Reality TV contestant Stephen Bear has been jailed for 16 months after admitting breaching a restraining order that banned him from posting online about his ex-girlfriend Georgia Harrison.
The order was imposed when Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2023 after he filmed and shared a video of the pair having **** on OnlyFans and WhatsApp without Miss Harrison's knowledge or consent.
The 36-year-old was told not to post or incite comments on social media about that case or Miss Harrison, but did so on multiple occasions in 2025 while she was pregnant.
The Love Island star and campaigner said Bear's online presence left her "feeling petrified" and she feared for her safety for the first time, in a statement read to Chelmsford Crown Court.
Bear admitted the charge of harassment - breaching of a restraining order, at a previous hearing in June.

#harrison #miss #breaching #restraining

Former England Test captain Ben Stokes has dismissed suggestions that England alone has a drinking problem, arguing that alcohol has long been embedded in cricket's culture across all levels of the sport.

Speaking on the For The Love of Cricket podcast with former teammates Stuart Broad and Jos **** ler, the 35-year-old reflected on cricket's long-standing relationship with alcohol just weeks after announcing his retirement from international cricket.
During the discussion, Broad put forward a question many fans have been asking in recent years: Does England cricket have a drinking problem? Stokes disagreed with the premise, insisting the issue extends far beyond one national team.

"No, I mean, that's such an extreme thing to put on a team. I think cricket has just a drinking culture and it hasn't changed. We are in 2026 now where the game has gone more professional over the years. One thing that has just stayed within cricket is its relationship with alcohol, from club cricket all the way up," Ben Stokes said.

Stokes added that despite major advances in nutrition, medical support and athlete preparation, cricket's traditional **** ociation with alcohol continues to exist.

"It's been embedded within the sport. The relationship between alcohol and cricket is something that hasn't moved on as the game has become more professional. There's been more science, medicine and nutrition information. So people think England cricket has a culture with alcohol, but I would say no, cricket has a culture **** ociated with alcohol, " he added.
Stokes' remarks come against the backdrop of a recent disciplinary incident that saw him suspended for one Test after breaching team curfew during England's series against New Zealand.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stood down both Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson for the second Test following a late-night outing. Although an investigation later cleared both players of further wrongdoing and they returned for the third Test, the incident prompted the ECB to introduce stricter alcohol guidelines for England players.

Shortly after returning to the squad, Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to his distinguished England career while continuing to pursue domestic and franchise cricket opportunities.

#Cricket #stokes #drinking #broad

USA cricketer Bodugum Akhilesh Reddy has been banned from all forms of cricket for eight years after being found guilty of breaching the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code.

According to a press release from the ICC, the 26-year-old's punishment is linked to corruption during the 2025 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament in the UAE. The ban has been backdated to November 21, 2025, when he was provisionally suspended.

The ICC, which was overseeing anti-corruption matters for the tournament on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board, found him guilty on three counts.

According to the ICC, Reddy violated: "Article 2.1.1: Attempting to fix, contrive or otherwise influence improperly, or being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or other aspect of matches in the ADT10 2025.

"Article 2.1.4: Soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating (or attempting to do the former) another Participant to breach Article 2.1.1 of the Code in one or more Matches in the ADT10 2025.

"Article 2.4.7: Obstructing the DACO's investigation through deletion of data and messages from a mobile device which may have been relevant to the DACO's investigation."
The case relates to an incident on November 19, 2025, before the opening match of the Aspin Stallions. The tribunal found that Reddy approached a teammate, identified as 'Player A', and asked him to "give runs" while bowling, allegedly on the instructions of team management.

After the teammate refused and reported the approach to the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, he was dropped from the playing XI. Investigators also found that Reddy deleted WhatsApp chats and call logs with the player before the probe. Although he claimed it was routine "data hygiene," the tribunal ruled that he had deliberately destroyed evidence.

Reddy has played four T20Is for the USA, claiming one wicket. The verdict was delivered by a three-member ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal.

#article #anti #according

Fundsmith, an investment management firm based in London, has released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for its "Fundsmith Equity Fund." A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund returned -2.9% in the first half of 2026, underperforming the MSCI World Index by 14.1 percentage points, driven by challenges from a momentum-driven market dominated by passive index funds and AI-related exuberance. The letter discusses the rise of passive investing, noting that index funds now resemble active funds, concentrating heavily in a few sectors and stocks. Due to increased market volatility and a 51% portfolio turnover in the first half of the year, the firm plans to adopt a more active approach, incorporating momentum while maintaining its core mantra: buy good companies, don't overpay, and do little. In addition, please check the Firm's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, Fundsmith Equity Fund highlighted Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) as a newly added position. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a leading global payment technology company that provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services. On July 31, 2026, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) closed at $573.10 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $502.04 billion. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) posted a one-month return of 7.50%, while its shares gained 0.58% over the past 52 weeks.
Fundsmith Equity Fund stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q2 2026 investor update:
"Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) – Mastercard operates a digital payment network connecting consumers, merchants, and banks worldwide. It benefits from a classic network effect: the more consumers use the card, the more merchants are forced to accept it, making it difficult for a new entrant to replicate. A new entrant would need to negotiate agreements and integrate its technology with the majority of global financial institutions. While digital payments feel ubiquitous in developed nations, roughly 1.4bn adults globally remain entirely unbanked. Future growth depends on bringing this unbanked population into the financial system, shifting remaining cash transactions to digital payments, and expanding into business-to business payments, a far bigger market than C2C or C2B payments. We now own both Visa and Mastercard in the portfolio as payments is one of the few sectors that we expect to grow no matter what happens with AI, and Mastercard and Visa are equally good businesses. This gives us a way to achieve >6% exposure to payments without excessive stock-specific risk or breaching UCITS concentration rules. Also, with 46% of all global transactions still done in cash and B2B payments 85% of the value of total global payments, there is plenty of room for two companies to grow and compound. ROIC: >75%, FCF yield: 4.5%."

#payments #letter #Equity #global

USA international cricketer Bodugum Akhilesh Reddy has been hit with an eight-year ban after being found guilty of match-fixing charges by an ICC tribunal.
Akhilesh Reddy has been suspended since November after being charged with three counts of the sport's anti-corruption code, which took place while competing in the Abu Dhabi T10 league.
The 26-year-old spinner has now been found guilty of charges relating to attempting to fix ‌or improperly influence matches, ‌trying to get another player to participate in the same ⁠activities and deleting data and messages from a mobile device relevant to the investigation.
"USA player Bodugum Akhilesh Reddy has been banned from all cricket for eight years after an ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of breaching three counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code," the ICC said in a statement.
"The charges relate to the Abu Dhabi T10 2025 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for which the ICC was appointed by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (DACO).

#reddy #found #guilty #charges

England men's team managing director Rob Key has not ruled out the possibility of Ben Stokes returning to international cricket before next year's Ashes, saying "anything is possible with Ben."

Stokes stepped down as England's Test captain and retired from international cricket after England lost the Test series to New Zealand 2-1 in June. That defeat came after a 4-1 Ashes series loss to Australia during the previous winter.

The 35-year-old had also been ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand after breaching a midnight curfew while celebrating England's victory in the opening Test.

There was speculation after the incident that Stokes was unhappy with the way he had been treated by England's management. On Thursday, England brought back Joe Root as Test captain and appointed Stephen Fleming as Brendon McCullum's replacement as Test head coach.

Asked if Stokes could return in time for next year's Ashes, Key told Sky Sports News: "It would be a brilliant story if he does."

Speaking after Fleming's appointment, Key said Stokes had given no indication that he wanted to return but admitted he would not be surprised if that changed.

"It would be a brilliant story if he does," Key told Sky Sports News. "He hasn't [indicated a change of heart], but I wouldn't be surprised. Anything is possible with Ben."

When asked if Stokes had damaged his relationship with England by announcing his retirement during the fourth day of the Trent Bridge Test, Key said: "No, not at all. Not as far as I'm concerned."

Since retiring, Stokes has focused on playing for Durham. He scored a century on his return last week in a One-Day Cup match, which was played on the opening day of The Hundred.

As long as Stokes continues playing domestic cricket, discussions about a possible England comeback before the 2027 Ashes are expected to continue.

#test #england #return #anything

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea was fined 10 million pounds ($13.4 million) and given a suspended two-window transfer ban on Friday after appealing penalties for breaching English Football **** ociation agent rules.
The club was initially given a suspended six-point deduction along with the fine but the points penalty has been replaced by the suspended transfer ban.
The FA confirmed the sanctions on the west London club, which admitted to 74 breaches in total of FA regulations covering agents, working with intermediaries and third party investment in players.
The club owners self-reported the breaches to the soccer authorities in 2022, when they were in the process of buying Chelsea from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
The six-point deduction, suspended until June 30, 2027, was imposed by the independent commission which initially heard the case. But the club appealed against that. An appeal board instead replaced the points penalty with the suspended two-window transfer ban.

#suspended

July 23 (Reuters) - European regulators have launched a series of antitrust, privacy and online-safety investigations into major technology companies in recent ‌years.Below are some of the most significant cases:
GOOGLE The European Commission said ‌on July 23 it fined Google a total of 890 million euros ($1 billion) for breaching European Union rules aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.
Europe's top court this month largely upheld EU findings that Google used Android to shut out rivals, maintaining a 4.1 billion euro antitrust penalty.
The Commission is also investigating whether ‌Google's use of publishers' content ⁠and YouTube material for artificial intelligence purposes breaches competition rules.
APPLE The European Commission fined Apple 500 million euros in 2025 ⁠under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

#Antitrust #million

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Ankur Banerjee
NEW YORK/SINGAPORE, July 21 (Reuters) - Major stock indexes rose on Tuesday with the Nasdaq and chipmaker shares surging, while oil prices climbed to a five-week high amid rising tensions in the Iran conflict.
The **** anese yen ‌weakened 0.41% against the greenback to 163.14 per dollar, breaching the 163 mark for the first time since December 1986 as ‌traders braced for possible intervention in the currency by the **** anese government.
Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea after threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.
Brent futures rose $1.79, or 2.0%, to settle at $91.01 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.68, or 2.0%, to settle at $84.91. It was the highest close for Brent since June 10 and for WTI since June 11.

#caroline

The High Court has been told that hundreds of cases in rugby's multi-million-pound concussion legal action should be thrown out.
Players from both codes of the sport claim that the authorities failed to put safeguards in place to protect them from the consequences of repeated head impacts.
World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL) deny breaching a duty of care to protect the players from injury.
Lawyers representing the governing bodies have argued that claims should be thrown out due to documents surrounding the neurological testing process not being disclosed, which they claim is a breach of a 2024 court order.
Ben Youngs Investigates: How Safe Is Rugby?

#Rugby #Football #thrown

The clock that was ticking down to economic disaster for Iraq on 27 July has been paused, with Turkey agreeing to a one-year temporary arrangement that ensures the continuation of critical oil exports running via pipelines from northern Iraq into the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The new one-year protocol covers the entire Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) corridor – comprising two separate oil pipelines – treating it as a single, unified mechanism, in line with the original 1973 'Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement'. These routes were made even more vital to Iraq's ability to monetise its oil flows following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz on 28 February and ongoing disruptions since then. Before that, around 95% of Iraq's crude was shipped through that route to key export destinations in Asia, including China, with over 90% of Baghdad's annual budget historically coming from those oil exports. As a result of the Strait's blockade, Iraq's oil storage tanks filled quickly to capacity, and with highly limited options for transporting its crude elsewhere, it was forced to shut down production wells. That, in turn, dramatically increased the risk of permanent damage to Iraq's oil production through a loss of reservoir pressure, water infiltration, and corrosion, among other factors. But how secure is this new arrangement with Turkey and what are the chances that a permanent solution will be agreed?
Related: Iran Strikes 5 Gulf Countries as Regional Escalation Continues
As it stands, according to a statement by Khazal Hostani, director general of contracts at the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's (KRI) Ministry of Natural Resources, the temporary protocol will keep more than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) flowing through the Ceyhan pipeline corridor, in line with the volumes going through it immediately prior to the onset of the Strait of Hormuz crisis. That said, these flows through northern Iraq into Turkey had been significantly reduced – and for two and a half years, from March 2023, halted completely – following an international arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) on 13 February that year. The ICC had judged that Turkey pay Baghdad US$1.5 billion in damages for breaching the 1973 'Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement' by allowing the Erbil-based semi-autonomous KRI northern Iraqi region's government (the KRG) to circumvent the Baghdad-based Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) and export oil independently. Turkey then halted the flow of oil through the northern Iraq pipeline route, which at the time regularly exported approximately 450,000 bpd of crude from the Kirkuk region to Ceyhan. The prohibition on the KRG selling oil independently from the FGI had been a core condition of the 2014 agreement between Baghdad and Erbil, as laid out in a simple trade?off: the KRG would funnel the crude produced in its territory – roughly 550,000 barrels a day at the time – to the federal authorities for marketing through the state-owned State Organiza

July 13 (Reuters) - India's retail inflation accelerated to 4.38% in June, government data showed on Monday, breaching the central bank's 4% target for the first time in 17 months and setting the stage for an interest rate hiking cycle.
The print was above the 4.3% forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and was also the highest since India revamped the consumer price index in January.
COMMENTARY:
SAKSHI GUPTA, PRINCIPAL ECONOMIST, HDFC BANK, GURUGRAM
"Inflation inched up by close to 45 basis points in June to 4.4%, mainly ‌driven by some increase in food and fuel inflation as the impact of a revision in petrol and diesel prices played out. However, lower gold prices pulled down the increase in the headline print.

Ben Stokes has made light of the possible anti-corruption rule breach by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) during his final Test match as England captain.
The ECB released a video, filmed inside the England dressing room, of Stokes telling his England teammates about his decision to retire and they released it alongside the news of Stokes' retirement at 3.25pm on day four of the game against New Zealand with Stokes' team on the field.
England went on to lose the game and the series to the Kiwis as Stokes' decision to step away from the top form of the game dominated the rest of the match.
Since then, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has written to the ECB about the video accusing them of breaching rules related to Test cricket's anti-corruption code.
The news was reported and shared by The Telegraph on their X, formerly Twitter, account and Stokes replied to the article with a two word response: "Sack him ..."

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities in southern China said Thursday that 39 people have died in flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak.
Most of the deaths were related to the breach of a dam in the city of Nanning, which claimed 26 lives, said Ding Wei, the city's vice mayor, at a news briefing.
Maysak brought record rainfall to in Guangxi region, breaching reservoirs and stranding people for days in homes and other buildings. The previously announced death toll was six people.
Drones and thousands of boats have been used in a massive relief and rescue operation to reach people trapped by the waters. About 130,000 people have been evacuated.
Heavy rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with ****** ulative rainfall of 10 to 40 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) in some areas and more than 90 centimeters (35 inches) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.

A group of companies claiming that they first came up with the idea of a world golf league has filed a lawsuit against LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and others seeking up to $630 million in damages, according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
The lawsuit was filed by lawyers representing the World Golf Group and Premier Golf League. They accused LIV Golf, the PIF, Golf Saudi and others of breach of confidence and unlawful means conspiracy. More specifically, two former World Golf Group founders, Richard Marsh and Jed Moore, are accused of breaching fiduciary duty for helping the Saudis launch LIV Golf in the first place.
"The Claimants conceived the idea for a new golf league called the Premier Golf League," the complaint says. "Over the course of several years, the Claimants refined the format of this league and produced business plans, contracts, financial models and other intellectual property belonging to the Claimants, which provided the blueprint for its launch and success.
"The Defendants conspired together to use the Claimants' confidential information without the permission of the Claimants to launch the LIV Golf League."
The lawsuit was filed in Commercial Court in London on April 16. They are seeking between $210 and $630 million in damages.

Ben Stokes' international career will be remembered for countless match-winning performances, World Cup glory and unforgettable Ashes heroics. Yet, among his many achievements, the England all-rounder walks away with a remarkably unique Test record that underlines the versatility he brought to the game.
Stokes, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, remains the only player in Test history to have both batted in all 11 batting positions and dismissed batters occupying all 11 positions in the batting order. He is also widely credited with being the only cricketer to have taken catches of batters from all 11 batting positions in Test cricket, although TimesofIndia.com could not independently verify that statistic.

It is a statistical rarity that reflects the extraordinary range of roles he fulfilled over a 15-year international career. Whether opening the batting, rescuing the middle order or finishing an innings lower down the order, Stokes answered England's call whenever required. With the ball, he also claimed wickets across every batting position, highlighting his value as a genuine all-rounder.

The 35-year-old brought the curtain down on his international career after the recently concluded third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. His England journey began in 2011 and spanned more than 250 appearances across formats.

His retirement closes the chapter on one of England's greatest modern cricketers. Stokes played defining roles in two of the country's most iconic victories in 2019, first with his unbeaten 84 in the dramatic ODI World Cup final against New Zealand and later with an extraordinary 135 not out against Australia at Headingley to keep England's Ashes hopes alive.

He also registered a career-best Test score of 258 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016 and retires as one of only two players in Test history to complete the remarkable double of more than 7,000 runs and 250 wickets. The only other cricketer to achieve the feat is Jacques Kallis.

Stokes also redefined aggressive batting in the longest format, finishing with 138 sixes, the most by any batter in Test cricket. He is one of only three batters to have hit more than 100 sixes in the format.

His retirement came shortly after an off-field controversy following England's first Test victory over New Zealand. Stokes and Gus Atkinson were initially ruled out of the second Test after breaching the team's midnight curfew while an investigation was conducted into an incident at a London nightclub.

The Cricket Regulator later found insufficient evidence to establish any breach of ECB Cricket Regulations and cleared both players of any regulatory offence. The ECB confirmed that Stokes was not involved in the altercation and did not witness either incident, while Atkinson was the victim of unprovoked attacks. However, both players received written warnings for breaching contractual standards of conduct, with their omission from th

Four Premier League clubs have been given financial penalties for breaching the Uefa's squad-cost rule for 2025.
Aston Villa have been fined 22.5m euros (£19.4m) for a "significant breach", while Chelsea have been fined 3m euros (£2.6m), of which 2m euros (£1.7m) is suspended.
Nottingham Forest must pay 2.5m euros (£2.2m), with Newcastle United to pay 3m euros (£2.6m).
Three of the clubs either sold infrastructure to directly linked companies, or players to ******* ociated teams.
This was previously admissible under Premier League rules - it will not be from next season - but not by Uefa regulations.

Four Premier League clubs have been given financial penalties for breaching the Uefa's squad-cost rule for 2025.
Aston Villa have been fined 22.5m euros (£19.4m) for a "significant breach", while Chelsea have been fined 3m euros (£2.6m), of which 2m euros (£1.7m) is suspended.
Nottingham Forest must pay 2.5m euros (£2.2m), with Newcastle United to pay 3m euros (£2.6m).
The Magpies have also reached a settlement for an overspend in relation to Uefa's football earnings threshold, which means the club must pay a further fine of 10m euros (£8.6m). Of this, 7m euros (£6m) has been suspended for three years pending future compliance.
Three of the clubs either sold infrastructure to directly linked companies, or players to **** ociated teams.

Chelsea say they have been “proactive and transparent” in their dealings with UEFA after they were fined for breaching financial regulations.
The Blues were one of four Premier League clubs sanctioned by the sporting body for having a squad cost ratio above 70 per cent, alongside Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) imposed a £2.6 million (€3m) fine on the club, although £1.7m (€2m) of the fine has been suspended as part of a settlement agreement.
Chelsea were slapped with a whopping £27m (€31m) fine last year after failing to comply with UEFA’s squad cost ratio (then 80 per cent) and football earnings rule. They entered into a stringent compliance agreement with the CFCB, requiring them to reduce their costs. It also restricted them from registering new players to their A list for UEFA competitions unless they have a positive transfer balance, i.e. the cost of signing players does not exceed what they bring in from sales.
The west London outfit were warned that further breaches could result in up to £52m (€60m) in additional fines, but UEFA noted in Tuesday’s announcement that “the CFCB First Chamber took into consideration the improving trend in their squad cost ratio between 2024 and 2025”.

Chelsea , Aston Villa , Nottingham Forest and Newcastle have all been fined by Uefa for breaking financial rules for the 2025 calendar year.
Chelsea , who were fined €30m last year, were fined a further €1m, with €2m more suspended, with the London club saying it showed they were getting closer to complying with Uefa's regulations.
Villa, who won the Europa League , will have to pay €7.5m but could face a further fine of €15m if they do not improve their financial position. They had already been fined €11m last year.
In addition, Villa will face a restriction on the registration of new players for next season's Champions League campaign.
Europa League semi-finalists Forest were fined €2.5m while Newcastle , who like Chelsea reached the last 16 of the Champions League, were fined €10m, of which €7m was suspended, for breaching the football earnings rule and a further €3m for a squad cost ratio that exceeded 70 percent of turnover.

UEFA has sanctioned four Premier League clubs after breaching the governing body's financial sustainability regulations .
Aston Villa , Chelsea , Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest will be punished under the Squad Cost Rule.
UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) confirmed the decisions on Tuesday as it finalised its monitoring process for the 2025/26 season.
The body imposed financial penalties on clubs across Europe that exceeded the permitted squad cost ratio of 70 percent during the 2025 calendar year.
Aston Villa received the heaviest punishment among the English clubs, being fined €22.5 million (£19.3m), of which €15m (£12.9m) has been suspended.

NEW DELHI: England captain Ben Stokes has admitted he apologised to his teammates after returning for the series-deciding third Test against New Zealand cricket team.

Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson missed the second Test after being investigated for allegedly breaking the team's midnight curfew following England’s win in the opening match.

While they were cleared of any violent conduct, both received written warnings for breaching team rules.

Speaking before the third Test at Trent Bridge, Stokes said addressing the squad was one of the first things he did after rejoining the team.

"That was one of the first things I had to do as a captain," Stokes told reporters.

The England skipper acknowledged that the nightclub controversy affected more than just him. He said it overshadowed an important moment for several young players who made their Test debuts during the second match.

"It affected Joe, it affected the squad, it affects the people outside the playing environment. It no doubt had an effect on the lads who were making their debut. That should have been all about them, but unfortunately a situation out of their control took precedence over their big day of making their debut for England in Test cricket," he added.

England, led by Joe Root in Stokes’ absence, lost the second Test by 253 runs as New Zealand levelled the series 1-1.

Stokes said leadership means owning mistakes and apologising when necessary.

"It would be stupid and naive for me not to acknowledge that and address that. It's all fine and well everything being fine and dandy when it's going well, but you need to take responsibility for things as well. If that's you that needs to take that responsibility, you need to be big enough and man enough to be able to take that upon your shoulders, look everyone in the eye, and apologise how you need to apologise. That's what I did," he said.

The 34-year-old also dismissed suggestions of a rift with England coach Brendon McCullum.

"You don't plan on going through something like this together in a professional environment. Me and Brendon were talking pretty much every day in the initial period.

"Maybe in the future we'll look back on this and go, this did bring us tighter. This rift, this drifting apart, we certainly haven't drifted."

With the series tied at 1-1, Stokes said both he and Atkinson are now focused solely on helping England win the final Test.

"The main thing about me being back, Gus being back, is for us to focus on the main objective, which is the cricket this week.

"It's 1-1 in the series, we've got one game left, and the importance of the result of this game is the one thing we need to concentrate on," he concluded.

Manchester United are hoping to sign both Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville from West Ham United.
West Ham’s relegation to the Championship has led to suggestions of a mass exodus in east London, as the Hammers may be forced to raise funds through major sales to avoid breaching financial rules.
Furthermore, their best players are unlikely to look forward to playing in England’s second tier, especially amid interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Manchester United have been chasing Mateus Fernandes for some time now and were expected to make a move for him, irrespective of West Ham’s fate in the Premier League.
However, following West Ham’s drop, Crysencio Summerville has also emerged as a serious target for the Red Devils, who are keen to add a versatile attacker to their ranks.

Leeds United are considering their legal options over a historic breach of Profit and Sustainability Rules by Leicester City.
The Yorkshire club were beaten to automatic promotion by Leicester in the 2023-24 season before going on to lose to Southampton in a Wembley play-off final.
Leicester were later charged with breaking spending rules.
A recent judgment has seen Everton ordered to pay Burnley £35m in compensation as a result of breaching spending rules. The Clarets argued the issue played a part in them being unable to avoid Premier League relegation when battling against Everton for survival in the 2021-22 campaign.
The Toffees have appealed the decision after stating the club was "surprised and angered" by the ruling.

Brendon McCullum has expressed his worry over Ben Stokes after the incident that saw him dropped for the second Test against New Zealand – and said now is not the time to discuss his future as England Test captain.
Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been left out of the squad at the Oval this week as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Regulator investigating the pair breaching curfew after Test victory at Lord’s.
The pair were involved in an incident at a Chelsea nightclub and have been stood down for the second Test, with Joe Root standing in as captain.
Explaining that he had progressed through a range of emotions after learning of the incident, which occurred in the early hours of last Monday, England head coach McCullum repeatedly stressed his concern for his skipper having worked closely with Stokes over the last four years.
“When I first found out, I was slightly bewildered, if I am being honest,” McCullum admitted. “You go through a range of emotions from bewildered to angry to kind of gutted after the progress we had discussed over the last six months, and some of the improvements we were trying to make which includes the standards we want to set for ourselves. To hear about this was incredibly gutting, I guess.

Surf Cam Captures Possible UFO Sighting in SoCal (Video)

With hundreds of cameras live-streaming continuously all across the globe – primarily, of course, to check surf conditions – Surfline has a godlike network of eyeballs.
And occasionally, it’s not just the waves that Surfline’s cams capture. The cameras have recorded (and ****** isted in solving) crimes; they’ve caught sharks breaching at popular surf spots like Lower Trestles; and dead whales slowly and sadly washing ashore.
But this next clip may just be the biggest in terms of strange phenomena, outside the realm of surfing, as ca

Meta is under investigation in Italy for allegedly breaching EU rules by integrating its Meta AI **** istant into WhatsApp without user consent.
The country’s antitrust watchdog said it may impose interim measures on the US tech giant as it widened a probe into whether it abused its dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from its messaging service WhatsApp.
The case underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of Big Tech’s push into generative AI, as platforms with massive user bases such as WhatsApp become key gateways for new services.
On Wednesday, the authority said it was widening an inve

Bitcoin (BTC) has lost its footing, both on an absolute basis and relative to U.S. equities.
According to Adrian Fritz, chief investment strategist at crypto investment firm 21Shares, the divergence between crypto and stocks comes down to macro pressure, investor sentiment and what he calls a “panda market” — not a full-blown crypto winter, but still bearish action.
“Technically, we’ve entered a bear market,” Fritz said in an interview with CoinDesk. Bitcoin has fallen more than 30% from its highs, breaching the 50-week moving average — a level that historically signals broader shifts in mar

Bitcoin plunged to a six-month low of $91,545 on Tuesday morning in Asia, breaching key support. Ethereum also slipped below $3,000, highlighting widespread market weakness.
The crypto downturn aligned with traditional markets, which endured their worst session in a month.
Bitcoin's 3.21% daily loss on November 17 brought its value down by 27% from its October all-time high. Ethereum posted a deeper 4.22% fall to $2,978. Major altcoins also saw sharp weekly declines. Solana tumbled 22.51%, XRP slid 16.73%, and Cardano fell 22.12% over the seven-day period.
Losses extended beyond crypto. The