GBM Awareness Week: Daughter speaks out about father’s brain tumour to raise awareness
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the disease, Brain Tumour Research said.
A LOVING daughter has spoken out about her father’s terminal illness in a bid to raise awareness of the need for greater investment in research.
Simran Poonia was left stunned after her father Baljit Mehat was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year.
Poonia, a 34-year-old social worker from Potton, Bedfordshire, said: “It came completely out of the blue and we were left shocked, wondering why us? What had caused it?”
The 59-year-old Mehat, a father-of-four from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was on his way to a football match when he became shaky and confused in October 2021. He was driven to hospital where scans detected a mass on his brain.
Baljit Mehat with his family members (Picture: Brain Tumour Research)
Within weeks, he was undergoing a brain surgery but Covid-19 restrictions in place meant that he was without his family for support.
Poonia, a mum-of-two, said: “Knowing that he had woken up from surgery alone, without the comfort of having someone familiar with him, was the worst thing. The fact that you could go to a football match and sit among thousands of people but mum wasn’t even allowed to sit by his hospital bed made me so angry.”
A biopsy of Mehat’s tumour revealed the devastating news that he had a 'Grade 4' glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a fast-growing tumour that is very challenging to treat.
In January, Mehat started taking a drug called AZD1390 in combination with radiotherapy as part of a clinical trial. His tumour is currently stable and his doctors have told him to enjoy things he wants to do whilst he is still fit and healthy. His son, Kirpal, has even brought his wedding forward by six months.
Baljit Mehat (L) with a doctor (Picture: Brain Tumour Research)
“I wanted us to try and spend Christmas together and we did but it was bittersweet because my youngest sister ended up having a baby on 29th December, so couldn’t be with us," Poonia said.
“Dad was also weaker and too tired to do the things he usually does, such as dress up as Santa on Christmas Eve, which we all wished he had been able to do, and he’d lost a lot of weight," she added.
“I remember looking at him as he was carving the turkey and thinking how different he appeared. He never said it could be his last Christmas but I know we were all thinking it.
"My two sisters and I are married but my brother was due to marry his fiancée in April 2023 so we started thinking about whether to bring their wedding forward," she added.
“It was a really difficult conversation to have but we said it was more about ensuring dad would enjoy the day rather than to do with concerns we had about him deteriorating or not be around at all if we waited.
“It’s now due to take place in October, which isn’t the simplest of things because it’s a Sikh wedding involving around 500 guests. We’ve had to change the venue but are all pitching in to help make it as special as can be.
“It’s painful to think about dad not being with us but I feel like I’m prepared for what will happen. I’m not accepting it, but I am preparing for it.”
Poonia is working with Brain Tumour Research, the only national charity in the UK which works to find a cure for brain tumour, to share her father’s story during GBM Awareness Week, which kicked off on Monday (18).
According to Brain Tumour Research, GBM is the most commonly diagnosed high-grade brain tumour found in adults. It is fast-growing and the average survival time is just 12 to 18 months. Treatment options are extremely limited and there is no cure.
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said, “What Baljit and his family are going through is devastating but, sadly, it is not unique. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet historically, just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the disease. This needs to change but it’s only by working together that we will be able to improve treatment options for patients and, ultimately, find a cure.”
Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia and is also campaigning for greater repurposing of drugs.
The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.
PAKISTAN has announced the creation of a new national paramilitary force, raising concerns among opposition parties and human rights groups about its possible use for political repression.
The new force will be called the Federal Constabulary and will be formed by restructuring an existing paramilitary unit currently operating along the northwestern border with Afghanistan, state minister for the Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a press conference in Faisalabad on Monday.
According to a copy of the amended law cited by Dunya News TV, the Federal Constabulary will be tasked with internal security, riot control and counter-terrorism duties.
The announcement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, prepares for nationwide protests on August 5, marking two years since his arrest.
Past protests since Khan’s arrest in August 2023 have at times turned violent and disrupted life in Islamabad for days.
"This will be a new force. This will be a stronger force. We need this force for internal security," Chaudhry said. He added that President Asif Ali Zardari had already approved amendments to the law to implement changes in the paramilitary structure.
Chaudhry said the Federal Constabulary will replace the Frontier Constabulary (FC), which previously recruited only from tribal areas in the northwestern province. He said training of the new force will align it with other national law enforcement agencies.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said the new force should be discussed in parliament.
The force "should not be used as a gimmick to silence political opponents, as has been previously witnessed when the government applied such laws against a large number of the PTI leadership and supporters," Bukhari said.
Haris Khalique, secretary of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, also expressed concern.
"We are alarmed by the changes being made to the security and law enforcement structure of the country without any debate in parliament," Khalique said.
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Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has been hospitalised in London after falling seriously ill, according to a party official.
Hussain, 71, was admitted to a hospital on Thursday due to a severe illness, where doctors carried out various tests, Mustafa Azizabadi, Convener of MQM’s Central Coordination Committee, said on social media.
"The founder and leader of MQM, Altaf Hussain, has been admitted to a hospital in London due to severe illness, where various tests have been conducted on him,” Azizabadi said.
“Doctors have conducted various tests and are focusing their attention on his treatment,” he added in a video message, as quoted by Dawn.
Hussain has been living in London since 1992 and holds British citizenship, the report said.
He often delivers political speeches to his supporters in Karachi through social media platforms.
Hussain founded the party in 1984 under the name Muhajir Qaumi Movement to represent the Urdu-speaking community that migrated from India to Pakistan during the 1947 partition.
Born on September 17, 1953 in Karachi, he started his political career in 1978 by founding the All-Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO).
In the 1988 general elections, MQM won a majority in Sindh’s urban areas and became the third-largest party in the country, Dawn reported.
Hussain has remained in self-imposed exile since the early 1990s after the government launched an operation in Karachi at the time.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion, the British Future report said. (Photo: Getty Images)
COMMUNITIES remain at risk of fresh unrest unless urgent action is taken to address deep-seated social tensions, a new report, published one year after last summer's riots, has cautioned.
Titled 'The State of Us' by British Future thinktank and the Belong Network, the report published on Tuesday (15) said successive governments have failed to take action and warned that a "powder keg" of unresolved grievances could easily ignite again without immediate intervention.
Immigration and asylum remain contentious issues, as per the report.
Three in ten respondents selected "divisions between people who have migrated to the UK, arrived as refugees or sought asylum, and people born in the UK" as the top issue affecting how people from different backgrounds get on locally.
There are widespread worries about the cost-of-living, declining public services, and inequality - leading to frustration about the potential for political change, the survey found.
In a foreword to the report, Sir Sajid and Cruddas wrote: “The bonds that hold society together – civic participation and a shared sense of belonging – are under growing pressure. This is leaving our society more fragmented, fragile and less resilient to internal and external threats. At the same time, forces driving division are intensifying, political polarisation is deepening and trust in institutions is declining.”
“Only through coordinated leadership and collaboration across sectors can we build resilience and connection on a national scale – but it will take boldness, bravery, and a willingness to step outside our comfort zones.”
Led by senior researcher Jake Puddle and co-authored by Jill Rutter and Heather Rolfe, the latest study gathered evidence from 177 UK organisations working on social cohesion through regional roundtables and 113 written submissions. They also conducted a nationally representative survey by Focaldata and held eight focus groups in towns and cities across the UK, including areas that experienced riots.
“Social media emerged as a significant threat to community cohesion. People's engagement with society is increasingly shaped through online platforms, creating an environment where misinformation can direct grievances toward minority groups. Online hate and clickbait headlines perpetuate anxiety through a sense of ‘permanent crisis’,” it noted.
“Trust in politicians has reached very low levels, with the public viewing them as self-interested and disconnected from their concerns. Across the UK, people report feeling less aligned to mainstream political parties and sceptical about their ability to deliver change.”
According to the study, three in ten adults - around 15 million people - said they rarely or never have opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds. A similar number say they don't frequently get a chance to meet other people at all in their local community.
Meanwhile, at neighbourhood level, 69 per cent of people feel their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. It highlighted many examples of successful community work across the UK, often led by local authorities and civil society organisations.
Kelly Fowler, chief executive of the Belong Network, said: "Good work is happening across the UK on cohesion and community strength, but it is patchy and often confined to areas of high diversity or where tensions have spilled over into unrest. A lack of sustained funding limits its impact. It's time this issue was treated with the urgency it merits, in every part of Britain. We must not wait for more riots to happen."
The report said while strong foundations exist at neighbourhood level, coordinated leadership and collaboration across all sectors will be essential to build resilience and connection on a national scale.
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The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a 'comprehensive operation'. (Photo: Getty Images)
FOUR members of an organised crime network that stole more than £1 million worth of jewellery from Indian and South Asian families in London have been sentenced to a total of 17 years and one month in prison.
The Metropolitan Police said the sentencing followed a “comprehensive operation” that led to the imprisonment of Jerry O’Donnell, 33, Barney Maloney, Quey Adger, 23, and Patrick Ward, 43. All four were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to burglary.
The police said the group “largely targeted the South Asian community throughout the capital”.
“This comprehensive operation enabled us to disrupt a key part of an organised crime network. As a result of the work conducted by specialist officers, a handful of serial criminals will now spend a substantial amount of time behind bars,” said Detective Sergeant Lee Davison of the Met Police, who led the investigation.
“While the monetary value of this crime is staggering, its sentimental worth is priceless. I hope these men spend a lot of time reflecting on the impact their actions have had on the community,” he said.
Three of the men – O’Donnell, Maloney and Adger – were arrested in July 2024 during a one-year intelligence-led operation covering London and surrounding counties. They were detained while carrying stolen jewellery and were each sentenced to over five years in prison.
CCTV enquiries had identified their car as being connected to several burglaries. Specialist officers pursued the vehicle and conducted a forced stop. Officers found hundreds of items inside, including a gold wedding ring, gold necklaces, and a solid gold hair pin.
Ward was arrested separately at his home address. Intelligence obtained during the investigation linked him to the group as a member of the same organised network. He was sentenced to two years and five months.
As part of the investigation, officers also raided a jewellery shop in Hatton Garden, where they believed stolen gold was being melted down and sold. Police recovered £50,000 in cash and eight kilos of jewellery from the location.
The recovered items included a World War One officer’s Rolex, a gold locket containing old photographs, an engraved gold ring, and a gold pocket watch marked Harlow Bros Ltd.
“While the most identifiable items were reunited with their rightful owners after dozens of people came forward following a media appeal in March, detectives are still looking to identify the owners of the remaining jewellery and urge anyone who may have been a victim to contact police,” the Met Police said in a statement.
The thefts took place between December 2023 and July 2024 from homes across south London, including Croydon, Sutton and Wandsworth, as well as in Surrey, Sussex and Essex.
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Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
FOUR weeks before an Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed after takeoff from Ahmedabad, media reports cited a safety notice issued by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) highlighting potential issues with fuel control switches on Boeing aircraft.
The CAA has now clarified that the safety notice in question — Safety Notice Number SN-2015/005 — was originally issued in 2015. The document was updated on 15 May 2025 only to change the contact email address. This routine administrative update caused the document to appear on the CAA website as if it were newly issued.
A CAA spokesperson said: “Whilst the Air India accident investigation is ongoing, we do not have any technical concern with regards to Boeing products and we do not require any additional actions from UK operators.”
According to India Today, the notice was dated May 15 and instructed operators of Boeing models including the 787 Dreamliner to assess a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Directive concerning fuel shutoff valve actuators. These valves are safety devices designed to stop fuel flow to engines.
"The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) addressing a potential unsafe condition affecting fuel shutoff valves installed on the following Boeing aircraft: B737, B757, B767, B777, B787," the CAA notice stated, according to the report.
The CAA had ordered daily checks and possible testing, inspection or replacement of affected parts. The issue drew renewed focus after India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau noted in its preliminary report that the aircraft’s fuel control switches unexpectedly moved to “CUTOFF” after liftoff, shutting down both engines.
The FAA later said the switch design posed no safety risk, and Boeing issued similar guidance. Air India replaced the Throttle Control Module in 2019 and 2023 but did not inspect the switch locking mechanism, saying the 2018 FAA advisory was not mandatory. CEO Campbell Wilson said no cause had been identified yet.