Quincy Jones, the celebrated US musician and producer who worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and many others, has died at the age of 91.

Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he “passed away peacefully” on Sunday night at his home in Bel Air.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him,” the family said in a statement.

Jones was best known as the producer of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album.

Over a career spanning more than 75 years, he won 28 Grammy Awards and was named as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine.

He worked closely with Sinatra and reworked the crooner’s classic Fly Me To The Moon, taking it from a waltz to a swing.

For the film The Wiz, Jones found himself working alongside a 19-year-old Michael Jackson. He went on to produce Jackson’s album Off the Wall and the pop star’s follow-ups Thriller – which sold 34 million copies int he US alone – and Bad.

In 1985, Jones gathered 46 of America’s most popular singers of the time, including Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper, to record We Are the World.

Jones co-wrote the song to raise money for those suffering from a devastating famine in Ethiopia. The record was the US equivalent to Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas.

The hit reached number one in the UK and the US and was performed at Live Aid.

Jones also composed the soundtrack to more than 50 films and TV programmes including the 1969 British film, The Italian Job.

Michael Caine, who starred in The Italian Job, paid tribute to Jones on X  calling him “a titan in the musical world”.

“He was a wonderful and unique human being, lucky to have known him.”

Sir Elton John also praised Jones and said “nobody had a career as incredible” as him, writing: “He played with the best and he produced the best. What a guy. Loved him.”

TV producer Shonda Rhimes called him  “a legend, a visionary, a pioneer”.

On the big screen, Jones produced the film The Color Purple, which introduced the public to two then unknown performers – Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg.

Posting a tribute on Instagram, Goldberg said he was “one of a kind”.

On the small screen, he was one of the producers behind the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

But it was music where Jones excelled – as well as winning multiple Grammys, including a legend award in 1992, he was also recognised by the Emmys, Tonys and Oscars.

Jones was married three times and had seven children, including music producer Quincy Jones III and actress Rashida Jones, known for the US version of The Office.

(BBC)

It was the full Pakistan experience at the MCG, a ground where they have so much great history. They were hopeless, then thrilling, then hopeless, then thrilling. And then Australia won, without much conviction. But they did what they do thanks to a sizzling spell from Mitchell Starc  and yet another nerveless chasing masterclass from the ice-cool captain Pat Cummins  in the face of what looked like a match-winning three-wicket haul from Harris Rauf , heroics with bat and ball from Naseem Shah  and some crafty captaincy from new skipper Mohammad Rizwan .

The 25,831-strong crowd looked sparse in the gargantuan MCG. But it sounded like 100,000, and it felt like it was in Lahore, as Pakistan fans drowned out the locals to help keep their side in the game. But there was only so much they could do, as Pakistan found a way to lose despite being on the brink of one of the great ODI heists.

Chasing just 204 after Starc took 3 for 33 from 10 overs, including three maidens, Australia slumped from 139 for 3, after Stevsn Smith  and Josh Inglis  were in control, to 155 for 7 on the back of Rauf’s raucous burst. That became 185 for 8 when Sean Abbott was run out, after he had nearly run out Cummins. But skipper held firm, as he had at Edgbaston, Mumbai, Kolkata and Christchurch over the past 18 months.

His 32 not out won’t go down as his most memorable, but it was the equal of any of his best innings in Australian colours. It was vindication too for his decision to have laser eye surgery in the winter to fix his vision, and some extensive batting work in Sydney with Australian batting consultant and well renown coach Trent Woodhill.

Australia’s chase began poorly with the new opening duo of Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk both falling inside the first four overs.

After an 85-run stand, Smith made an uncharacteristic error. He slashed a cut off Rauf straight to backward point to be out for 44.

Pakistan’s insistence on going short to Inglis paid off when he nailed another pull shot off Shaheen only to see Irfan run a long way to hang on to an outstanding catch in the deep.

Rauf, a Melbourne Stars favourite, then had the Pakistan fans in raptures as he cranked up the speed and Australia lost 3 for 0. Labuschagne top edged to deep third, undone by extra bounce. Maxwell nicked the next ball to Rizwan and Australia were 139 for 6.

Aaron Hardie and Abbott steadied briefly but it was fleeting. Hardie fell trying to back away and cut a ball from Mohammad Hasnain that hit the top of middle.

Enter the skipper for another salvage job. It was unconventional as it always is. He was bombed with short balls. But he keep scoring and kept surviving. Abbott was run out when Cummins pushed for a third. But he was there at the end yet again when the winning runs were scored to break the hearts of all those who don’t bleed green and gold.

Earlier, Australia set up the win with the ball. Most of Pakistan’s batters, with the exception of Babar Azam who made a classy 37 off 44, were exposed on a fast and bouncy MCG pitch after being sent in having come straight from the low spinning Test pitches of Multan and Rawalpindi last month. Rizwan top scored with 44 off 71 balls while Naseem made an outstanding 40 off 39 with four sixes from No. 9 to ensure Australia was at least chasing more than 200.

Starc and Cummins, fresh and in rhythm ahead of a big summer, put on a show in front of a very pro-Pakistan crowd. Starc’s 140kph thunderbolts accounted for Saim Ayub on debut and Abdullah Shafique.

The pair were opening the batting in ODI cricket for the first time after averaging just 8 as a pair in 12 Test innings together. Their international average dropped to 7.61 when Ayub chopped on trying to drive on the up.

Shafique looked like he was batting in a Test match. He defended, ducked and weaved on his way to 12 from 26 before failing to get his bat out of the way of a rising delivery from Starc wide of off as he tried to sway inside it.

Babar and Rizwan settled but never accelerated. Babar looked in fine touch but felt the pinch of the slow-moving scoreboard. He tried to create a scoring option off the back foot to Adam Zampa but picked the wrong length and lost his off stump.

Cummins welcomed Kamran Ghulam to Australia with a brute of a delivery. The whites of his eyes popped as Cummins’ 142.7kph bouncer reared at his throat. He got his hands up in time but could only glove it to Inglis.

Rizwan’s sluggish rearguard began to pick up steam when he hooked Starc into the stands at fine leg. But he fell to Labuschagne trying to sweep a wide legbreak only to get a top edge onto his helmet that popped up to Inglis.

Some late hitting from Naseem, Shaheen Afridi, and Irfan Khan, in the mould of the man who had presented his debut cap in Wasim Akram, lifted Pakistan from a dire position at 117 for 6 to 203.

Naseem and Shaheen showed the type of intent that Pakistan’s top order could have used, launching five sixes between them after the entire top seven had contributed one, before Shaheen was castled by Starc for 24 off 19.

Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Rathnayake  says that 15 incidents of violence were among the 1535 election related complaints received by the Election Commission from 26th September to 3rd November 2024.

For the 24 hours ending at 4.30 pm on 3rd November one incident of violence and 126 incidents of violation of election laws have been reported to the ECSL.