Kensington Palace released the first official photo of Princess Kate on social media on Sunday, nearly two months after her abdominal surgery, during which she has stayed out of the public eye.
The 42-year-old princess, whose husband Prince William is heir to the British throne, has been recovering mainly at their home in Windsor, west of London, since leaving hospital on January 29.
The photo shows the Princess of Wales sitting on a garden chair, dressed in jeans, a sweater and a dark jacket, smiling, surrounded by her three laughing children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” read a message accompanying the photo on X.
“Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” said the message, which was signed “C” for Catherine.
In a statement the palace clarified that the photo was taken “in Windsor earlier this week” by Kate’s husband, Prince William.
The family photograph is the first official image of Kate released by the royal family since her hospitalisation at the London Clinic on January 16 for an abdominal surgery.
The future queen was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, eastern England.
Photos published by TMZ earlier in March showed Kate wearing sunglasses while being driven in a car, with the celebrity news site saying they were taken Monday near Windsor Castle.
UK media outlets including the Daily Mail and The Sun have chosen not to publish the photos.
The sighting came after a flurry of conspiracy theories on social media over the famously hard-working and dutiful princess’s absence from the spotlight.
The speculation came despite Kensington Palace clearly saying at the time of her surgery that she would be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”.
It also said the surgery was not related to cancer.
Kate’s hospitalisation came almost simultaneously with the announcement that William’s father, King Charles, had been admitted for surgery for a benign prostate condition and subsequently diagnosed with an unrelated cancer.
Charles, 75, visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted himself on January 26.
The king withdrew from public duties during his treatment, though he attended church services and held his weekly audience with the prime minister.
– Camilla steps in –
Charles’s wife Queen Camilla, 76, has been the most visible senior royal, stepping in to cover many of her husband’s public duties during his treatment.
She is now on a break until March 11, when she is expected to join William and other senior royals at the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
She is reported to be on holiday this week, effectively meaning all four of the most senior royals are out of action.
The princess is one of the most popular members of the royal family.
She and William have taken on more royal duties since his younger brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan left for the United States in 2020, and the king’s brother Prince Andrew stepped back because of his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Palestinian women took center-stage in internet discourse surrounding Women’s Day on Friday with artwork and rich tributes.
Al-Jazeera wrote about the five most prominent women from Gaza. From doctors to activists, these are some of the women showing bravery amid Israel’s war on Gaza. These women include Bisan the journalist, Dr. Amira Al-Assouli who saved the life of a child from Israeli snipers by risking her own life, Nadina Abdullatif the child activist from Gaza, Deema Alswiti who caught the world’s attention after posting about her life in Gaza and Sara Alsaqqa, the first woman surgeon in Gaza who safely brought a child in the world while stuck in a room during Israeli bombing.
Palestinian-Greek athlete Samia Kallidis posted a heartfelt women’s day message for the women of Gaza and called out the world for the blatant hypocrisy.
Along with these beautiful art pieces, women all around the world took to roads for peaceful marches in commemoration of Women’s Day and raised slogans in solidarity with the oppressed women of Gaza.
After seven years of relentless struggle and facing criticism, television host Tanzeela Mazhar, a former anchor at Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) News, finally received justice in her battle against sexual harassment as she was acquitted in a defamation case filed by her harasser.
الحمدللہ ۔:: عدالت نے سابق ڈائریکٹر کرنٹ افئیرز پی ٹی وی آغا مسعود شورش کے جانب سے دائر کئے گئے ہتک عزت کے کیس سے بری کر دیا ہے۔ یہ کیس گزشتہ سات برس چلتا رہا ۔ یہ لڑائی میں 15 برسوں سے لڑ رہی ہوں ۔ یہ لڑائی جیت یا ہار کی نہیں ایک اصول کی ہے ۔ میں نے اس سارے عرصے میں بہت لوگوں…
Mazhar’s ordeal began in January 2017 when she bravely exposed Agha Masood Shorish, former director of current affairs on the state television, on X (formerly Twitter) for making “unwelcome advances” towards her in 2009.
She shared that he took her off-screen after she confronted him. Screenshots of her chat added to the post revealed the harassment against her and another journalist, Yashfeen Jamal.
In November 2017, PTV terminated Shorish, and the decision followed a series of investigations, with a total of five inquiries launched against Shorish, three of which specifically addressed allegations of sexual harassment.
The severity of the situation prompted 14 producers from PTV to lodge a formal complaint against Shorish in the Islamabad High Court, elevating the issue to the national platform.
The matter garnered further attention when it was brought up in the National Assembly, prompting the Information Ministry to issue a notification for Shorish’s termination.
Since 2017, Mazhar has been fighting the criminal defamation lawsuit that was filed against her soon after she raised the matter of sexual harassment.
“It is about not losing your ground”
She believes, “It is not about winning or losing a case, it is about not losing your ground. When you talk about harassment, you are slapped with defamation cases by your harassers because they want you to step back from your ground.”
The former PTV anchor asserted that this is a pattern that has been seen in multiple cases. Her co-complainant Yashfeen Jamal’s out-of-court settlement and statements made life difficult for her as that impacted her case.
Mazhar faced backlash from her journalist fraternity and struggled to find a job. She now works as Head of Programming and Current Affairs at GTV News Pk.
She is also the co-founder of Women in Media Alliance, a support center, which seeks to promote fair and inclusive representation of women in media organizations across Pakistan. They believe in highlighting the work of women affiliated with different mediums and providing them with a platform to get their voices heard.
Court Hearings and Societal Pressure
“Men of the family and home, nobody likes that a woman of your family goes every morning to deal with a court case because that is how our society is,” explains Tanzeela while remembering how she was never exempted from a court hearing, faced warrants due to absence, even when she was traveling somewhere for work or there was an emergency.
She saw the ordeal as an opportunity, all thanks to her nerves of steel. She went back to university and became a lawyer.
“The message to their egos as they felt they were punishing me, it all changed because the case went on for so long that I eventually started appearing in uniform. He tried to use every influence he had, his father was influential, so he had contacts with everyone, from bureaucracy to the judiciary to intelligentsia, but I fought against him,” she said with a spark in her eyes and a smile on her face.
Mazhar’s Resignation and Response from Management:
The fallout from the allegations against Shorish had a significant impact on PTV’s workforce. In March of the same year, Mazhar announced her resignation expressing her disappointment with the handling of the situation.
She criticized the leadership, particularly referencing statements made by Maryam Nawaz and her party regarding the respect of women. Mazhar’s departure marked a poignant moment, highlighting the pervasive issue of moral corruption within the institution.
Legal Battles and Renewal of Contracts:
Meanwhile, the legal ramifications of the scandal continued to unfold. In February, PTV management renewed the contracts of Mazhar and her colleague, Jamal, amidst ongoing legal battles.
Shorish retaliated by filing a defamation suit against Mazhar and Jamal, further complicating the situation. Despite mounting pressure, State Minister for Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb, assured the public of the impartiality of the inquiry committee tasked with investigating the harassment complaints.
Timeline of Events and Parliamentary Intervention:
The timeline of events reveals a complex web of inquiries and bureaucratic procedures. In January, the inquiry committee submitted its report to the PTV managing director, albeit with delays.
Women lawmakers in the National Assembly demanded clarification on the lack of action taken against Shorish, amplifying the voices calling for accountability. The internal turmoil within PTV was further exacerbated by a circular issued by management, warning employees against making public comments on the ongoing investigations.
Amidst the turmoil, Tanzeela Mazhar took to social media to publicly disclose her experiences with Shorish.
In January 2017, she exposed Shorish’s unwelcome advances towards her on Twitter, shedding light on the pervasive issue of sexual harassment within PTV. Screenshots of personal conversations added weight to her claims, sparking a public outcry and igniting a national conversation about workplace harassment.
In October 2018, Mazhar revealed that the internal inquiry conducted over the past two years was inadequate. She recounts facing bullying and threats throughout the process. Despite the eventual sacking of the director, the consequences do not include accountability for harassment.
Additionally, Mazhar and her colleague Yashfeen Jamal navigate through two defamation lawsuits, both criminal and civil, further adding to the complexity of their situation. Mazhar’s journey involves recounting her experiences before probing committees and courtroom appearances, all while facing stigmatization from her offenders.
Three years after filing her complaint against harassment at PTV, Mazhar finally received the inquiry report on August 20, 2019, upon approaching the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH). However, the report was classified as a secret document, further complicating Mazhar’s quest for justice. Her appeals for redress from the PTI government also went unanswered.
She attended court hearings to confront criminal defamation charges on October 9, 20, and 22, November 16 and 23, in the same year reflecting the ongoing legal challenges she faced in her fight against harassment.
In 2020, Mazhar appeared at the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection against Harassment to present her arguments for challenging the inquiry report by PTV. She alleged that the inquiry was not conducted fairly and promptly, highlighting that the report was not shared with her until July 2019.
Finally, on September 15, her appeal against PTV’s report was brought before the ombudsman for an additional hearing. Despite the initial expectation of concluding the report within 30 days, the process extended to a prolonged duration of three years.
In September 2021, the court refused to accommodate Mazhar’s medical concerns during her trial, despite her being pregnant and nursing a fractured foot.
Finally, on January 30, 2024, a Pakistani trial court acquitted Tanzeela Mazhar in the criminal defamation case, bringing an end to her seven-year-long legal battle.
Throughout this ordeal, Mazhar’s resilience and determination to combat harassment have been evident. Her victory serves as a reminder of the importance of standing up against harassment and seeking justice, even in the face of adversity.
“I was fighting for a larger cause, and I want women to keep fighting. It took 15 years of my life, this has made me a new person and has increased my passion to fight for gender rights,” she gives her message.
Hundreds of Cambodians braved sticky tropical heat to set an unusual new world record: for the most people performing a “bridal carry” at the same time.
Late on Friday, 245 men hoisted their partners – wives, girlfriends, sisters, or mothers – with one arm under the legs and one behind the back and held the position for a minute to set the mark, certified by Guinness World Records representatives.
“I am so happy, it is my first time to participate in such an event to break a world record for Cambodia,” Sam Khan, 25, told AFP before carrying his wife.
The event drew participants young and old.
“I am so excited,” 50-year-old mother Heng Pov told AFP while being carried by her son.
After setting the record, many of the participants carried on with the hold as part of a competition to win a new car.
The “bridal carry” is so named for the way a groom in some cultures carries his bride over the threshold of their new home.
A video of an Indian cop brutally beating Muslim men offering jummah prayers on the roadside in Delhi has gone viral. The video shows the policeman kicking and hitting Muslims who were kneeling down for sajdah (prostration).
The incident took place in Delhi’s Inderlok area where a large number of Muslims gathered at a mosque on Friday, leading to several men praying on the road as the crowd overflowed the premises.
Police officials arrived at the spot mid-prayers and started kicking and punching the Muslims. They can be heard telling the worshippers to vacate the place. The video shows one of them kicking and hitting the Muslims who were kneeling down for prayers. However, a crowd surrounded the cop and objected to his attitude, getting into a verbal brawl.
Sharing the video of the incident, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi said, “What is this hatred that is filled in the heart of this soldier? Delhi Police is requested to file a case against this official under appropriate sections and terminate his service.”
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) MK Meena said that an inquiry into the matter has been initiated. The official has been suspended with immediate effect and disciplinary action will also be taken, the DCP added.
A German man who deliberately got vaccinated for Covid-19 a whopping 217 times did not report any side effects from his many jabs, according to researchers studying possibly the “most vaccinated person in history”.
The immune system of the 62-year-old man from the central German city of Magdeburg — who has not been named — is still firing on all cylinders, the researchers said in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
They said the man voluntarily received so many shots against all medical advice, and warned against jumping to far-reaching conclusions from this single case.
The man first came to the attention of the German-led researchers due to news reports in 2022, when he had only received 90 jabs.
Media reports at the time said the man was suspected of getting so many doses to collect the completed vaccination cards, which could then be forged and sold to people who did not want to be vaccinated.
A public prosecutor in Magdeburg opened an investigation into allegations of fraud over the case but no criminal charges were filed, according to the scientific paper published earlier this week.
The prosecutor collected evidence of 130 vaccinations over nine months, it added.
But the man claims to have received 217 vaccine doses of eight different Covid vaccines — including all mRNA versions — over 29 months.
Kilian Schober, a virologist at Germany’s University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and study co-author, said in a statement that when they contacted the man, he was “very interested” in undergoing a range of tests to examine the effect of so many vaccinations.
The case allowed the researchers an extremely rare chance to study what is known as “hyper-vaccination”.
Some scientists have theorised that after being hit by so many vaccinations, a body’s immune cells would become less effective as they became accustomed to the antigens.
But that was not the case for the German man, the researchers found.
In fact, he had “considerably higher concentrations” of immune cells and antibodies for the Covid virus than a control group of three people who received the recommended three vaccinations, the study said.
His body also showed no sign of fatigue from all those vaccinations — his 217th jab still boosted his number of antibodies against Covid, the researchers found.
The man reported that he never had any vaccine-related side effects from any of the 217 jabs. He also never tested positive for Covid and showed no signs of past infection, the researchers said.
But they warned against taking away any wider lessons from the man’s experience.
“It should go without saying that we do not endorse hypervaccination,” Schober wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Caitjan Gainty, an expert in the history of vaccines at King’s College London not involved in the study, told AFP she had “never come across a historical discussion of someone who received more vaccinations than this”.
It is “relatively unlikely” that anyone has ever had more vaccinations than the man, she added.
Spyros Lytras, a virologist at the University of Tokyo, said it was a “comically large number of vaccinations”.
“Whether this is the most vaccinated person in history, I cannot know, but they are certainly the most vaccinated person reported to date” by some margin, he told AFP.
“And I doubt that we’re going to see another such report any time soon.”
Transplant surgeons at the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI) in Lahore have successfully conducted Pakistan’s inaugural ‘split-liver transplant’ and the country’s first pancreatic transplant this week, officials announced on Wednesday.
According to experts, around 8,000 patients need liver transplants each year after the vital organ fails or they get cancer in it.
“With the help of a liver donated by a young man, who was pronounced brain dead at a Rawalpindi hospital, we have performed Pakistan’s first split-liver transplant. We divided the vital organ into two and transplanted them to an adult and a little boy, who were facing liver failure,” Dean and Chief Executive Officer PKLI&RC Dr Faisal Saud Dar told The News.
Similarly, the pancreas of the deceased, a 32-year-old man, was transplanted to a Type-1 diabetes patient, Dr Faisal Dar said, adding that it was also the first pancreatic transplant in the history of Pakistan.
The deceased donor, identified as Uzair Bin Yasin, had expressed his desire to donate all vital organs posthumously, including the liver, pancreas, both kidneys, and eyes. The organs were harvested to save the lives of seven individuals in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Dr. Faisal Dar personally retrieved the liver and pancreas from the donor on Sunday at a Rawalpindi health facility and expedited their transportation to PKLI&RC Lahore for the transplants on the same night. The liver was divided into two unequal halves, and separate teams performed the transplants on an adult and a child.
Explaining the significance of split-liver transplantation, Dr. Faisal noted that it involves dividing a single deceased donor liver into right and left portions, which are then implanted into two recipients simultaneously. Typically, the adult patient receives approximately 60 percent of the liver, while the pediatric patient receives the remaining 40 percent.
Regarding the pancreatic transplant, Dr. Faisal highlighted its success rate, stating that about 90 percent of patients no longer require insulin injections within the first year following the surgery, with more than two-thirds remaining off insulin thereafter.
Dr. Faisal Saud Dar, renowned as the pioneer of liver transplantation in Pakistan, has performed over 2,000 liver transplants to date, including the recent historic split-liver and pancreatic transplants.
“A few years back, we performed Pakistan’s first liver auto-transplantation at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Karachi, where the diseased liver of a young man was retrieved and after surgical removal of cancerous parts, it was re-transplanted to the patient. Now, we have performed Pakistan’s first split-liver and pancreatic transplants successfully, which are great achievements for us,” he added.
The successful completion of Pakistan’s first split-liver and pancreatic transplants marks a significant milestone in the country’s medical history, showcasing advancements in organ transplantation and underscoring the potential to save countless lives through organ donation and transplantation initiatives.
In a groundbreaking study conducted by the Women Journalists Association of Pakistan (WJAP) and Freedom Network, the Pakistani media industry has been thrust into a state of gender emergency due to the stark under-representation of women journalists in newsrooms and the absence of gender-sensitive policies.
The comprehensive gender audit surveyed 15 news organizations in Islamabad, focusing on workforce representation, organizational policies, anti-harassment measures, working conditions, and wages. Among the audited organizations were six TV channels, four newspapers, three news agencies, and two news websites.
The audit findings reveal that the average share of women journalists at the news outlets is only 11 percent. Majority of news organisations have no woman journalists in a leadership position.
Only two out of the 15 media houses have an anti-harassment inquiry committee despite a federal law making it mandatory for employers. Most media organizations do not offer paid maternity or paternity leave even though it is now legally required.
The gender sensitivity assessment of the audit report found that overall around 75 percent of the 15 news outlets were gender blind, meaning their organisational policies and practices do not identify or address specific gender-based issues that can affect men, women, and other gender minorities differently at the workplace.
The findings also revealed that the majority of the news organisations do not have documented policies regarding employee conduct, salaries, and promotions. At nearly half of the organisations, salaries are paid late, and the wages of female journalists are lower than their male counterparts at a quarter of the organisations.
As per the study, almost 75 percent of news outlets did not have even one woman journalist in an influential or leadership role at their Islamabad offices. The remaining four outlets had at most two women journalists involved in news decision-making.
In response, the study offers a set of recommendations directed at news organizations, media managers, civil society, journalist unions, and policymakers. These include implementing gender equality strategies in hiring, promotions, and workplace conduct, conducting capacity-building training and awareness on gender for journalists and newsrooms, demanding transparency in contracts and wage structures, and seeking legal recourse against violations of gender protection laws.
Getting a visa for certain countries, especially when they don’t have an embassy, can be a hassle. If you want to go to Italy, we have good news for you.
Italy has commenced visa services from Lahore, with plans underway to extend similar facilities to other major cities in Pakistan, announced Augusto Palmeiri, the First Secretary of the Italian Embassy, during a session at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Palmeiri highlighted that Lahore held special significance as it was the first city he visited in his official capacity as the embassy secretary. He emphasised the importance of strengthening ties between Italy and Pakistan, both in terms of general cooperation and business ventures.
While noting the symbolic significance of opening visa services in Lahore, he called it a signal of openness to visitors and business collaborations. He underscored the potential of elevating bilateral trade to new highs by setting an ambitious goal of $5 billion.
In efforts to deepen trade ties, he outlined plans for a step-by-step approach to encourage entrepreneurs to participate in fairs and exhibitions in Italy, inviting businessmen to engage in upcoming expos for networking and fostering B2B connections.
He also emphasized the significance of political cooperation through the signing of memoranda of understanding and trade agreements to facilitate growth.
The secretary talked about a recent productive meeting with the Board of Investment, where the potential for Italian investment in Pakistan was emphasized.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar lauded the initiatives taken by the Italian embassy, particularly the launch of visa services, as a significant step towards enhancing bilateral trade. He highlighted Italy’s importance as a trading partner for Pakistan, ranking eighth among the top exporting destinations.
The latest data regarding Sehat Sahulat Programme facility reveals that nearly 80 per cent of Caesarean section (C-section) procedures covered by the Programme in private hospitals across Punjab were conducted by obstetricians, potentially resulting in significant financial gains at the expense of taxpayers.
Figures from 2016 to January 2024 reveal that private hospitals claimed approximately Rs16.36 billion for C-section and normal delivery procedures, with a substantial portion going to private healthcare facility owners.
State Life Insurance Corporation subsidies were offered for various medical procedures under the program. Punjab Health Initiative Management Company (PHIMC) oversaw healthcare coverage, with 668,238 C-sections performed, predominantly in private facilities.
This discrepancy between private and government hospital procedures has raised concerns among medical observers, prompting calls for an independent investigation.
Similarly, payments to private hospitals for C-sections and normal deliveries totaled Rs16.36 billion from 2016 to January 2024, with a significant portion claimed in 2022 and 2023, leading to a ban on C-sections at private hospitals by the caretaker Punjab government in mid-2023 due to excessive claims.
The major claim of Rs7.19 billion was recorded in 2023, Rs8.16 billion in 2022, Rs610 million in 2021, Rs168 million in 2020 while another amount was calculated for the rest of the years.
