IdeasbyShami

 Long ago, towards the conclusion of net sessions, you may occasionally observe right-handed hitters standing up as lefties and right-arm bowlers skillfully delivering the opposite direction. A legendary Sheffield Shield tailender who faced up with a stump and middled each ball caught my eye once. Major cricketers had access to 27 gears, although they only used six or seven of them, similar to leisure cyclists. In first-class cricket, conventional wisdom won out. How "Bazball" has energised the Ashes series for the upcoming year: Fear not, bring it on A piece of paper with one word scrawled on it was discovered in the home side's viewing section during the most recent Test between Australia and the West Indies in Adelaide. Why Smith supports Warner to overcome his batting issues In Test cricket, Steve Smith is optimistic that David Warner will shake off his recent slump. It was a dig at England's groundbreaking use of long-form cricket under new coach Brendon "Ba...

 The US tech giant Microsoft has been penalized 60 million euros ($64 million) by France's privacy authorities for forcing advertising cookies on customers. The National Commission for Technology and Freedoms (CNIL), which levied the biggest fine in 2022, claimed that Microsoft's search engine Bing did not have a framework in place that allowed users to reject cookies as easily as accepting them. According to the French authority, investigations revealed that "cookies were put on users' terminals when they visited this site without their authorization, and these cookies were exploited, among other things, for advertising purposes." The report "found that there was no button allowing to refuse the deposit of cookies as easy as accepting it" as well. The CNIL claimed that the fine was justified in part by the advertising earnings the business made from information obtained through cookies, which are little data files used to track internet activity. The bu...

On Wednesday night in Nassau, Bahamas, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is carried in handcuffs to an aircraft as he is being extradited to the US. As Sam Bankman-Fried was being brought back to the United States from the Bahamas on Wednesday, a federal prosecutor revealed that two of the crypto entrepreneur's closest friends had secretly entered guilty pleas to criminal charges related to the demise of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and were now assisting investigators. Both Gary Wang, the 29-year-old co-founder of FTX, and Caroline Ellison, the 28-year-old former CEO of Bankman-trading Fried's company Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud. In a video statement posted to social media on Wednesday night, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, "They are both cooperating with the Southern District of New York." He continued by urging anyone else who took part in ...

More than NZ$100,000 ($63,200) was paid for a signed copy of a transcript showing New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern abusing an opposition leader. A heated discussion with ACT party leader David Seymour was followed by microphones picking up the nasty remark. Prior to Mr. Seymour suggesting that they collaborate to collect money for the New Zealand Prostate Cancer Foundation, Ms. Ardern later issued an apology for the statement. Thursday's charity auction came to a close, and the PM thanked everyone who participated. When Mr. Seymour, the head of the right-wing libertarian ACT party, urged Ms. Ardern to give an example of her "making a mistake, properly apologizing for it, and rectifying it," she objected. After defending the accomplishments of her Labour-led administration, Ms. Ardern sat down and muttered, "Such an arrogant prick." After Mr. Seymour requested an apology, the statement was recorded by her microphone and included in the official Hansard r...

 According to Najam Sethi, who is leading a panel overseeing the Pakistan Cricket Board's operations until a chairman is chosen, "advice has to be sought" from the government in cricket-related issues involving India. Speaking to the media in Lahore, he responded to a question from a reporter by saying it was "too early" for him to comment on "strategic matters" involving India. Sports ties between the two countries were already strained due to the neighbor's refusal to come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023. According to Sethi, the government "gives guidance" to the sports board regarding its ultimate choices in these situations. He continued by saying that the issue would be examined in committee meetings and admitted that he didn't have a thorough understanding of the choices made before to his appointment and the rationale behind them. For the current T20 World Cup, India has denied the Pakistan blind cricket team's visas o...

 Prior to the start of the Oscar voting season on January 12, 92 titles will compete for a featured slot on the 15-title shortlist for the international feature category, which will be revealed on December 21. Denmark, Germany, Mexico, and Russia are the four nations that have received three mentions on the shortlist over the past five years. If the shortlist for this year is any indication of those nations' historical success with the Academy, voters may have the opportunity to recognize the films Holy Spider from Denmark, All Quiet on the Western Front from Germany, and Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths from Mexico. The Russian Film Academy declared on September 26 that it will not be submitting a movie for review. Within Sand, the first Saudi film to be shot in Neom, has been acquired by Middle Eastern distributor Front Row. John C. Farrell FILM NEWS Best Nominations from London Critics' Circle Include "Banshees of Inisherin" and "Aftersun" Ot...

 Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday, "James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their initial chapter of storytelling." But DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to keep looking at the best methods to use Black Adam in upcoming DC Multiverse chapters. "Love @TheRock & I'm always excited to see what he & Seven Bucks do next," wrote Gunn in a statement he published. Can't wait to work with you soon. Johnson's passion project, Adam, which debuted on October 21, had him committed to the role for about 15 years before it was ever produced. Johnson rose to fame during that time and in 2017 used his influence to persuade Warner Bros. and New Line to create a standalone Black Adam movie rather than having the character appear in Shazam! as a villain. (Black Adam is a member of Shazam's rogue gallery in the comic books.) The Justice Society of America and a potential Black Adam vs. Superman movie were both suggested in the film's post...

  On December 14, 2022, a pedestrian passes by the Al Saqi Books Middle Eastern specialty bookstore in Bayswater, west London. In London, Salwa Gaspard puts some of the many Arabic-language books that are arranged on gloomy wooden shelves back where they belong while chatting with clients. Her London bookstore, well-known to book lovers around the Middle East, will permanently close in a few days. The pandemic and the economic turmoil in the UK and Lebanon, where Gaspard and her husband Andre's publishing firm prints and delivers the majority of its books, have also affected Al Saqi Books. Since they first established the bookshop in 1978, it has become a must-see for travelers from the Middle East. It is located in a white colonnaded building near Paddington train station in west London. A picture shot on December 14, 2022, depicts a general view of the Al Saqi Books Middle Eastern specialty bookstore in Bayswater, west London, on that day. — AFP They will visit Al Saqi, Knightsbr...

 As Beijing prepared for a spike in serious cases, dozens of hearses formed a line outside a crematorium on Wednesday, despite China reporting no new Covid-19 deaths in its expanding outbreak. This prompted criticism of China's virus accounting. The 1.4 billion-person nation this month started dismantling its "zero-Covid" regime of lockdowns and testing, which had mostly kept the virus at bay for three years — at huge economic and psychological costs. This was done in response to widespread complaints. The rapid change in policy caught the nation's flimsy healthcare system off guard, causing hospitals to scramble for beds and blood, pharmacies to scramble for medications, and officials to race to create specialized clinics. According to experts, China could have more than a million Covid deaths in the upcoming year. A Reuters witness on Wednesday observed a line of about 40 hearses waiting to enter a cremation in Beijing's Tongzhou area while the parking lot was f...

 Harvey Weinstein, a former movie producer who became the target of #MeToo sexual abuse allegations five years ago, was found guilty of rape and two additional counts of sexual assault by a Los Angeles jury on Monday. This is the second conviction for the former Hollywood power broker. The jury exonerated Weinstein of charges involving a second claimed victim while finding him guilty of rape, forced oral copulation, and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving one woman, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court. The wife of Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who had previously admitted to being Jane Doe 4 in the trial, made two allegations, including one of rape, but the jury was unable to reach a decision. Weinstein, 70, was found guilty of sexual misconduct in New York and is currently serving a 23-year jail term. After receiving dozens of legal complaints from former employees, FTX's Bankman-Fried changed his mind and agreed to be ext...

 The struggling batter does not want to retire in Sydney, according to David Warner's management, who also argues that Australian selectors must take into account the Test great's entire career before determining whether his time is up. Heavy-duty tours of India and England in 2023 are still very much on the table, according to James Erskine, the agent who has assisted Warner in navigating the ball-tampering scandal and its consequences. The selectors, rather than Warner, may be forced to take action, most likely after this series is over, if sufficient runs aren't made when Warner becomes the 14th Australian to play in 100 Tests on Boxing Day. Australian opener David Warner is battling to stay in the Test squad before a busy 2023. He needs runs. Australian opener David Warner is battling to stay in the Test squad before a busy 2023. He needs runs. Through three Tests this summer—two against the West Indies and one against South Africa—Warner has a top score of 48. In Brisb...

 Johnny Depp and Amber Heard resolve their slander lawsuit. The Aquaman actress announced on Instagram that she is giving up her effort to contest the damages because she "just cannot go through" another trial. The actor Amber Heard revealed on Monday that she had decided to settle the significant defamation case launched by her ex-husband Johnny Depp after a "very painful" period of consideration. The settlement, which comes after a Virginia jury ordered Heard to pay the Pirates of the Caribbean actor $10 million, was not disclosed by Heard in an Instagram post. According to people with direct knowledge, the settlement requires Heard, 36, to pay her ex-husband, 59, $1 million. This information was provided by the entertainment website TMZ. Heard, who played the title role in the film Aquaman, announced she was settling the case instead of appealing the jury's verdict on damages because she "just cannot go through" another trial. "I have made a ve...

 Despite leading Pakistan to its first-ever 3-0 Test series whitewash at home, captain Babar Azam has no plans to step down, claiming that it is "a matter of honor" to lead the team. After losing the first two games by 74 runs in Rawalpindi and 26 runs in Multan, Pakistan was defeated by England on Tuesday in the third and final Test in Karachi. Having been defeated by Australia in Lahore in March, it was also the first time Pakistan had lost four straight Test matches. Azam said at a news conference that he still relished the challenge when asked if he would give up the captaincy to focus on his batting. "For me, being captain is a matter of honor. I'll give my country and myself my best effort, he declared. "I love it better under pressure, and my batting doesn't suffer." Azam admitted his dissatisfaction with the series' outcome, though. Azam, who had his sixth loss in 16 Tests as captain, remarked, "We could not apply ourselves in the serie...

 On Tuesday in Karachi, England defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the third and final Test to win the series 3-0 and prevent Pakistan from ever having a home whitewash. After resuming on 112-2, England quickly reached the modest 167-run goal, with Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes both scoring an unbeaten 82 and 35. In Rawalpindi, England won the first Test by 74 runs, and in Multan, it won by 26 runs. This was England's first Test tour of Pakistan since 2005; in the intervening years, the team declined to visit the South Asian nation due to security reasons. On the fourth day, Duckett hit his 12th boundary off fast bowler Mohammad Wasim to secure the victory, with England scoring 170-2. Stokes was dropped by Agha Salman off of the spinner Abrar Ahmed with the English captain just needing 19 points to win. With nine victories in their last ten games, England has demonstrated the validity of their recently adopted loose-lipped style of Test cricket, known as "Bazball," after ...

The Department of Agriculture has advised farmers not to grow sunflowers on silty or extremely sandy soil and has deemed heavy miraz land to be particularly suitable for such production. According to the Research Information Unit of the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute in Faisalabad, the government is offering plenty of facilities for the cultivation of oilseeds in the greatest possible area, thus farmers should make sure to plant sunflowers in the greatest possible area. According to him, sunflower cultivation for the spring might begin as early as January 1. According to the plan, he claimed that from January 1 to January 31, DG Khan, Muzaffargarh, Leh, Lodhran, Rajanpur, and Bhakkar districts in Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Khanewal, Multan, Wahari, and Bahalangar will sow sunflower seeds in the spring. In the districts of Faisalabad, Jhang, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Sahiwal, and Okara from January 10 to February 10, and in the districts of Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mandi Ba...

 THE HAGUE: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte issued a formal apology on Monday for the country's involvement in slavery for 250 years, referring to it as a "crime against humanity." The apology comes nearly 150 years after slavery was abolished in the European nation's possessions abroad, which comprised Suriname and the Caribbean islands of Curacao and Aruba as well as Indonesia in the East. In a speech in The Hague, Rutte apologized on behalf of the Dutch government for the state's previous acts. Living in the present, he declared, "we can only clearly recognize and denounce slavery as a crime against humanity." Seven former colonies in South America and the Caribbean have been visited by Dutch ministers for the. The Dutch deputy prime minister and finance minister, Sigrid Kaag, stated last week during an official visit to Suriname that a "process" will start building up to "another tremendously crucial event on July 1 next year." Fo...

 The bilateral relationship between Pakistan and India has never been typical, going through periods of fierce competition and even all-out war, followed by periods of icy peace and attempts to mend bridges. The relationship has significantly deteriorated after India's contentious cancellation of held Kashmir's autonomy in 2019. Top officials from both countries have, however, engaged in a series of nasty encounters during the past few months. A top Indian officer made a similarly harsh remark the following month, threatening to "retake" Azad Kashmir. In October, the Indian defense minister made a provocative speech, threatening to "retake" Gilgit-Baltistan. In a stern reply, Mr. Bhutto-Zardari noted that the "butcher of Gujarat" was now the Indian prime minister and that RSS members held the country's highest positions. Following this event, both governments have levelled new accusations against one another, and on Friday, a BJP crowd tried to...

On Capitol Hill in Washington, US, on December 19, 2022, the members of the US House Select Committee looking into the January 6 Attack on the US Capitol sit next to a video of former US President Donald Trump discussing the results of the 2020 US Presidential election. The House Select Committee looking into the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, decided Monday to recommend that former President Donald Trump be charged with four offenses linked to his attempt to rig the election to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. Trump is referred for prosecution by a committee on January 6th. The four criminal referrals include inciting an uprising, conspiring to defraud the US, obstructing an official action, and conspiring to make false statements. Although the action has no legal significance, it is the first time in US history that Congress has referred a former president in this manner. The executive summary of the committee's 18-month investigation's key findings...

 According to a Xinhua poll of Twitter users, Elon Musk should resign down as CEO. FILE PHOTO: This illustration from October 28, 2022, shows Elon Musk's Twitter account. California - In a weekend poll, a majority of Twitter users said Elon Musk should step down as the social media company's CEO. 57.5 percent of the 17.5 million respondents to Musk's 12-hour survey, which ended early on Monday, wanted him to leave, while 42.5 percent thought he should stay. According to a story from The San Francisco Chronicle, the action came after yet another day of scandal for the social networking platform, which has been mired in turmoil ever since Musk purchased it in October and fired substantial portions of its workforce. Twitter stated on Sunday morning that it would forbid users from sending their followers to their Facebook, Mastodon, or Instagram pages. It stated that accounts will be permanently suspended if they consistently broke this new regulation. After receiving a lot of ...

 After a tragic mass shooting at a condominium complex in the Canadian city of Vaughan, Ontario, on December 19, 2022, flowers are left at the scene.  TORONTO - A high-rise condominium complex near Toronto was the scene of a shooting on Sunday that left six people dead, including the suspect, and one person injured. The 73-year-old gunman is suspected of killing his neighbors before being killed by police. After getting a call of an active shooter at around 7:20 p.m. ET on Sunday (00:20 GMT on Monday), police sped to the Ontario city of Vaughan, which is located approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of downtown Toronto, according to York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween. Francesco Villi, a resident of the 16-story building, was the suspect, according to MacSween, who claimed that police located him before shooting and killing him there. By his actions last night, the cop who killed the suspect "very likely saved lives," according to MacSween. In the structure, all vi...

  The team, which won the final on Sunday by defeating France, arrived at their destination at 05:24 GMT on Tuesday. As they rode an open-top bus to the offices of their Football Association, supporters lined the streets.   Argentina returns home and a bank holiday is declared for the 2022 World Cup. Tuesday at noon (5:00 GMT), the main ceremony will take place at the Obelisk monument in the capital city. The day will be a bank holiday, according to the Argentine government, so supporters "may express their deepest joy for the national team." The team was led off of the aircraft by Lionel Messi, whose image was visible on the tail.

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal, also known as the Nawab of Jhamra , was a Muslim ruler of the Kharal family who was born in Punjab and lived from around 1776 to 21 September 1857. He led an uprising against the British East India Company in the Punjabi district of Bar during the War of Independence of 1857. When he died on September 21, 1857, while fighting, he was 81 years old. He is now held in high regard as a folk hero in Punjab. In the Sandal Bar region of Punjab, in the hamlet of Chak 434 Gb Jhamra, 23 kilometers from the Tandlianwala Faisalabad District and 57 kilometers from the city of Faisalabad, Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal was born into a wealthy landowning family of the Kharal Rajputs dynasty. He was the de facto king of Jhamra and had extensive land and livestock holdings. All Kharals, as well as other tribes like Kathia, Wattoo, Fatayana, and others, respected him. Sandal Bar as a whole was under Rai Kharal's control. Lord Berkley, or Berkeley in the regional tongue, was the additio...

 The eldest member of BTS, Jin, began his required military service in South Korea on Tuesday, joining other new recruits at a boot camp close to the North Korean border, according to several publications. As required by South Korean law for all eligible men between the ages of 18 and 35, Jin, whose full name is Kim Seok-jin, 30, is the first member of BTS to begin his 18-month military service. The ages of the BTS members range from 25 to 30. Following rumors and public discussion on whether the K-pop superstars would seek a waiver to avoid military service, the group's record label, Bighit Music, declared in October that BTS members will enlist. The performers will stagger, according to the label. BTS suspends operations to join the military with a goal of reuniting in 2025 on October 17, 2022 A few hundred supporters gathered at the Yeoncheon army camp in northern Gyeonggi province on Tuesday when Jin arrived there in a procession of six black vans, according to CNN. In a statem...

 The Express Tribune has access to statistics that show 765,000 persons emigrated from Pakistan in 2022, more than double the 225,000 departures in 2021 and 288,000 emigrants in 2020. 92,000 highly educated individuals, including doctors, engineers, information technology specialists, and accountants, were also included in this year's report. The vast majority of emigrants, according to the Bureau of Emigration, traveled to Middle Eastern nations, primarily Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Romania seems to be the Pakistanis' top pick among the European locations. On condition of anonymity, because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, a bureau official told The Express Tribune that "the impacts of the deteriorating economic situation, as well as the political uncertainties, have begun to influence the workforce of Pakistan." The official said, "Every year, hundreds of thousands of young men, including highly educated individuals, travel ...

 According to Forbes, Elon Musk is no longer the richest person in the world. Musk, the CEO of Twitter and Tesla, fell to second place on Forbes' list of "Real-Time Billionaires" on Thursday, trailing Bernard Arnault, the head of French luxury retailer LVMH, which produces Louis Vuitton luxury goods and Hennessy cognac. Musk's worth is currently estimated by Forbes at $183.6 billion, just shy of Arnault's $186.2 billion wealth. Forbes pointed out on Wednesday that Musk has faced a "dramatic collapse of Tesla's share price," which is down 56% in 2022, but Arnault has risen due to LVMH's shares being largely flat this year. The way Musk interacts on Twitter with right-wing influencers may be having an effect on Tesla stock prices. During the month of November 2021, when Musk was In order to pay for his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, Musk just sold off nearly $4 billion of Tesla stock. Twitter is currently facing problems like layoffs and appre...