Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98
Jul 13, 2025, 03:13 PM
England are sweating on the fitness of their offspinner Shoaib Bashir after he damaged the little finger on his left hand on the third day of the Lord’s Test against India.
Bashir sustained the injury when bowling to Ravindra Jadeja, who hit a powerful low drive straight back at him. While technically a caught-and-bowled chance, Bashir was struck firmly on the hand and immediately signalled up to the home dressing room that he had been injured, sustaining what appeared to be a dislocation. Joe Root completed his over.
The England camp were initially hopeful that Bashir would be available to bowl in the evening session, but he instead sat along with their substitute fielders and did not take the field. He bowled on a practice strip ahead of the fourth day’s play, with heavy strapping on his fourth and fifth fingers, but it is unclear whether he will be fit to bat.
An England statement on the fourth morning said: “Following his left little finger injury, Shoaib Bashir continues to be monitored and is expected to bowl in the fourth innings of this Test. A decision on whether he will bat in the third innings will be made in due course. His involvement in the fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford will be assessed at the end of the match.”
Bashir has taken nine wickets at 59.44 in this series, including the wicket of KL Rahul on the third day at Lord’s. If he is not deemed fit to play in Manchester, England’s alternative spin options include Liam Dawson, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed; Brendon McCullum has confirmed that Jacob Bethell is seen as a spare batter rather than a potential No. 8.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets at @mroller98
Jul 13, 2025, 03:13 PM
England are sweating on the fitness of their offspinner Shoaib Bashir after he damaged the little finger on his left hand on the third day of the Lord’s Test against India.
Bashir sustained the injury when bowling to Ravindra Jadeja, who hit a powerful low drive straight back at him. While technically a caught-and-bowled chance, Bashir was struck firmly on the hand and immediately signalled up to the home dressing room that he had been injured, sustaining what appeared to be a dislocation. Joe Root completed his over.
The England camp were initially hopeful that Bashir would be available to bowl in the evening session, but he instead sat along with their substitute fielders and did not take the field. He bowled on a practice strip ahead of the fourth day’s play, with heavy strapping on his fourth and fifth fingers, but it is unclear whether he will be fit to bat.
An England statement on the fourth morning said: “Following his left little finger injury, Shoaib Bashir continues to be monitored and is expected to bowl in the fourth innings of this Test. A decision on whether he will bat in the third innings will be made in due course. His involvement in the fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford will be assessed at the end of the match.”
Bashir has taken nine wickets at 59.44 in this series, including the wicket of KL Rahul on the third day at Lord’s. If he is not deemed fit to play in Manchester, England’s alternative spin options include Liam Dawson, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed; Brendon McCullum has confirmed that Jacob Bethell is seen as a spare batter rather than a potential No. 8.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his full support for its war in Ukraine during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Pyongyang state media said on Sunday.
Lavrov’s visit to North Korea was the latest in a series of high-profile trips by top Moscow officials as both countries deepen military and political ties amid Russia’s offensive against Kyiv.
Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia’s Kursk region to oust Ukrainian forces and has also provided the Russian army with artillery shells and missiles.
Moscow said Lavrov’s talks with Kim were held in a “warm comradely atmosphere”.
Lavrov expressed “sincere gratitude to Pyongyang” for its role in Kursk and support of Russia’s operation, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Moscow also said the two sides “agreed” that the West was to blame for “the growing tension” on the Korean peninsula.
The ministry earlier posted a video on Telegram of the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug.
It said the talks were held in Wonsan, a city on North Korea’s east coast where a massive resort was opened earlier this month — one of leader Kim’s pet projects.
Kim told Lavrov that Pyongyang was “ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The North Korean leader also expressed a “firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country”.
He lauded Putin’s “outstanding leadership”, the report said.
The two men otherwise discussed “important matters for faithfully implementing the agreements made at the historic DPRK-Russia summit talks in June 2024”, KCNA said, referring to North Korea by its official acronym.
Lavrov told Kim that Putin “hopes for continued direct contacts in the very near future”, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
He left Pyongyang and landed in Beijing on Sunday to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Foreign Ministers’ Council, TASS reported on its Telegram account.
Invincible alliance
Ahead of Lavrov’s recent visit, Russia announced that it would begin twice-a-week flights between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Lavrov lauded Wonsan as “a good tourist attraction”, adding: “We hope it will be popular not only with local citizens, but also with Russians.”
KCNA also issued a statement today on the meeting between Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui, held a day earlier in the coastal city, saying that bilateral ties were becoming an “invincible alliance”.
Moscow “expressed its firm support for the DPRK side in its just efforts for defending the security of the state” during the meeting, KCNA said.
In return, Choe demonstrated “full sympathy and support for all the measures taken by the Russian government to remove the root cause of the Ukrainian conflict”.
TASS earlier reported that Lavrov thanked the “heroic” North Korean soldiers who have been deployed to aid Russia during the ministerial meeting.
Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said.
North Korea only confirmed it had deployed troops to support Russia’s war in April, and admitted its soldiers had been killed in combat.
Both sides “emphasised their determination to jointly counter the hegemonic aspirations of extra-regional players, which are leading to escalating tensions in Northeast Asia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region”, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang.
The anti-obesity medication tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, reduced obesity-associated breast cancer growth in a mouse model, according to a study being presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.
“Obesity is a significant risk factor for breast cancer, and while it is very preliminary data, our studies in mice suggest that these new anti-obesity drugs may be a way to reduce obesity-associated breast cancer risk or improve outcomes,” said study author Amanda Kucinskas, B.S., a Ph.D. candidate in the labs of Drs. Erin Giles and Kanakadurga Singer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Existing research has shown that having obesity can lead to worse breast cancer outcomes compared to those who do not have obesity, and weight loss can improve outcomes. However, there are many challenges with traditional weight loss methods.
Kucinskas and colleagues leveraged tirzepatide, one of a new class of effective anti-obesity medications that target GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptors. The researchers sought to learn whether or not tirzepatide would reduce obesity-associated breast cancer growth.
This mouse study included 16 mice. The 9-week-old C57BL/6 mice were fed a 40% high-fat diet and housed in a warm environment to induce obesity. At 32 weeks of age, the mice with obesity were randomly assigned injections of tirzepatide or a placebo every other day for 16 weeks. Tumor volumes were measured twice weekly.
The researchers found that the anti-obesity drug reduced body weight and body fat by approximately 20% in mice, similar to the amount of weight loss achieved by women on this drug. They found this was primarily due to a loss of adipose mass, with a reduction in adipose depot weights compared to controls.
The anti-obesity drug also reduced tumor volume compared to the controls. At the end of the study, the researchers found that tumor volume was significantly correlated with body weight, total adipose mass and the amount of fat stored in the liver.
“While these are very preliminary results, they suggest that this new anti-obesity drug may also have a beneficial impact on breast cancer outcomes,” Kucinskas said.
Ongoing studies are underway in collaboration with Dr. Steve Hursting’s lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to separate the weight loss from the tumor-specific effects of tirzepatide.
Police investigating the death of actress Humaira Asghar have recovered data from multiple electronic devices, including three mobile phones, a tablet, and a laptop, officials said, Express News reported
According to police sources, passwords for the devices were found in a personal diary belonging to the deceased. The data is now being analysed for potential leads in the case.
Authorities confirmed that statements from two individuals have been recorded so far, and two others have been summoned for questioning in connection with the investigation.
Investigators are also seeking information from individuals associated with the actress’s daily routine, including her gym trainer and staff at a local beauty parlour she frequently visited.
Police have identified regular communication between the deceased and certain individuals, whose details are now under review.
Read: Humaira Asghar’s family denies estrangement, demands probe into her death
Additionally, forensic scrutiny of her bank accounts is underway to determine whether any suspicious transactions or financial anomalies occurred in the lead-up to her death.
Earlier, the body of actor Humaira Asghar was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition, with several internal organs unidentifiable, according to a post-mortem.
The autopsy, dated July 8, revealed that the remains were partially mummified and skeletal. Forensic experts estimate that death occurred approximately 8-10 months before the examination, significantly longer than the initial six-month estimate provided by law enforcement agencies.
Read more: Humaira Asghar is dead but the stench of her decaying body is here to stay
Due to the extent of decomposition, the cause of death has not yet been determined. Medical officers have reserved their opinion pending further chemical, histopathological, and DNA analysis.
Samples including hair, bones, blood, and swabs have been preserved for further investigation.
The actor was laid to rest in Lahore. Her funeral was attended by close family members, including her father, brother, and paternal uncle.
The body was brought to Lahore from Karachi by her brother and brother-in-law, and she was laid to rest at a cemetery in Model Town.
Speaking to journalists at the burial site, Humaira’s father, Dr Asghar Ali, said the family could not take possession of the body until the post-mortem had been completed.
Also read: Autopsy confirms Humaira Asghar died 8–10 months ago
“There is a procedure for receiving a body from the police in such cases, and that takes time,” he said in response to a barrage of media questions.
When asked whether he believed his daughter had been murdered or about the autopsy findings, he declined to speculate. “I do not wish to comment on the post-mortem report at this stage,” he said.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jade Wilson, a 31-year-old senior software engineer at Microsoft, about being diagnosed with autism and ADHD. Business Insider has verified Wilson’s employment and diagnoses. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When I first started working at Microsoft as a software engineer in 2022, I didn’t know I was autistic or that I had ADHD. I just knew that I reacted to things differently.
I was especially sensitive to noise. It was hard to sit still in meetings without fidgeting, and the office lights felt overstimulating.
Making eye contact was always difficult, and social interactions sometimes left me confused.
Infrequently, I’d have bursts of overwhelm, where I’d get emotional and couldn’t stop crying.
I never saw anyone struggling like I was. I knew that something wasn’t right, but I wasn’t sure what.
A later-in-life diagnosis
I had previously been a lead software engineer at another company. Joining Microsoft was a dream come true.
I put so much effort into preparing for the interview process. If you told me as a little girl she’d be working for one of the biggest tech companies in the world, she wouldn’t have believed you.
About a year into working at Microsoft, I started considering getting a diagnosis.
It wasn’t until my late 20s that I realised what I was experiencing could be autism and ADHD. When I described my struggles to people, a few asked me if I had considered that I might be autistic.
In January, I was diagnosed with autism at 30. A month later, I also received an ADHD diagnosis.
It helped me understand myself better.
Jade Wilson typically wears headphones in the office to keep background noise from distracting her.
Courtesy of Jade Wilson
In previous jobs where I had to go into the office regularly, I would get overstimulated without even realizing it.
Related stories
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
I’d get headaches from fluorescent office lighting. Background noise made it difficult to focus during meetings. At my desk, I typically wore headphones, which meant I wasn’t talking to my colleagues much.
I also found that I needed to move around. When I had to sit down in meetings, I’d get restless and need to doodle to keep myself engaged.
Thankfully, working remotely for Microsoft has made a big difference. I still go into the office occasionally, but mostly work from home where I have a setup that works for me.
I avoid harsh, overhead lighting and rely on natural light instead. There’s a walking pad under my desk for when I’m feeling restless.
Working in this industry still throws up challenges, but my diagnoses have helped me better understand my reactions.
I’ve spent a lot of my life being told I’m rude
Networking events were — and still are — difficult for me. I sometimes struggle to initiate conversations with strangers.
Before my diagnoses, I used to drink at these events as a coping mechanism. Now, I’m more accepting of myself. I don’t feel the need to drink, and I give myself permission to leave a networking event early if I want to.
How I communicate with colleagues is also challenging. People often tell me I’m rude when, in reality, I’m being direct.
Jade Wilson is a senior software engineer at Microsoft.
Courtesy of Jade Wilson
I’m good at gap analysis — spotting what’s missing, identifying requirements, and building robust solutions.
My autism shaped my interests and made me better at mathematics, which gave me the ability to identify gaps and gather requirements well.
But it’s a strength that can sometimes be misread. To others, it can look like I’m constantly finding flaws in everything when I’m trying to problem-solve.
It’s mostly about how I ask questions at work. From my perspective, I’m just being thorough. Colleagues can take it as criticism, even though that’s not my intention.
Since being diagnosed, I’ve made more of an effort to consider how my words might land.
I make sure when I’m writing things like emails, I remain factual, but consider the emotions that people might associate with certain words.
I sometimes struggle with cognitive empathy — the ability to understand someone’s emotions without having experienced them myself. I find it easier to engage with rational empathy, so I’ve spent a lot of time trying to rationalize how my wording could make someone else feel.
Jade Wilson said her work-from-home setup helps, but networking events are still a challenge.
Courtesy of Jade Wilson
If a colleague takes something the wrong way, I’ll now explain that I’m autistic and have ADHD. I’ll say something along the lines of, “I didn’t mean it as criticism, and my preferred communication method is direct language.”
It helps others understand that my communication might be different.
So far, I think it has been taken well, and I think it has raised awareness of the struggles and strengths that people with autism and ADHD have.
I’ve been in constant communication with my manager, who is very supportive, and my team, too, and they’ve all been very open-minded.
The growth mindset
A big thing at Microsoft is the growth mindset — always looking for ways to improve yourself regardless of your situation.
Working on my communication is something I’ve been doing since finding out I’m autistic and have ADHD. For me, this is constant self-growth.
I want people to understand that I’m not intentionally difficult, and I want to do a good job like everyone else.
We all need to be aware of how people work and communicate differently. I don’t call out neurotypical colleagues for being fluffy or abstract in their communication. I try to understand their point of view, and I hope they understand mine, too.
That awareness shouldn’t stop with autism, ADHD, or other labels. It’s about respecting everyone’s differences and making the effort to understand perspectives that aren’t our own.
Do you have a story to share about being neurodiverse at a Big Tech company? Contact this reporter at jzitser@businessinsider.com.
A child has died at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after contracting measles, the BBC understands.
There has been a surge in children being taken to the hospital after becoming seriously unwell with the highly contagious virus.
Alder Hey said it would not officially comment on individual cases to respect patient confidentiality but the death has been confirmed to the BBC.
No details have been released about whether the child was being treated for other health problems or their vaccination status.
It is thought 17 children have been treated at Alder Hey for the virus since June.
The child is believed to be only the second in the UK in a decade to have died after contracting measles, after Renae Archer, of Salford, Greater Manchester, died aged 10 in 2023.
An Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “To respect patient confidentiality, we can’t comment on individual cases.
“We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles.
“Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death.”.
The hospital warned parents earlier this week that a fall in MMR vaccine uptake was behind the spike in measles cases in the region.
Chief nurse Nathan Askew said he felt misunderstandings around the vaccine were to blame.
“This vaccine’s been in use for well over 50 years. It’s very safe, tried and tested,” he said.
Patients at the site include those with compromised immunity due to other health issues “making them more susceptible to infections, including measles, an Alder Hey spokesperson said.
Mogo (MOGO, Financials) shares rose 4.5% Thursday after the Canadian fintech firm announced a fresh $1 million investment in Digital Commodities Capital Corp; the move pushes Mogo further into the world of Bitcoin and hard assets.
The investment gives Mogo a 9% stake in Digital Commodities; a company focused on holding both Bitcoin and physical gold. As part of the deal, Mogo participated in a private placementsnapping up 13.3 million units at CA$0.075 per unit; each unit comes with a share and a warrant exercisable at CA$0.10.
Greg Feller, Mogo’s president and co-founder, called the move foundational; he said the company believes in building alongside asset-backed public companiesespecially those rooted in Bitcoin and gold.
It’s not a one-off bet; Mogo recently announced plans to allocate up to $50 million to Bitcoin as part of a broader long-term strategy. The firm wants to pair its high-growth fintech platform with digital assets; essentially blending software and store-of-value into one dual-compounding engine.
This latest deal also adds to Mogo’s existing crypto exposure; including a minority stake in Gemini. With inflation, fiat concerns, and blockchain adoption in the spotlightMogo seems intent on keeping one foot in traditional fintech; and the other firmly in the digital asset world.
