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A Canadian man has had limb-lengthening surgery, costing £25,000, to increase his height from 5ft 7in to 5ft 10in as he was so insecure about his height it caused him to have “suicidal thoughts”, and claims he is now “so much happier” and “confident”. Daniel Farbod, 27, a civil engineer, from Toronto, Canada, has been self-conscious of his height “all (his) life” – when he stopped growing, at age 14, he said it felt “tragic” and like his “first stab to the heart.” Daniel always defined “being masculine” as being tall, and was “ashamed” of himself as he “didn’t feel like a man.” Over time, being taller was all Daniel could dream about, and claimed his height “impacted his mental health so badly” that he was having “suicidal thoughts”. After coming across the unique surgery online, he realised he was “willing to sacrifice time and money to get (his) life back.” So, in May 2021, he had his first procedure in a specialist clinic in Turkey, which involved breaking his femurs, hollowing out the bone, and putting a rod inside the bone with external fixators, pieces of steel on the outside of his legs. Daniel had to turn the fixators with an Allen key every day for over four months, and eventually had his second surgery to remove the fixators after his bones had successfully fused together. When Daniel recovered, he could not “put into words how happy (he) was” and “felt so much more confident”, now, he is sharing his journey on social media to inspire others who are insecure about their height. Daniel told PA Real Life: “I’m really proud of myself for having the surgery. “I was insecure all my life about my height, it impacted my mental health so badly. “I was suicidal, and after admitting that I wanted to take the steps to feel better, and have the surgery, I feel so much better. “I think for other people, it is important to know how tough the surgery and recovery is – it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but for me, it changed my life and made me grow not only literally but also metaphorically as a person.” Daniel, who has always been self-conscious about his height, stopped growing at age 14, and became obsessed with finding ways to become taller. He said: “I researched everything from socks and supplements that claimed to increase your height. “I was always insecure and worried about it – I used to go to orthopaedic doctors because I was so scared of not growing. “But when I got to age 14, I stopped and it was so depressing.” When it became clear to Daniel that he was unlikely to grow any more, it took a toll on his mental health and confidence. He explained: “It was so tragic for me, it was like my first stab to the heart. “All my dreams would be about being taller and I had to somehow accept that my height had peaked. “I tried to keep myself busy to manage my thoughts but in 2020 I just couldn’t handle it – I had all of these negative thoughts and suicidal thoughts because I think being masculine, and being a man, means to be tall. “I didn’t feel like a man, I was so ashamed.” Daniel felt as though having limb-lengthening surgery was the only way he was going to feel better, but his parents, who are both “on the shorter side”, did not approve of his decision to have cosmetic surgery. He said: “Everyone was really against the idea because they thought it was not natural and it was changing the way your body is meant to be. “I knew the surgery was going to be tough, but I thought even that pain would be better than having suicidal thoughts. “I was willing to sacrifice time and money to get my life back.” In May 2021, Daniel had his first surgery in a specialist clinic, Live Life Taller, in Turkey, which involved breaking both of his femurs, hollowing out the bone, and putting a rod inside the bone with external fixators – pieces of steel on the outside of his legs. He explained: “I was really scared when I got to the clinic, and the breaking of the bones was the part I was most nervous about in the whole process. “It was crazy to wake up after the surgery – the reality just hit me all at once and I was so happy.” His recovery involved being in a wheelchair and using an Allen key to turn a bolt on the fixators four times a day at 90 degrees to separate the bone segments a little at a time. Daniel continued to do this every day for four and a half months, saying of his painful recovery: “My skin was stretching, my muscles were growing, it was madness. “It took me even longer to recover, they usually say it will take three months, but, my I had nerve issues with my right leg and had to have it broken again. “It was a very tough time.” In September 2021, the external fixators were removed, he explained: “I used a walker and really really slowly I worked up to using crutches. “I couldn’t really tell how tall I was at that point. “It took me at least another three months to be able to stand up.” Mr Farbod went from 5 ft 7 to 5ft 10 and thinks his mental health has dramatically improved as a result. He said: “I couldn’t believe it. I had been dreaming of being a tall man since I was 10 years old, it’s all I’ve ever wanted. “I went through all these sleepless nights, trauma and upset, and I finally achieved my goal. “I can’t even put into words how happy I was, and still am – I felt so much more confident.” When Mr Farbod arrived home, his family were also very happy for him. He said: “They looked after me so much – I could barely get out of bed or bend down for a long time. “They could tell I was so much happier when I recovered.” Now, Daniel shares his journey on Instagram and YouTube to inspire others who are insecure about their height. He said: “I want to show people the reality of the surgery – it’s tough but I want to raise awareness and get men talking about their insecurities.” For support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch. 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Anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy was convicted of illegally blocking a reproductive health clinic in Washington, DC after she kept five foetuses in her home. Handy and five other defendants were accused of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) — which prohibits intimidation or obstruction of someone seeking reproductive health services — when they blocked access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in October 2020 using chains and ropes, according to a Justice Department release. A US District Court jury in DC found Handy and four co-defendants —John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, William Goodman, Herb Geraghty — guilty on all counts. Each defendant was convicted of a felony conspiracy against rights and a FACE Act offence, the release stated, specifying that each face up to a maximum of 11 years in prison and a fine of up to $350,000. The Washington Post noted that a second group of defendants involved in the same blockade have a trial that is set to begin next week. The Justice Department wrote that Handy, Hinshaw, Idoni, Goodman, and Geraghty engaged in the conspiracy when they came from all over the country to Washington, DC “to meet with Handy and participate in a clinic blockade that was directed by Handy and was broadcast on Facebook.” Prosecutors said that Handy called the clinic while under the guise of a prospective patient to book an appointment to figure out when the clinic performed abortions — in order to plan when she and others could arrive to stop patients from getting inside. The Justice Department wrote that Handy, Hinshaw, Idoni, and Goodman “forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains and ropes.” That’s when they began livestreaming their blockade. In terms of violating the FACE Act, the Justice Department wrote that the defendants used “physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere” with the clinic’s employees as well as a patient who was seeking reproductive health services. “They planned their crime carefully, to take over that clinic, block access to reproductive services and interfere with others’ rights,” Assistant US Attorney John Crabb said last week. “The idea of deliberately breaking the law, to them, was sexy.” The group responsible for the blockade were reportedly members of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU); Handy is the director of activism. The group’s website says its mission is to “achieve socio-political justice for the preborn by mobilizing anti-abortion activists for direct action and opposing elective abortion through a progressive lens.” PAAU wrote on X in the wake of the verdict: “This is a gross miscarriage of justice, and while this is painful for all of those who understand that the unborn have a right to be Rescued, this is not the end!” The group added, “Rescue CANNOT and will not be stopped. This case was an effort by the US government to isolate and intimidate Rescuers and anti abortion people into believing they will face significant jail time for living in alignment with their pro-life values.” The case was brought against Handy and the other defendants in February 2022; one month later, police found five fetuses in a house in Southeast Washington where she was staying. Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said at the time that officers were investigating a tip regarding “potential bio-hazard material” at a property in Capitol Hill, adding later that they located “five fetuses inside a residence at the location.” Shortly after that news broke, PAAU held a press conference announcing that Handy had 115 more foetuses that she helped baptise and bury in a private cemetery. Handy said at the press conference, “During the five days they were under my stewardship, the 115 victims of abortion violence were given funeral mass for unbaptised children and 110… were given a proper burial in a private cemetery.” Read More Everything we know about Lauren Handy, anti-abortion activist who says she ‘blessed and buried’ 110 foetuses Anti-abortion activists, including one who kept fetuses, convicted of illegally blocking DC clinic Abortion rights protests planned across Poland after death of pregnant woman

A district attorney has ruled out the possibility of seeking the death penalty for the UNC doctoral student accused of murdering his academic advisor in a shooting that sparked terror across the Chapel Hill campus. The UNC community is still reeling from a shooting on Monday that left one faculty member dead and forced frantic students fearing for their lives to barricade themselves inside lecture halls. Tailei Qi, an applied sciences PhD student at UNC, has been charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon on academic premises in connection with the fatal shooting of his lab advisor Zijie Yan. Mr Qi appeared in court on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail. The suspect had a Mandarin interpreter during his arraignment and was scheduled to reappear in court next month. Prosecutors did not share a potential motive for why Mr Qi allegedly carried out the attack on Yan. In an interview following the hearing, Orange County District Attorney Jeff Niemen said he would not be seeking the death penalty in Mr Qi’s case “or any case,” FOX8 reports. Responding to criticism about his stance on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Nieman said: “I was very transparent about my position on the death penalty in candidate forums.” Mr Nieman pledged to not seek the death penalty if elected as he campaigned in 2021 to become the DA in Chatam and Orange counties. “You can let someone out of prison, but you can’t un-kill them,” Mr Nieman said in a statement at the time. “The death penalty is a complicated societal issue, one that I am ready to discuss in greater depth with our community members in the months ahead. But for the reasons briefly cited above and more, I will not seek the death penalty in my district.” Mr Qi is being held without bail at the Orage County Sheriff’s Jail in Hillsborough County. He was arrested near a residential area two miles away from campus following a three-hour lockdown on Monday. According to his LinkedIn page, Mr Qi graduated from Wuhan University in 2015 and also received a master’s in material science from Lousiana State University in 2021. Mr Qi then joined UNC at Chapel Hill’s Yan Lab in 2022, with his profile page on the university’s website taken down by Tuesday. Wen Liu, a 2022 UNC graduate who worked in the lab with Qi, told the AP that he was “somewhat reserved” but still “pretty sociable.” Ms Liu also said that Qi would often answer other lab member’s questions with “patience and respect.” “For hours he would just be doing things and explaining along the way,” Ms Liu said. UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said on Tuesday that Yan left two young daughters behind and described the slain professor as a “beloved colleague and friend” who was fondly remembered by everyone who crossed paths with him. Mr Qi is expected to appear in court again on 18 September. Read More UNC shooting updates: Suspect Tailei Qi complained about professor Zijie Yan online before Chapel Hill attack UNC Chapel Hill graduate student Tailei Qi charged with murder in shooting of faculty member A new college term, a faculty member killed and a student arrested: What we know about the UNC shooting

Irish police say 11 people have died in road traffic collisions since Friday.

Sex abuse charges against former Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have been dismissed by a Massachusetts judge who ruled the 93-year-old was incompetent to stand trial. Mr McCarrick, who was the former archbishop of Washington, was charged with assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 1974. He was defrocked who was defrocked by the Pope in 2019 after a Vatican investigation alleged he had sexually molested adults as well as children during his career. The former cleric, the most senior member of the US Catholic church to face charges, still faces a criminal sexual abuse charge against the same alleged victim, in Wisconsin. Mr McCarrick pleaded not guilty in September 2021 to allegations that he sexually abused the boy at a wedding reception at Boston’s Wellesley College in June 1974. His lawyers told the court in April that Mr McCarrick had been examined by experts at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who concluded he suffers from dementia, likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. The judge ruled in agreement on Wednesday and prosecutors immediately dismissed the complaint against the former Cardinal. “(The) Commonwealth does not have a good-faith basis to proceed any longer with the prosecution give the testimony and the opinions of the psychologist that Mr McCarrick is not restorable to competency,” the prosecutor said. Mr McCarrick, who now lives in Missouri, did not appear in person in the courtroom but joined the hearing by video. Court documents in the case state that the victim alleged Mr McCarrick groped him as they walked around the campus of Wellesley College, where his brother’s wedding reception was being held. The man also claims that Mr McCarrick also later fondled the boy in a room and told him to “say three our fathers and a Hail Mary or it was one our father and three Hail Marys, so God can redeem you of your sins.” Read More Pope says a revised environmental encyclical will be released Oct. 4, feast of St. Francis of Assisi Pope heads to Mongolia to minister to its few Catholics and complete centuries-old East-West mission Vatican seeks to tamp down outrage over pope's words of praise for Russian imperial past