Category: News

Coby Roberts was plagued by headaches and sickness for months – but his parents thought he was just suffering from a winter bug

When six-year-old Coby Roberts began suffering from severe headaches and sickness, his parents thought he was struggling with a winter bug.

But when the youngster was left “screaming with pain” due to the severity of his migraines, Ellesmere Port parents Lewis Roberts and Emily Paradise decided to rush him to A&E.

It was then that Lewis, who was working in Cambridge at the time, received the call every parent dreads. The couple were told Coby’s headaches were caused by a ping pong ball-sized tumour in his brain, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Concerns about Coby initially escalated after the six-year-old’s school contacted his parents about his frequent absences, making them suspect something more serious was going on. Lewis, 25, said: “The trigger point was when he got so ill with a headache he couldn’t keep his food down.”

Despite initial visits to the doctor suggesting they might just be headaches, Coby’s condition did not improve.

“We took him to the doctors and they said it might just be headaches, but another week went by and they said they’d book him in for some blood tests a week later. Coby is a big lad – I’m tall myself – but he was withering away. He turned pale, his belly was gone and he looked like he was losing loads of weight,” Lewis explained.

Coby underwent blood tests in February while his father, a floor-layer, was working in Cambridge. It was then that Coby’s health sharply declined, leading to an emergency rush to A&E by his grandmother and mother, Emily.

Lewis shared the harrowing moment he received the news: “They said just for peace of mind, they would do an MRI scan. Then I got the call that no parent wants to get – my mum freaking out, saying you need to get home now, your son has a tumour in his brain.

“At first, when I found out, I was numb to the core. About an hour later I went from being numb to hysterically crying. I was in work at the time and I had to go off on my own. Luckily have a sound boss and he got one of the lads to take me home in one of the work vans and see him that day.”

Coby, a Year 1 pupil at The Oaks Community Primary School, had a tumour the size of a ping pong ball inside his brain. This caused a build-up of fluid and put pressure on his brain, leading to excruciating migraines.

He underwent two major surgeries at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital – one to insert a tube to alleviate the pressure in his head, and another to remove most of the malignant tumour, identified as a medulloblastoma. These rapidly growing tumours primarily occur in children aged between three and eight, and it is the most common high-grade children’s brain tumour, affecting approximately 52 children in the UK each year.

Lewis said: “It has been tough on Coby. When he first went to Chester A&E he thought he was going straight home, and he was screaming in the ambulance because he didn’t want to go to another hospital. He’s only six and he’s being jabbed with needles every day. Now when the nurse comes in he just goes silent. It’s been hard on him.

“We’ve been dealing with it as well as we can. By the time I was wrapping my head around the fact that he had the tumour, they had taken it out. You never expect it to happen to you. You always hear the stories, but you don’t expect it.”

Having received a diagnosis of Medulloblastoma, young Coby is facing a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Lewis added: “It’s daunting, knowing the side effects. We know it’s all for the greater good, but we feel like we’re in the calm before the storm.

“Coby is out of pain now and he’s’ all smiles and giggles, but we know what’s ahead. We’ve got to be strong for him. When you’re on your own it’s hard, but we’ve got a lot of support and we’re never really on our own.”

In solidarity with Coby, his school has organised a unique “Kick for Coby” fundraising event that allows children to donate £1 and come dressed in their favourite football kits for a day. Additionally, a GoFundMe page set up to fund a holiday for the brave youngster has already amassed over £8,000.

According to Lewis, this incredible amount will be matched by EET Fuels based at Stanlow oil refinery, with the entire sum being generously contributed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Reflecting on the overwhelming support received from the community, Lewis continued: “We’ve had endless amounts of cards, and a massive card from the school. For days after his first operation, he never smiled until Emily received a video from all the students in Y1 saying ‘hi Coby’.

“He had been in a foul mood for days and it was the first thing that brought a smile to his face. He said it nearly made him cry. I can’t even describe the support we have had. The hospital is great; it doesn’t even feel like a hospital. The surgeon, I can’t speak highly enough of him. I don’t know what to say.”

How should you respond if your child wants to trade their new sibling for something else?

18 March 2025, 06:07

The King and Queen will meet Pope Francis next month despite the pontiff’s continuing hospital treatment for double pneumonia.

The improving outlook for the Pope means the historic gathering is scheduled to take place in Rome in early April to celebrate the papal jubilee and the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Church of England.

A Buckingham Palace source said they had shared “our hopes and prayers that Pope Francis’s health will enable the visit to go ahead”.

The tour from April 7 to 10 will include two state visits, to Rome and Ravenna in Italy, and separately the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church, in the Vatican – the smallest independent state in the world.

Read more: Princess of Ales! Kate buys a round for the Irish Guards at St Patrick’s Day parade

Charles will pass two milestones, becoming the first British monarch to visit the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, the resting place of St Paul since the reformation, and address both houses of Italy’s parliament.

The King will hold audiences with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the monarch and his wife will attend a black-tie state banquet at the Palazzo Quirinale, hosted by the president.

At the weekend the Vatican released the first photograph of the Pope since he was admitted to hospital on February 14 with a severe case of bronchitis, which developed into double pneumonia.

Medical staff said last week that the pontiff, 88, was no longer in a critical, life-threatening condition, but added that his condition remained complex due to his age, lack of mobility and the loss of part of a lung as a young man.

The state visit was announced just over a week before the Pope was admitted to hospital. Charles has written privately to Francis since he was taken ill, and is likely to have wished him a speedy recovery.

Charles, supreme governor of the Church of England, last met the Pope in 2019 when he was the Prince of Wales, for the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “On Tuesday 8 April, and clearly subject to Pope Francis’s health, their majesties will visit the Holy See to join Pope Francis in celebrating the 2025 jubilee.

“Held traditionally once every 25 years, the jubilee is a special year for the Catholic Church; a year of reconciliation, prayer and walking together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, which is the jubilee’s theme.

“The King and Queen will have an audience with Pope Francis. Their Majesties will also attend a service in the Sistine Chapel, focused on the theme of ‘care for creation’, reflecting Pope Francis’s and His Majesty’s long-standing commitment to nature.”

Other highlights of the trip will see the UK and Italy’s defence co-operation marked by a joint flypast over Rome by the Italian Air Force’s aerobatic team, Frecce Tricolori, and by the RAF’s Red Arrows.

In Ravenna, near Bologna, Charles and Camilla will mark the 80th anniversary of the province’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Allied forces on April 10 1945 during a town hall reception, and will celebrate literary culture by visiting Dante’s tomb, with the Queen making a solo trip to the Byron museum.

BBC

Family handout

Family Handout

‘No more children’

While many people know all about the senior members of the British Royal Family today, very few people know one past royal that was known for being a scandalous figure. Although no longer alive, Princess Louise, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was the subject of many rumours during her time, some of which still exist today.

Born in 1848, Louise was always known for her rebellious streak, especially when it came to her relationship with her mother the late Queen Victoria. While Victoria, who had the nickname of ‘Grandmother of Europe’, wanted Louise to marry European heirs and dignitaries, this was not what happened – leading to potentially one of the biggest royal scandals. As reported by MyLondon, Louise went against her mother’s wishes and instead married a high-ranking member of British society John, Marquess of Lorne, who later became the Duke of Argyll.

After their wedding, rumours swirled that John was homosexual, while other rumours emerged that Louise had been in relationships with at least two other men while married.

It was also rumoured that she fell pregnant as a result, with some claiming she gave birth to an illegitimate child in 1866 or 1867.

This was around the same time that the son of Queen Victoria’s obstetrician, Frederick Locock and his wife, adopted a boy who was born on December 30, 1867.

While it was never confirmed, rumours suggested that the baby was the illegitimate son of Princess Louise from a relationship she had with her brother’s tutor Walter Stirling.

According to the official biographer for the princess, Lucinda Hawksley, Queen Victoria’s lawyers were called to the Queen at the end of 1867 – around the same time as the adoption. A fter this, Locock – who adopted the baby – began receiving a large allowance and was even given an apartment in St. James’s Palace, where the adopted boy called Harry grew up and spent much of his childhood with royal children.

It is believed that when he was older, he told all of his children that Princess Louise was his mother, although this was never proved or confirmed. While these rumours were a key talking topic at the time, Louise spent most of her time and efforts in supporting the suffragist movement and in focusing on her own art work.

The princess was a talented sculptor and produced the statue of Queen Victoria in her coronation robes outside Kensington Palace.

Louise later died at the Palace herself in 1939 after spending much of her later life living there.

A special public prosecutor in the Mustafa Amir kidnap and murder case has sought security after allegedly receiving threats from the prime suspect’s father.

In a letter to the prosecutor general of Sindh, SPP Zulfiqar Arain stated that he and the investigating officer, Muhammad Ali, appeared before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) on March 11 when the prime suspect, Armaghan, was produced upon completion of his physical remand.

The court extended the remand and allowed the suspect’s parents to meet him in the courtroom while others were asked to leave.

Arain claimed that Armaghan’s father, Kamran Asghar, began hurling abuses and issued life threats to both him and the investigating officer. He alleged that Kamran created disorder in the courtroom and that his attempt to bring the matter to the ATC judge’s attention through court staff was unsuccessful.

The prosecutor said he then requested the defence side to control Kamran as he might attack the IO, adding that some unknown persons wearing black coats and claiming to be his lawyers also accompanied the suspect’s father on the court premises as his security.

He, therefore, requested the prosecutor general to issue directions for the authority concerned to take legal action against Kamran and provide security to him as he and IO were not safe even in the courtroom.

In response to the letter, the prosecution general has asked the registrar of anti-terrorism courts to take necessary action and make security arrangements on the premises and not to allow any unauthorized person.

FREE LEGO: On March 23-23, build a Mother’s Day Flower model at participating stores (UK and Ireland) and take it home with you for free. Find participating stores here.

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Lego has been on an incredible run of generosity lately.

On Feb. 9, customers had the opportunity to build a Lego Valentine’s Day Heart and take it home for free. That was special, but then Lego followed that up with a similar Steering Wheel giveaway on March 9. We naively thought that the generosity would end there, but Lego just keeps the make-and-take events coming.

On March 22 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and March 23 from 12-2 p.m., Lego is running a Mother’s Day Flower make-and-take event intended for participants aged 6+ years. The Mother’s Day Flower model is available on a first come first serve basis at participating locations in the UK and Ireland, and only while supplies last. Participants are limited to one build each, so you can’t stock up and throw hundreds of Lego flowers at your mum. She doesn’t want that anyway.

As with all these special events run by Lego, the model that you build is not available for purchase. So participants are getting their hands on an exclusive item for free.

Mashable Deals

Build and take home an exclusive Lego Mother’s Day Flower for free on March 22-23.

Abhishek Bachchan’s perspective on parenting

In an interview with NDTV, Abhishek Bachchan shared his perspective on whether parents should be friends with their children. He stated, “Be friendly with your child, but it’s very important to not be friends with your child. You are not their friend; you are their parent. You are the person they need to come to for guidance, protection, comfort, and love.”

Emphasising the importance of maintaining parental authority, Abhishek stressed the need for a clear distinction between being friendly and being a friend. He believes that while children should feel comfortable confiding in their parents, they must also recognise the respect and guidance that come with the parent-child relationship. “There is a certain decorum, not just because I gave you life, but because I am responsible for raising you, caring for you, loving you, and providing for you,” he explained.

Highlighting the unwavering support parents offer, he emphasised the importance of being a reliable presence in a child’s life, someone they can turn to for guidance and assistance. He stressed that children should always feel assured that their parents will stand by them no matter what. Summing up his stance, he reiterated ‘it’s important to be friendly with your children, but you shouldn’t be their friend’.

His bond with Amitabh Bachchan

Talking about his relationship with his father, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek shared that while they are best friends and can talk about anything, the dynamic remains one-sided. He emphasised that he would never cross a certain limit, always being conscious of his father’s stature and maintaining a respectful tone in their interactions.

Another kid for Karlie Kloss!

The model announced on Monday that she is pregnant with her and husband Joshua Kushner’s third child.

“Three’s a party 🥹🫶🎉,” the former Victoria’s Secret Angel, 32, captioned her Instagram baby bump debut.

Kloss showed her budding belly in multiple looks in the social media slideshow, from an unbuttoned shirt to a black dress.

She concluded the carousel with a black-and-white photo of her and Kushner’s two sons — Levi, 4, and Elijah, 1 — hugging.

The expectant star also shared her news with Vogue, gushing about how “incredibly grateful” she and Kushner, 39, are “for this blessing.”

She added, “Family is everything to me.”

Kloss and Kushner began dating in 2012, with the businessman getting down on one knee six years later.

The couple tied the knot in October 2018 in upstate New York.

They became parents in March 2021 when Levi arrived, followed by Elijah in July 2023.

While Kloss primarily keeps her kids off of social media, she gave a rare glimpse of her eldest child’s face in April 2024.

“my boys,” Kloss wrote at the time, with many of her followers calling Levi her “twin” who “looks exactly like” her.

The previous month, she opened up to Bustle about how “everything” in her life changed “in the most beautiful ways” as a mom of two.

“My self-care routine has definitely gotten more efficient, and maybe a little neglected, but that’s OK,” she explained, joking that she often rocked “mascara left from last night” and forgot to “run a brush through [her] hair.”

Nonetheless, she added, “I’m enjoying this phase of life, which has made me so much better in a lot of ways.”