NEW DELHI: Border Security Force on Sunday said that Pak-backed terrorist launching pads are active across the LoC even after the security forces destroyed several of them in PoK during Operation Sindoor.“Several terrorist launching pads across the LoC were destroyed during Operation Sindoor, but some launching pads are still active where there is the presence of terrorists,” Inspector General of BSF Ashok Yadav said.“There is always an attempt by Pakistan to infiltrate terrorists ahead of the winter. As you know, the visibility these days is low, but we have modern surveillance equipment, and we effectively cover the vulnerable patches. Our efforts are to foil any infiltration attempt,” he added.This comes a day after senior BSF officers said that more than six dozen terror launchpads have been shifted to the “depth areas” in Pakistan after Operation Sindoor.“After the BSF destroyed many terror launchpads along the border during Operation Sindoor, the Pakistan government shifted all such facilities to the depth areas… About 12 launchpads are working from the depth areas of Sialkot and Zaffarwal, which are not exactly on the border.“Similarly, 60 launchpads are working in the other depth areas away from the border,” BSF DIG Vikram Kunwar had said.Kunwar, along with BSF IG Jammu Frontier Shashank Anand and DIG Kulwant Rai Sharma, addressed a joint press conference to highlight the achievements of the force in 2025, including its role in Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the April 22 Pahalgam massacre with cross-border links that claimed 26 lives.The officer said the figures of these launchpads, as well as the terrorists present in them, keep changing.“They do not sit there permanently. These launchpads are generally active when terrorists have to be pushed (into India)… They are not kept in more than two or three groups,” DIG Kunwar said while informing that there are no training camps in the areas close to the International Border presently.“Earlier, they used to have areas marked where those belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad would be active on the down side, and those from Lashkar-e-Taiba would be active on the upper side. After Operation Sindoor, they have formed a mixed group. Those who want can get training in a mixed group,” DIG Kunwar said.IG Anand said the BSF is ready to follow the orders of the government if it decides to resume Operation Sindoor.“If we talk about 1965, 1971, the 1999 Kargil War, or Operation Sindoor, the BSF has a good experience of all kinds of wars, be it conventional or hybrid warfare. We are ready,” he said.“If we get a chance, we are capable of causing more damage than what we did in May. Whatever policy the government decides, the BSF will play its role in it,” he added.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan (ANI file photo)

Former Pakistan prime minister and World Cup–winning captain Imran Khan has been in jail for over two years. In recent days, rumours about his health, and even claims that he may have died, have spread widely on social media. His family says they are worried because they have not been allowed to meet him for weeks.The anxiety deepened on Friday when Imran Khan’s son Kasim Khan publicly demanded that the government prove the 73-year-old PTI founder is alive.“We demand proof of Imran Khan’s life,” Kasim said in a social media post.For nearly a month, no family member, lawyer or party aide has been allowed to see the former cricketer-turned-politician, fuelling speculation that he may have been harmed inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where he has been incarcerated for over two years.

What the rules say about ‘political prisoner’ access

According to Dawn, while the government maintains that Imran Khan is being given all “possible facilities”, a senior cabinet member on Friday claimed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi was trying to meet Khan in violation of the jail manual.Information minister Atta Tarar’s remarks triggered a sharp response from the PTI, which insists its court-approved visiting schedule — Tuesdays and Thursdays — is not being honoured.This raises a critical question: what does the jail manual actually say?Dawn reports that visitation and phone calls are tied to a prisoner’s “good behaviour”, giving the jail superintendent wide discretion.As the newspaper notes: “Visitation, phone calls allowed to prisoners are linked to their ‘good behaviour’, meaning the jail superintendent has the discretion to allow or disallow meetings.”Current and former prison officials told Dawn that prisoners in Punjab, including political detainees, are allowed:

Even condemned prisoners can meet family and lawyers once a week and get the same phone allowance via public call offices inside Adiala Jail.Political prisoners, Dawn adds, are placed in special cells under strict security, with daily medical check-ups mandated to ensure they are healthy.

Rules that are ‘subjective’

But these rules are not absolute. Their implementation depends heavily on the inmate’s behaviour, making the process “necessarily subjective”, according to Dawn.Serious charges — including terrorism or anti-state activities — can also restrict access.A retired senior prison department officer told Dawn that access to lawyers or relatives ultimately rests with the jail superintendent, who can block meetings or calls if an inmate’s behaviour is deemed “not good”.

Family’s repeated requests denied

Despite court orders and repeated attempts, Imran Khan’s three sisters, PTI members and CM Sohail Afridi have been camping outside Adiala Jail for days, demanding a meeting with him.Kasim Khan said the family has been kept completely in the dark: “My father has been under arrest for 845 days. For the past six weeks, he has been kept in solitary confinement in a death cell with zero transparency. His sisters have been denied every visit, even with clear court orders allowing access. There have been no phone calls, no meetings and no proof of life. Me and my brother have had no contact with our father.”Calling the situation “deliberate”, he added: “This absolute blackout is not a security protocol. Rather it is a deliberate attempt to hide my father’s condition and prevent our family from knowing whether he is safe… the Pakistani government and its handlers will be held fully accountable legally, morally and internationally for my father’s safety.”He also appealed to international organisations and human rights groups to intervene urgently.“We demand proof of his life, enforce court ordered access, end this inhumane isolation and call for the release of Pakistan’s most popular political leader who is being held solely for political reasons,” Kasim said.

Red Spider Nebula (Image credits: Nasa)

Nasa has released a new image of the Red Spider Nebula, revealing never-before-seen details of NGC 6537. Captured with the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), the image shows the nebula with remarkable clarity, its full structure stretched across a dense backdrop of thousands of stars. The European Space Agency (ESA) described the picture of the month as a “cosmic creepy crawly.”Planetary nebulae like the Red Spider form when Sun-like stars reach the ends of their lives, shed their outer layers, and expose their hot cores. Ultraviolet radiation from these cores ionises the surrounding gas, causing it to glow for a relatively brief period — only a few tens of thousands of years.A key highlight in Webb’s new view is the nebula’s central star. In older optical images from telescopes such as Hubble, it appears faint and blue. With Webb’s infrared sensitivity, however, it shows up as red, revealing a surrounding shroud of hot dust. Nasa notes that this dust likely forms a disc around the star. Although only one star is visible, researchers believe a hidden companion may also be present, which could help explain the nebula’s narrow waist and wide outflows.Webb’s data also expose, for the first time, the full reach of the nebula’s dramatic lobes — the “legs” of the spider. These lobes, traced in blue by light from H₂ molecules, form closed, bubble-like shells that extend roughly three light-years from end to end. They have expanded over thousands of years as gas has steadily flowed out from the nebula’s centre.Closer to the core, the telescope reveals signs of ongoing activity. An elongated purple “S” shape marks the path of a fast-moving jet that has slammed into older material, helping carve the rippling structure that defines the nebula today.The observations come from Webb GO programme #4571 (PI: J. Kastner), which aims to understand how jets and outflows from central stars shape bipolar planetary nebulae. According to Nasa, NIRCam’s advanced near-infrared capabilities made it possible to uncover these newly revealed structures in the image released on October. 26, 2025.

A screen displays delays in IndiGo flights at Delhi’s IGI on Saturday. According to DGCA, 82% of the 338 Indian aircraft had been updated by Saturday evening. IndiGo announced before midnight that it had completed the task of updating its 200 affected jets

NEW DELHI: A cosmic curveball forced a frantic fix as Indian operators of Airbus’s best-selling A320 aircraft worked through the weekend to undo a software upgrade now tied to solar-flare risk.They rushed to roll back flight-control updates on 338 identified aircraft. IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express expect to finish the downgrade by late Saturday-Sunday night, averting what regulators warned could have caused pilots to briefly lose control during intense radiation events. Not all A320s were impacted.Working under DGCA supervision, airlines pushed the fixes without grounding fleets and avoiding mass cancellations at the peak of holiday travel. Updates took roughly 40-50 minutes for each aircraft. By 5.30pm Saturday, only four Air India Express flights were cancelled, with carriers bracing for delays of up to 90 minutes.According to DGCA, IndiGo, the world’s largest A320 operator, had updated 184 of 200 affected jets by Saturday evening; Air India 69 of 113; Air India Express 17 of 25 – 278 aircraft, or 82% of the 338 flagged globally in Indian fleets. IndiGo announced before midnight it had completed the task. Earlier, IndiGo said on X its engineers had completed updates on 160 of 200 mandated aircraft by Saturday evening, with “minimal delays and zero cancellations”, and expected to meet all deadlines.Air India said its teams had worked “round-the-clock,” anticipated full compliance within EASA’s timelines and reported “no cancellations” due to the task, though some flights would run slightly late.Air India Express said most of its A320 fleet was already compliant and remaining aircraft were on track, crediting coordinated work across engineering, operations and safety teams.Airbus triggered the scramble late Friday after directing operators to revert flight control computers to a 2022 software build. Regulators in Europe, India and US quickly issued emergency orders.The move followed an Oct 30 JetBlue A320 event in which the jet allegedly pitched nose-down without pilot input while flying Cancun-Newark. The aircraft diverted to Tampa, where 15-20 passengers injured in the uncontrolled descent were hospitalised. Investigators later linked the issue to an upgrade, dubbed L104, for the elevator and aileron computer (ELAC).Airbus warned that solar radiation could corrupt data critical to flight controls on certain software-hardware combinations, prompting operators to revert to the older build on susceptible jets.Indian carriers received the first late-night alert around 9.30pm Friday. “At first, it seemed a much bigger issue that would require grounding and a massive impact,” said an official managing the response. Coordinated work across multiple maintenance bases revealed the rollback could be completed in under 50 minutes on newer aircraft, while older jets required additional hardware changes.Global carriers also cancelled and delayed services as the scale of the alert briefly appeared to run into thousands of aircraft before being narrowed to a smaller subset. Airbus said it acted after analysing an event “revealing that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls”, adding it worked with regulators to ensure fleets remained safe.

British playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard died at the age of 88 on Saturday. He passed away at his home in Dorset, England, surrounded by his family, reports the BBC. Stoppard was regarded as one of the greatest dramatists of his generation. His career spanned over six decades, producing a string of acclaimed plays and screenplays. He was best known for works like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arcadia, The Real Thing and Leopoldstadt.His name extended beyond the theatre. Stoppard also wrote for radio, television and film. Among his celebrated screen credits was the Academy Award–winning screenplay for Shakespeare in Love (1998), shared with Marc Norman.Stoppard’s body of work stood out for its combination of wit, intellectual depth and emotional honesty. His plays often explored philosophy, history, identity and human relationships and even comedic flair.He was born in 1937 in Czechoslovakia (Now Czech Republic). He fled Nazi persecution as a child and eventually settled in Britain, where he adopted the name Tom Stoppard. His early life experiences, personal loss, and later discovering his Jewish heritage helped shape the themes and emotional core of many of his later works.In 2012, Stoppard attended the Jaipur Literature Festival, one of the largest literary gatherings in the world. His presence drew huge attention from literature enthusiasts and aspiring writers, eager to hear insights. During the festival, Stoppard spoke about the craft of playwriting, the interplay of history and philosophy in drama, and his personal journey from Czechoslovakia to Britain. Stoppard is survived by his family, children and grandchildren.

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Demolition of journalist Arafaz Ahmad Daing’s home in Jammu by Jammu Development Authority (JDA) has triggered a political confrontation, with deputy CM Surinder Choudhary demanding to know who ordered the action and urging LG Manoj Sinha to order an inquiry.Choudhary visited Saturday the demolished structure at Narwal and said neither the elected govt nor CM Omar Abdullah ordered the step. “The JDA vice chairman is posted by the LG, and police involved also report to the LG. If this action did not happen on your orders, then order an inquiry and suspend the officials responsible,” he told reporters.The house was levelled Thursday morning by JDA teams accompanied by a large police contingent. Daing said his father built the structure 40 years ago and the family had lived there ever since. His counsel, lawyer Sheikh Shakeel Ahmad, alleged the demolition was “selective targeting” executed by JDA vice chairman with support from district authorities.Former J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina visited the site Friday and expressed solidarity with the family. He said he spoke to Sinha and claimed the latter told him “the LG administration did not use bulldozers. So where did this action come from? I don’t want to politicise this”.Choudhary accused Raina of lying. “Ask him to show his call records and prove he actually spoke to the LG,” he said. He praised neighbour Kuldeep Sharma, who offered land to Daing’s family, calling it “a powerful example of the brotherhood that defines J&K”.Omar accused Raj Bhavan–posted officers of carrying out “selective demolitions” to allegedly undermine the elected govt. “Development authorities, revenue officials — these should be our officers. Instead, officers are being posted without consulting us, and they take dictation from somewhere, use bulldozers,” he alleged.Choudhary said Omar “never supported actions driven by revenge”. “If officials acted on their own without consulting the LG or the CM, they should be placed under suspension,” he said, adding J&K govt backs moves to retrieve encroached land but insisted action “must not be selective” and should begin with “influential land grabbers, not the poor”.

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.

Ranchi: India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir during a training session on the eve of the first ODI cricket match of a series between India and South Africa, in Ranchi, Jharkhand. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore) (PTI11_29_2025_000171A)

NEW DELHI: After dominating at home for 12 straight years without dropping a single Test series, India have now lost two of their last three — a 3-0 defeat to New Zealand last year and a 2-0 loss to South Africa this season. Both setbacks have come under the tenure of head coach Gautam Gambhir, who took over in July 2024. The 408-run defeat in Guwahati was India’s heaviest loss by runs in Test cricket.Instead of owning his mistakes as coach after another debacle at home, Gambhir highlighted his successes, including a 2-2 Test series draw in England, where India should have won 3-1, and where his obsession for extra batting cushion forced a bowler of Kuldeep Yadav’s ability to warm the bench entire summer.

He even pointed out his victories in the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup this year. India were the best team in the Champions Trophy — skill-wise they were a superior side — but we can’t forget that India were stationed at the same hotel in Dubai’s downtown area and played all their games at the same venue while the other teams were travelling back and forth from Pakistan, including the hosts. It wasn’t something which the Men in Blue asked for but the circumstances did give them a slight edge over their opponents.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In September, under coach Gambhir, India lifted the Asia Cup – second white-ball title – after beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. India were the favourites again and, despite experimenting with the middle order throughout the tournament, they went on to win the Cup.These two tournament wins have beefed up the trophy cabinet but it’s strange that the southpaw who played a pivotal role in India’s wins in the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup finals, is glorifying the Asia Cup win — something that just doesn’t sit well with the cricketer India has known.“I’m the same guy who got results in England as well, with a young team. And I’m sure you guys will forget very soon because a lot of people keep talking about New Zealand. And I’m the same guy under whom we won the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup as well,” he told reporters in Guwahati.

Head Coach Gautam Gambhir

These comments do not reflect the feistiness and heart-on-his-sleeve attitude Gambhir is known for. They sound like coming from someone who is all at sea with his thoughts, rattled by the recent results and clearly struggling to find the right template in Tests.There were mentions of transition and exit of the stalwarts and the inexperience in the change room too.“I don’t think ever in Indian cricket something like this has happened, where the transition is happening in the spin-bowling department and in the batting department as well,” he mentioned.Cheteshwar Pujara, however, didn’t agree with the head coach’s reasoning and termed it as an excuse.“I don’t buy this that India are losing at home because of transition. I can’t digest that,” Pujara told broadcasters after India lost by 30 runs in Kolkata.“If you lose in England or Australia because of transition, it could be acceptable. But this team has the talent and potential. You look at the first-class record of all the players — Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill… Washy (Washington Sundar) batted at No. 3 in this game — all their records are so good. Still, if you lose at home, that means something is wrong.”

That 3-0 loss last year against New Zealand had cost India a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, and this defeat to South Africa has seen them slip to fifth position on the current WTC table, behind Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.India’s Test future is slipping into the doldrums, and Gambhir’s legacy is now in danger of being defined as the coach under whom India’s iron grip at home finally cracked.