ezubrova (ezubrova)

As I waited for brain surgery, I instinctively pressed record on my phone camera, thinking I might be documenting the final months of my life. I have made a career telling other people’s stories but this seemed like a time to tell my own. It began with a bicycle crash in June 2023 when I broke 10 ribs - but that led to me discovering a much bigger health challenge. In bed one night, I had a seizure which revealed a cancerous brain tumour. The most likely scenario seemed to be that I had an aggressive glioblastoma, a tumour which typically ends your life within 12 to 18 months. In my hospital bed, I turned the camera on myself, not as a self-indulgence, but to spotlight a nasty cancer that’s hard to treat and even harder to beat. I suppose this was my way of extracting some purpose from a personal tragedy.

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Zoe Ball has announced she is stepping down as presenter of Radio 2's Breakfast Show in December. Ball said: “After six incredible years on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show, it’s time for me to step away from the very early mornings and focus on family." She will remain on the station, and said more news on what that would involve would be announced in the new year. Ball later announced that Scott Mills will be her replacement, moving from his afternoon show slot on the station. Ball's last show will be on Friday 20 December, "just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans," she told listeners on her Tuesday show.

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People in Thailand are accusing a high-profile television drama of potentially abusing animals after a cat was shown convulsing on the ground. Concerned viewers of Thai drama "The Empress of Ayodhaya" questioned what was done to the animal to make its performance so convincing, with some suggesting potential mistreatment. Despite the show’s producers scrambling to reassure audiences of the cat’s safety, a boycott campaign has gained traction on social media. Authorities said they were investigating allegations of animal abuse. In the controversial scene, a woman makes a cat drink her tea to test if it has been spiked. Moments later, the cat lays purring and writhing on the ground until it "dies". Social media users, including public figures, quickly took to social media to air their anger about potential mistreatment of the cat.

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The head of all U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific spoke to a Chinese counterpart for the first time in years, according to a statement from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. The video call between the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific command Admiral Samuel Paparo and Gen. Wu Yanan, the commander of the People's Liberation Army's Southern Theater Command, on Monday was the first call between leaders in that position for several years. Paparo, according to the readout, spoke of how the importance of communication "between senior leaders serve to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation." Paparo only took over as commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in May 2024, but his predecessor Admiral John Aquilino has said he tried for three years to get a meeting with his counterpart so that the two militaries could work to avoid any miscalculations in the region.

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The hotel lift gently levelled out and a muffled ding sounded. The doors slid back. What Moses Swaibu saw next has stayed with him ever since. "We were going to the room at the end of the corridor," he says. "I just remember that colour red, it was a really royal type of colour. "And the place smelled expensive, you took a breath in and it was like 'damn this environment ain't how outside is'. It felt like a film set." Swaibu, having drunk a whisky cocktail for courage in the bar, was at The May Fair hotel in central London, walking towards the biggest decision of his life. As he strode down the corridor, Swaibu didn't know exactly what was behind that final door. But he knew enough. It would be a criminal, cash and a career that betrayed everything he had worked for. Once he crossed that threshold, there would be no turning back. But, by the time Swaibu reached the door, any doubts had long since gone.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is “happy” that a hearing into the club’s more than 100 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules will begin soon. The club was charged in February 2023 after a four-year investigation, with the Premier League alleging that City failed to provide accurate financial information between the 2009-10 season and the 2017-18 season. The league also accuses City of failing to comply with UEFA’s financial fair play (FFP) regulations between 2013-14 and 2017-18 and failing to follow Premier League rules on profit and sustainability between 2015-16 and 2017-18.

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EXCLUSIVE: Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew, who got $363,000 for being a Trump WH sports liaison with zero experience, caught using his phone to pretend he is bonafide news media outside Trump's criminal trial. He would be mortified if this video went viral

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