Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal during a press conference announcing his retirement from international cricket. AFP
Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal during a press conference announcing his retirement from international cricket. AFP
Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal during a press conference announcing his retirement from international cricket. AFP
Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal during a press conference announcing his retirement from international cricket. AFP

Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal announces shock retirement


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Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal announced a shock retirement from international cricket on Thursday, months ahead of the ODI World Cup in India.

The 34-year-old was in tears as he announced his decision to end his 16-year international career, not giving any particular reasons for his sudden decision and that too so close to a major tournament. He made the announcement in Chattogram a day after Bangladesh lost to Afghanistan in the first of three ODIs.

"Yesterday against Afghanistan was my last international game, I am retiring from international cricket effective right now," Tamim told reporters.

"There was no sudden reason behind this, I was thinking about it for quite some time," he added. "I was talking about it with my family members for few days. I thought this was right time for me to decide."

Tamim's decision came just two days after he came under heavy criticism for deciding to play against Afghanistan in the first ODI despite admitting to not being 100 percent fit.

Bangladesh board president Nazmul Hassan led the criticism, calling the player's professionalism into question.

Tamim scored 13 off 21 balls in a 17-run defeat to the Afghans.

Bangladesh begin their World Cup campaign on October 7 against Afghanistan in Dharamsala and are yet to announce their next captain. Veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the leading contender.

Left-handed opener Tamim has scored more than 15,000 runs in international cricket, including 25 centuries.

His ODI tally of 8,313 runs is the highest by a Bangladesh batsman and his 14 centuries in this format is also more than any of his compatriots.

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The struggle is on for active managers

David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.

The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.

Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.

Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.

Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.

At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn. 

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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

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Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: July 06, 2023, 11:01 AM`