturing base. He said the gap with successful Asian economies is narrowing with rapid progress in highways, railways, aviation, ports, energy and power. “We are now moving ahead, by any standards,” he said.Jaishankar emphasised that a major power like India must possess a strong industrial base, noting that ‘Make in India’ reflects a “different mindset and greater ambition”. He said industries must build domestic supply chains even as India seeks a stronger role in global ones.IIM-Calcutta, in its statement, said Jaishankar also reflected on the transformative impact of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, and underscored the need to strengthen domestic capabilities and reduce vulnerabilities.He reiterated that India’s foreign policy aims to expand the country’s global footprint as it works toward becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Image used for representative purposes

NEW DELHI: Airlines across nation are rushing to complete emergency software upgrades on more than 350 Airbus A320-family aircraft after a rare global safety directive warned that intense solar radiation could corrupt flight-control data and trigger sudden, uncommanded aircraft movements. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered immediate compliance on Saturday after Airbus flagged a vulnerability in ELAC B flight-control computers running software version L104, the same configuration linked to an October 30 JetBlue A320 incident in which the aircraft unexpectedly pitched downward without pilot input, injuring several passengers and prompting a US federal investigation. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said late Saturday that IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express have accelerated upgrades across their fleets and expect full compliance by the end of the day. IndiGo has 200 affected aircraft and has completed upgrades on 184, with the remainder expected to be cleared by 23:59 hours. Air India has 113 aircraft requiring the fix and has completed 69 installations, while Air India Express has upgraded 17 of its 25 affected aircraft. The DGCA has stressed that no aircraft may operate until the mandatory modification is complete, except for repositioning flights to maintenance bases. Airbus issued the urgent global alert after determining that solar flares can, under certain conditions, corrupt data used by the aircraft’s elevator control computers, potentially causing unexpected control-surface movements. The company has instructed operators worldwide to immediately revert to an earlier, stable software version. The issue affects about 6,000 A320-family aircraft globally, although roughly 1,000 older jets may require hardware replacements, a process that will take longer. The directive has triggered widespread disruption during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, with airlines across Europe and the Americas reporting delays and cancellations as they verify software versions and apply the fix. American Airlines has identified hundreds of aircraft requiring the update, Air France has cancelled several flights, Avianca has paused ticket sales into December, and carriers including Delta, Finnair, Volaris and Air New Zealand have warned of operational impact. Europe’s aviation regulator, EASA, has directed operators to complete the fix before their next flight, acknowledging the inconvenience but underscoring that safety remains paramount. Although the update takes only around two hours per aircraft, maintenance lines worldwide are already stretched by ongoing engine-related groundings and labour shortages, forcing airlines to use overnight maintenance windows and short turnaround periods to complete the repair. Airbus’s directive is among the most significant recalls in its history and comes at a time when more than 3,000 A320-family aircraft were airborne globally, highlighting the scale and urgency of the operation. India operates one of the world’s largest A320 fleets, dominated by IndiGo and the Air India group. The A320, which introduced fly-by-wire controls to commercial aviation in the 1980s, now accounts for a substantial share of global traffic. The latest safety update adds to the mounting technical pressures on the aviation sector as regulators move quickly to address emerging electronic and software vulnerabilities linked to space-weather events.

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Faf du Plessis has pulled out of the IPL auction ahead of the 2026 season. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

Former South Africa captain and long-time IPL stalwart Faf du Plessis has confirmed he will not enter his name in the upcoming IPL auction, choosing instead to participate in the Pakistan Super League. The announcement came on Sunday, 29 November — barely two weeks before the 15 December auction in Abu Dhabi, thereby marking a notable shift for one of the most reliable overseas performers the IPL has seen.

Du Plessis, who first joined Chennai Super Kings in 2013, became part of the franchise’s core almost instantly, admired for his consistency, athleticism and composure in high-pressure games. He spent seven seasons with CSK and reunited with MS Dhoni during the Rising Pune Supergiant stint in 2016 and 2017. His finest IPL campaign arrived during CSK’s title run in 2021, scoring 633 runs and finishing just 2 runs behind Ruturaj Gaikwad in the Orange Cap tally. Yet, CSK released him before the 2022 mega auction, allowing Royal Challengers Bengaluru to sign him and hand him the captaincy for the 2022–24 seasons. He thrived in the role. His 730-run effort in 2023 remains among the standout seasons by an RCB captain. In 2025, he turned out for Delhi Capitals, scoring 202 runs in nine matches before injury cut his tournament short.

Faf du Plessis’ post on Instagram

Across 14 seasons, du Plessis built an IPL record few overseas players can match: 4,773 runs in 154 matches at an average of 35.10 and a strike rate of 135.79. “After 14 seasons in the IPL, I’ve decided not to put my name into the auction this year,” he wrote, thanking franchises, teammates and fans for shaping his journey. He stressed this decision is not a farewell to India, saying, “India has a special place in my heart… this certainly isn’t goodbye.” Du Plessis will now shift his focus to the PSL, where he previously represented Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators. “A new country. A new environment. A new challenge,” he said, looking forward to the return.