Author: kumbhorg

Some off beat reads for the weekend: Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s first female PM (Al Majalla) The imperial past of India’s geopolitics (Engelsberg) Regime change in Venezuela (Crisis) Israel’s annexation of West Bank (TOI) Battle to win NY’s Hindus (New Lines) Russia Vs Ukraine (NI) Hungary Vs Poland (Korybko) Taiwan Vs China (Time) Bangladesh Jihadists Vs Bangladesh Army (FP) Africa Vs Gays (RT) Dog Lovers Vs Diwali (Jai Arjun) The secret life of Horus (Edify) Book Review: Alexander to Actium (PSmith) Travelogue: Cambodia & Laos (Team BHP) Dyers of Simla (Hill Post)

A surprising discovery on social media has sparked amusement among Indian cricket fans, with many suggesting that 17-year-old Liverpool footballer Josh Sonni-Lambie is the spitting image of star Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Liverpool’s Josh Sonni-Lambie share an uncanny resemblanceThe uncanny resemblance between the two young left-handed athletes has gone viral, particularly as Jaiswal is currently on the bench during the ongoing ODI series against Australia. This has led to humorous posts, including one fan joking that the Indian selector’s perceived ‘ignorance’ of Jaiswal’s white-ball talent has led him to pursue a career with the England football giants.…

The Ottawa Senators offered eight years to Shane Pinto, but could a deal get done that is short-term? Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Hot Starts Around The NHL episode, on the Ottawa Senators and Shane Pinto’s contract situation. ** NHLRumors.com transcription Kyle Bukauskas: “There’s been a number of impressive starts to the season across the league. But as you said, Shane Pinto, that was your lead item on Headlines on Saturday with Ron. That the Senators had offered him an eight-year deal this past week. Where do things stand between Pinto, who is in the final…

Retail sales volumes have risen for the fourth month in a row, driven by consumers buying gold online and new tech gadgets. Monthly sales rose by 0.5% in September 2025, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show, defying an expected decrease of -0.2%. “Although food stores saw very little growth, good weather in July and August boosted sales of clothing, while online retailing also did well,” said ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach. Tech sales were boosted over the summer by the launch of Nintendo’s long-awaited Switch 2 gaming console and Apple’s iPhone 17.Within non-store retailing, online jewellers…

In my quest to find the best solution for Cake Wallet to offer user-friendly, non-custodial Lightning to our users, I’ve gone deep down the rabbit hole of both Spark and Ark. Both are quite novel approaches to Bitcoin layer two networks, and are designed at their core to be interoperable with the broader Bitcoin network for payments via the Lightning Network. While both can be used “just” for Lightning payments, both networks are positioned to rapidly expand and be used for far more than that over the coming months and years. One thing to keep in mind is that while…

The prestigious Booker Prize organisers have launched a new prize for children’s fiction, featuring a panel of child and adult judges.The Children’s Booker Prize, which will launch in 2026 and be awarded annually from 2027, will celebrate the best contemporary fiction for children between the ages of eight and 12.UK Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, whose books include the hugely popular Millions, published in 2004, will be the inaugural chair of judges for 2027.He said: “I am absolutely buzzing about the news that I’m going to be chairing the judging panel. It’s going to be – as they say – absolute…

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has called for the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the final ODI against Australia in Sydney, arguing that the left-arm wrist-spinner brings a unique threat to India’s attack. Kuldeep has not featured in the first two games of the series, in which India suffered consecutive losses, giving Australia a 2-0 lead and securing the three-match series. On his YouTube show Ash ki Baat, Ashwin explained why Kuldeep’s presence could have made a difference. “Axar Patel and Washington Sundar both took wickets, so we can’t fault their efforts. But the key is taking wickets. Look at…

MCC NEET UG counselling 2025 round 3 final seat allotment result The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has released the final seat allotment result for NEET UG 2025 Round 3. This marks the final stage of the centralised counselling process for MBBS and BDS seats across India under the 15% All India Quota (AIQ) and deemed universities. Candidates who appeared for Round 3 can now check their seat allotment status on the official MCC website, mcc.nic.in. Students allotted seats must report to their respective colleges within the given timeline to confirm admission. The MCC has also revised the counselling schedule for…

Tether Investments has jumped into a $39 million Series A funding round for Pave Bank, a company trying to merge traditional banking with digital assets. The round was led by Accel, with support from Wintermute, Quona Capital, and Helios Digital Ventures. The fresh funds are expected to help Pave Bank grow its global presence, speed up its product pipeline, and bring more institutional clients on board. A Bank That Talks to Both Worlds Pave Bank calls itself a “programmable” commercial bank, meaning it’s built for businesses that deal with both fiat currencies and digital assets. It’s not just a catchy…

Enjoyed this article? Share it with your friends! Microsoft has introduced a visual character called Mico to represent its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, Copilot. This new addition was presented during the company’s recent Copilot event.Mico acts as a visual interface that reacts to user interactions, which changing color and expression based on conversations. Did you know? Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto? Subscribe – We publish new crypto explainer videos every week! Is Cryptocurrency a Good Investment? (5 PROS & CONS!) The name “Mico” comes from “Microsoft Copilot”. It is designed to appear more approachable and to help…