Kneeling next to a ditch, deep in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, a 22-year-old woman draws her last breath in a ‘desert court’ before she is shot in the back with an AK-47.

Her executioner? Likely her hardline militant husband, in what the Taliban consider an ‘honour killing’. 

It took less than an hour to decide Najiba had been adulterous – although it has been suggested this accusation was fabricated to protect her husband’s reputation. Adultery is a crime that deserves corporal punishment under the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Sharia law.

Fourteen years on from her death, little is known about her story, like many women slowly being erased from the fabric of Afghan society. 

But the horror of Najiba’s undignified death, met with the cheers of rural militants, feels eerily prophetic to the conditions of women today, who are once again being tortured and revoked to the status of a slave.

In January this year, the Taliban reintroduced a decree that invoked the death penalty for blasphemers and undefined ‘immoral’ or ‘corrupt’ offences after it had been banned following US intervention.

Following this latest sign that horrific brutality is set to return, Michelle Shahid from Equality Now told the Daily Mail that ‘the death penalty, stoning sentences and public floggings are likely to fall hardest on Afghan women’, while Medica Mondiale likened the current conditions as a ‘gender apartheid’.

Dishearteningly, in July 2012, Shajan Yazdanparast, the head of women’s affairs for Parwan Province, said in response to Najiba’s execution: ‘we have had a very bad experience of Taliban in the past several years. Everyone is in shock and scared that, God forbid, if the Taliban return, what will happen.’

They added that women ‘suffered socially, psychologically, and they could not study’ while the Taliban ruled. 

Indeed, today, the situation for women is much the same as it was under the Taliban in the 90s despite America’s near two decades of intervention, with the recent legalisation of domestic abuse and the banning of girls from secondary education.

Or, arguably, even in 2012, when a US-backed government was still trying to negotiate with the Taliban, who held control in pockets of the country, as was the case for Najiba.  

The grainy video that captured Najiba’s execution caused uproar both across the world but also within Afghanistan, as authorities had been trying to improve women’s rights through reinstating their vote and access to schooling.

But in Qōl-e Hir, the village where Najiba was from in the Shinwari district of the Parwan province, the Taliban still ruled.

Najiba had been found in the house of a local Taliban commander, Mullah Qader-e ‘Lang’ (Qader the Lame), who was reportedly involved in internal clashes. 

It is unclear whether she was being held there voluntarily or against her will, however Parwan province governor at the time, Abdul Basir Salangi, claimed she had some kind of sexual relationship with the man – either romantic or abusive.

According to local MP Zakia Sangin, who spoke contemporaneously to Afghanistan Analysts’ Network, Najiba had fled her husband’s house, situated two-and-a-half hours north from the capital, Kabul, some three months before she was found.

At Najiba’s execution, verses from the Qur’an regarding adultery are read to her in front of a crowd of men, some so desperate for a view of the execution they sit atop roofs

Qader-e Lang was killed in June 2012 and comrades of an opposing Taliban member then supposedly stormed his house where they found both Najiba and Qader-e Lang’s pregnant wife.

Najiba was handed back to her family but it was her own husband, Juma Khan, who reportedly took her to the Taliban’s shadow district governor of the time, Mirza Muhammad, to settle the ‘dispute’ of her alleged running away.

Najiba was said to be tortured and then charged with fleeing from her husband, while Qadar-e Lang’s wife was accused of sheltering her – offences that both deserved execution.

As is typical in honour killings, it is usually the affected or the family of the affected, who take the role of executioner.

At Najiba’s execution, verses from the Qur’an regarding adultery are read to her in front of a crowd of men, some so desperate for a view of the execution they sit atop roofs in the village.

‘We cannot forgive her, God tells us to finish her. Juma Khan, her husband, has the right to kill her,’ the man is reported to have said.

Another man – likely her husband – then approached with an AK-47 rifle, shooting twice from a few metres away but missed.

With his third shot, he hit Najiba in the back and she crumpled forward, before firing ten more times to the screams of the jubilant crowd behind him. 

‘Within one hour they decided that she was guilty and sentenced her to death. They shot her in front of villagers in her village, Qōl,’ Parwan provincial spokesman Roshna Khalid said after Najiba’s death.

Very little detail is recorded on the story, as is the case with ‘desert courts’ administered by the Taliban where justice is taken into their own hands and Sharia law is often applied

Mr Salangi similarly said they ‘faked a court to decide about the fate of this woman and in one hour, they executed the woman’ – before going on to suggest she was condemned in order for Mr Khan to save face.

Thankfully, Qader-e Lang’s wife was spared an equally barbaric fate owing to her pregnancy and reports suggested she managed to escape to security forces in Parwan centre and was later housed in a women’s shelter.

Very little detail is recorded regarding the story, as is the case with ‘desert courts’ administered by the Taliban where justice is taken into their own hands and Sharia law is often applied.

The Taliban at the time denied involvement in the execution – despite having control of the region at the time – criticising media reports blaming them as ‘incorrect and cursed’. 

Their ‘Islamic justice’ was different to the ‘tribal justice’ being administered here, they further claimed. 

Afghanistan’s government condemned the ‘un-Islamic and inhuman action by those professional killers’. President Hamid Karzai launched a manhunt, however there are no further reports about the case. 

The rest of the world was similarly horrified: the then-foreign secretary William Hague said he was ‘shocked and disgusted’, while Nato’s top commander in Afghanistan, US General John Allen said the execution was ‘an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty’.

The execution triggered protests in Afghanistan, with hundreds taking to the streets in Kabul holding white sheets with the words ‘International community: Where is the protection and justice for Afghan women?’ written across it.

Wazhma Frogh, executive director of the Research Institute for Women, Peace and Security, said at the time the execution ‘was nothing new for us’.

She told Al Jazeera: ‘When we first saw the reports, we flashed back to the stoning of a couple in Kunduz last year and the stoning of a woman in 1998.’

‘The truth is though, every day we are under threat. If we stay at home we are under threat. If we go to school we are under threat.’

Some 52 girls were murdered in the months leading up to Najiba’s execution, 42 of which were honour killings. 

The same week that Najiba was killed, a woman and her two children were beheaded, an execution similarly carried out by the alleged husband. 

Hanifa Safi, a prominent female official specialising in Women Affairs, was also targeted with a car bomb a few days after Najiba’s death, with the explosion killing Ms Safi and her husband, and injuring 11 others.

Another girl, 15-year-old Tamana, was found dead in Parwan days later, who had allegedly been beaten and killed by her cousin she was forcibly married to for being ‘disobedient’.

With the few institutions set up to protect women now obliterated, the unrestrained violence against women has come full circle.

After the departure of American forces in 2021, Afghanistan descended to a shell of its former self, with the de facto authorities issuing nearly 100 edicts that stripped women of their rights, like prohibiting employment and abolishing a minimum age for marriage. 

Ms Shahid said: ‘In five years, the Taliban have dismantled practically every legal protection Afghan women had; the ministries and justice systems that enforced their rights have been abolished, girls are barred from school beyond primary level, women’s voices have been banned in public, and there is no minimum age for marriage. 

‘Decree No12, issued this January, makes the death penalty available for blasphemy and for undefined ‘immoral’ or ‘corrupt’ offences; such categories are vague enough for the Taliban’s all-male courts to apply arbitrarily. 

‘Women are already disproportionately prosecuted for sexual relations outside marriage and other so-called moral crimes, including when they are fleeing forced marriage or domestic violence, or have been raped, so the death penalty, stoning sentences and public floggings are likely to fall hardest on Afghan women.’

A spokesperson from Medica Mondiale similarly told the Mail: ‘Five years after the Taliban’s return to power, Afghan women and girls continue to face systematic violations of their fundamental rights and increasing exclusion from public life.

‘These are not isolated measures, but part of an increasingly entrenched system of control and oppression. A system that can be described as gender apartheid. The broader justice system has also become more repressive, marked by the return of corporal punishment and public executions.

‘The international community must not normalise this erosion of human rights. Sustained political pressure on the Taliban, alongside support for Afghan women, girls and civil society, remains essential. Solidarity with Afghan women and girls must not waver. Women’s rights are human rights.’

And although public executions like Najiba’s may be happening once again, they are likely being done in private and under strict censorship – and with any chance of public backlash a mere fantasy for many oppressed Afghans.

Shaharzad Akbar, from Rawadari, an Afghan human rights organisation, told the Daily Mail last week ‘the Taliban have in the past two years moved most of the floggings away from the public eye and they severely restrict any filming and photography of these punishments’. 

Ms Akbar, whose organisation has already received reports of one woman who was stoned, added: ‘Considering the pattern we have documented and the increasing limitations on access to information, there may be severe and inhumane punishments of women and men away from the eyes of the world.’ 

Once more, women are living in fear that one day they could be cruelly punished for stepping out of the narrow lines of the Taliban’s governance.

‘God forbid, if the Taliban return, what will happen,’ they asked 14 years ago.

Sadly, they may already have found out – and the rest of the world was none the wiser.

Ok, so we all want a two‑state solution for Israel and Palestine. I do, you do, and so does Ed Miliband.

Let’s suppose for a moment that the Israelis are so appalled by his ridiculous and disgraceful sanctions announced this week that they decide to oblige the UK Foreign Secretary.

Let’s imagine that the Labour Government gets its way and somehow persuades Israel to begin dismantling all the recent settlements in the West Bank. It’s never going to happen, not in the real world; but I want us to think it through.

Let’s suppose the Israelis get out the bulldozers, evict the settlers (using violence if necessary) and then pass responsibility entirely to the Palestinians.

That’s what Miliband claims to want; that’s the objective of his sanctions, isn’t it? A new self-run Palestinian state. And what do you think would happen then?

Well, as it happens, we know exactly what will unfold, because this experiment has been tried before.

In 2005, the government of Israel bowed to international pressure and pulled all Jewish settlers out of Gaza – and when I say pulled, I mean in some cases literally pulled them out by the hair.

They uprooted about 8,500 Israelis and demolished their homes, and then they handed the entire management of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians – or, more particularly, to Hamas.

Hamas brigades hold a Palestinian flag as they destroy an Israeli tank in Gaza City

You would have thought that Gaza offered in many ways a fantastic prospect for urban development. It has a young and dynamic population; it has beautiful beaches in a stunning Mediterranean location; and it has enough offshore gas to deliver billions in revenues for decades to come.

When Hamas took control of Gaza, they could have been sensible and pragmatic. They could have focused on the needs of their electorate, on keeping the streets clean and crime-free, and putting in good public transport.

And did they? Did they emulate most decent municipal politicians and go for jobs and growth? Did they hell.

If you want to know why Israelis will never agree, as things are, to a two-state solution and why Miliband’s sanctions are a tragic waste of time, look at what happened to Gaza.

The whole tragedy is summed up, for me, by the story of Crazy Water Aqua Fun Park. It was only a few years after the Israelis left that one enterprising Gazan – actually a former Hamas minister – decided to make use of some of the stupendous sums of development assistance that was flooding into the enclave.

In 2010, he built a water park, one of those delightful places full of giant tubular slides through which the human body is propelled like a bolus in the alimentary system until you plop screaming into some splash pool.

We all know and love them, and we have all taken our families to use them. They are universal scenes of joy and fun, in which the sexes mix in suitable bathing attire.

Crazy Water Aqua Fun Park was no exception. It was a hit. Soon the establishment was employing more than 100 people, and it might be there to this day – except for the hatred and jealousy of Hamas.

The zealots objected to the semi-nudity. They shuddered at the proximity of the sexes. They thought the whole thing was un-Islamic and ungodly, and one day they closed it down – shortly before 40 masked men appeared in the dead of night and torched it.

That is a perfect metaphor for the way that Hamas have run the Gazan economy. Instead of unleashing potential, they have incinerated it. They have squandered billions in foreign aid, from the EU, from Britain, from all over the world.

They have either trousered the money themselves or used it to buy weapons; and instead of using the cash to dig proper sanitation or mass transit systems, they have spent the entire time digging tunnels – from which to attack Israel.

On October 7, 2023, as we all know, they swarmed out from their places of hiding, on motorbikes or microlights, and committed the biggest and most horrific atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

That is what happened to Gaza when the Israelis pulled out, and destroyed the settlements, and put the Palestinians in charge of their own security. And that is why no one in Israel is remotely interested – right now – in doing the same in the West Bank.

No one with any chance of forming a government in the forthcoming Israeli elections, neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor the opposition, is contemplating a two-state solution – if by a state you mean an armed Palestinian political entity in charge of its own security.

Of course, those Israeli attitudes might change if they thought that there was no risk of attack. If Hamas genuinely decided to renounce violence and get rid of its weapons, then we would be at the beginning of a conversation that could indeed lead to a lasting peace.

I am not completely pessimistic about this; I think it could happen. But where is the UK pressure on Hamas? Why do we keep hammering Israel? This is the seventh package of sanctions imposed by Labour since the October 7 attack, all of them on Israel. And we all know the reason why – because whatever Ed Miliband may say, Labour is now a Corbynista party pursuing radical and sectarian policies designed to shore up the hard-Left vote.

They are bringing forward hopeless and unenforceable laws on so-called Islamophobia – and since the term literally means fear of Islam, we can only conclude that the biggest Islamophobes are in the Labour Party.

They fear Islam, in the sense that they fear being seen – like Keir Starmer – to be too soft on Israel. Andy Burnham fears the finger-wagging reaction in the mosques and among the 57 Labour constituencies where there is a more than 15 per cent Muslim minority.

These pathetic and derisible sanctions are nothing to do with promoting a two-state solution; they are nothing to do with peace. They are all about appeasing a growing and fundamentally anti-Semitic Left-wing feeling against Israel and fending off the challenge from the egregious Zack Polanski and the Greens.

It will not work. Like all acts of appeasement, Miliband’s gesture will only encourage the demand for more concessions from a growing movement that will not be satisfied until the homeland for the Jewish people has been removed, as they put it, from the ‘River to the Sea’.

You watch. The next step will be an announcement, not just by the Labour Party but by the Labour Government, that Israel is guilty of ‘genocide’. That is an abuse of the term and an insult to those who died in the Holocaust.

These sanctions will not help a single Palestinian farmer; they will not support a single Palestinian business – quite the reverse. If they have any effect at all in the Occupied Territories, they will cost jobs among those who need them most.

The only impact they will have on Israeli politics is to boost the extreme Right and strengthen the impression even among moderates that the UK is no longer to be trusted.

The hapless and incoherent Burnham has moved Britain to the outer fringes of the debate – and for what? To feed the Corbynista crocodile.

The whole thing is shameful.

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Published: 14:02 BST, 11 September 2026 | Updated: 11:28 BST, 12 September 2026

The Daily Mail was last night lauded for revolutionising visual journalism, pushing the boundaries to the extreme by combining in-depth investigative reporting with stunning presentation.

Judges at the Future of Media Awards crowned Harry Lewis-Irlam the Media Innovator of the Year for his work on the Daily Mail’s groundbreaking Deep Dive format.

Deep Dive’s unique marriage of exclusive revelations, premium storytelling, footage and graphics has proved a smash hit with readers on their desktops, tablets and phones, driving unprecedented engagement with our audiences.

One recent success was a damning exposé of the Epstein files, which laid bare the full extent of the paedophile’s depravity in graphic detail to more than a million readers. 

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Crowning Harry Lewis-Irlam the Innovator of the Year, judges at the Future of Media Awards heaped praise on his contribution, saying: ‘Interesting, well-conceived, well-sourced and well-designed graphics are fundamental to modern journalistic storytelling’

And it broke new ground by partnering with Alzheimer’s Society to educate readers on the early warning signs of dementia. 

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Deep Dive has also tackled lighter subjects – such as the popularity of baby names – with similarly stellar results.

Awarding the prize to Lewis-Irlam, the Mail’s director of visual storytelling, judges heaped praise on his contribution, saying: ‘Interesting, well-conceived, well-sourced and well-designed graphics are fundamental to modern journalistic storytelling. 

‘This year’s winner is recognised for helping transform the look of a UK journalism megabrand and helping to prove that quality popular journalism can pay its way online.’

Lewis-Irlam said: ‘I feel really honoured to win this award, reflecting the incredible team efforts of the peerless Deep Dive unit.  

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‘Even bigger and better visual storytelling is planned for the weeks, months and years ahead. This really is just the beginning.’

Marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Deep Dive today published a forensically researched minute by minute reconstruction – using 3D models of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon – of how the day unfolded. 

The Daily Mail also took the prestigious Best Online Video award for a groundbreaking piece about the ‘real Mo Farah’.

The video – which was the result of months of painstaking investigative work by Andy Jehring and Kamal Sultan in the UK and Africa, combined with camerawork from Jamie Wiseman and excellent production and editing skills by Charlie Craven, Luke Blackall and Adam Dokhan – told the story of the man in Somalia whose identity and visa were used to bring the Olympic athlete to the UK. 

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Our reporters told his heartbreaking story for the first time, with exclusive interviews with him and his family, detailing his life since that fateful moment so many years ago when he was left alone in Africa in place of the boy who went on to enjoy dizzying Olympic success and become Sir Mo. 

Judges said: ‘This was gripping reporting told brilliantly across multiple formats investigating the origin story of a national treasure.’

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was voted down by a majority of 16, after 286 voted against while 270 voted in favour on Friday (September 11).

Luke Charters said he had a “personal family matter” on Friday so did not vote on the bill.

The Labour MP for York Outer said he paired with an MP who was against the bill and was also not voting due to a “personal family matter”, adding: “In these circumstances, pairing allows both of us to deal with those matters without affecting the outcome of the vote.”

Mr Charters insisted that him not voting on the bill “should not be interpreted as a change in my position”.

“I remain in favour of assisted dying and supportive of the principles underpinning this bill as it progresses,” he said.

“Pairing is a normal parliamentary practice whereby two MPs who would otherwise vote on opposite sides agree that neither will vote, meaning the overall balance of the vote remains unchanged.

“I know some people will disagree with my beliefs, just as others will support it. Votes of conscience are deeply personal matters, and I believe it is important that we are able to disagree respectfully while recognising the sincerity of one another’s views.

“Because I know this issue matters deeply to many people across our constituency, though, I want to make very clear that I intend to continue engaging with residents from all perspectives.”

Keir Mather, MP for Selby (Image: Supplied)

Keir Mather, Labour MP for Selby, voted for the bill on Friday, saying: “On the core principle of this issue, I believe terminally ill adults should have the option to end their life safely and without unbearable suffering.”

Meanwhile, York Central MP Rachael Maskell voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

The Labour MP previously said she was concerned that legalising assisted dying “could lead to coercion, rather than protecting people from it”.

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central (Image: UK Parliament/PA Wire)

“I do not believe it [the bill] will work safely for everyone and that there is a real danger of putting marginalised communities at risk should it go through Parliament,” Ms Maskell said.

“Sadly, we know that people do experience coercion in relationships, and while cases may be few, malign coercion is real.

“Prior to entering Parliament, I worked as a clinician in the NHS and would frequently hear a patient say, ‘I don’t want to be a burden’ and against the cost of social care, their small savings ‘should go to the grandchildren rather than on my care’ or ‘someone else is more deserving’ not least when the NHS is struggling to find beds.

“I am extremely concerned that, when looking at countries with assisted dying, this is verbalised as a ‘duty’ to die.”

W Chump and Sons Limited was set up by the Chadlington farmer as a production company for the Grand Tour when he signed with Amazon in 2015.

The 66-year-old was a director for W Chump and Sons with co-stars James May and Richard Hammond, along with executive producer and friend Andy Wilman.

The name is an acronym for Wilman, Clarkson, Hammond, and May (using the German word “und” for the ‘and’).

It was put into voluntary liquidation back in 2024 after their tenure on the motoring show came to an end.

And with roughly £24 million in assets to be distributed as a final payout, the four directors were said to be in for a healthy payday.

New files submitted to Companies House suggest the business is nearing the end of being wound down.

They say that in the latest period to April 2026, there was a final cash distribution or £4,373.44 (4p in the £).

The presenters and Mr Wilman approved a fixed liquidators’ fee of £10,000 plus VAT.

The liquidation is effectively nearing completion now. There are no creditor claims to settle, the company’s assets have largely been distributed to shareholders, and the remaining work is primarily administrative before the liquidation can be formally closed.

Mr Clarkson now focuses on his other business, including running Diddly Squat farm and its farm shop as well as The Farmer’s Dog on the A40 near Burford.

Phoebe Lee is also getting ready to implement the tax for her younger children

A mum has revealed why she “taxes” her seven year old daughter’s pocket money. Phoebe Lee, 35, has established what she describes as a “mini democracy” within her home, where her young children vote on certain household matters and contribute modest amounts of their pocket money into a shared family fund.

Phoebe lives with her husband Alex and their three children, aged seven, four and two. While the couple cover all major household expenses, she explains the idea is to give their children a sense of ownership, responsibility and understanding of how public systems function.

The AI architect and founder of Inherit Health, said: “I am aware there are so many decisions that are made for our kids, and they have a lot of agencies in a lot of areas, and we try to give them control when we can. While Alex and I pay for everything, this is their house too – we want them to feel like they can make decisions in their home.”

The system started with straightforward voting exercises at home, inspired by Phoebe’s interest in ethical technology and her husband’s background as a public servant. Brit Phoebe, from Twickenham, said they wanted to introduce concepts such as contribution, community responsibility and decision-making in an age-appropriate manner.

She said: “Being in ethical tech – I want them to learn a lesson. My husband is a public servant and we wanted them to feel that community contribution. We encourage the children to understand where money goes, including donations and public services.

“We handle donations and make sure we donate time or second-hand bits, or my daughter sells bracelets.” Central to the system is what the family humorously refers to as a “fun tax”, where both parents and children put small weekly amounts into a shared pot used for optional extras such as treats or larger household purchases.

Her seven year old currently chips in roughly 20p weekly from her pocket money, with her four and two year old set to participate once they’re old enough to receive some cash. She explained: “She gets £3 a week in pocket money and £1 goes into savings. Then she can make other money from chores, but we are very strict on what they are.

“We haven’t got much in the pot yet, but we are hoping to increase our side and have around £300 by December. The contribution is symbolic rather than financially significant – my husband and I are paying far larger amounts into the same system.

“It’s supposed to be fun tax – we are not making them pay the Wi-Fi or the rent.” She revealed that she and her husband each put in approximately £4 weekly, with intentions to boost adult contributions as the system develops, while maintaining the children’s amounts as an educational tool.

She added: “The tax is about everyone. She will feel like she has contributed, even though it’s much less than us. There’s something in that where she feels like she’s paid for it too.” Phoebe explains the goal is to instil lessons about budgeting and delayed gratification, while demonstrating how collective decision-making functions in reality.

Within the system, the family also holds votes on shared items including activities or purchases, allowing the children to put forward their own suggestions. For Phoebe, the method is fundamentally linked to broader lessons she hopes to impart to her children regarding society, public services and fairness.

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She has also discussed introducing concepts around taxation and public services in an age-appropriate manner, citing the NHS and state education as examples of systems supported through collective contribution. She said: “We are trying to keep her informed in an age-appropriate way.

“She benefits from things like the NHS and state school because we pay taxes for them – I want her to start to understand them. I want her to understand the system is designed in the UK to avoid entitlement while still giving children a sense of inclusion in family life.

“It is about bringing them into decisions in a way that doesn’t feel burdensome,” she said. The family anticipates the shared “fun tax” pot will accumulate gradually over time as contributions rise, with Phoebe joking it might eventually fund larger household items such as a trampoline.

She said: “We anticipate to grow the funds… which could buy a great second-hand trampoline. It’s not about control, it’s about understanding how things work in a family, and eventually in the world.”

Xabi Alonso has heaped praise on one of his Chelsea players, likening him to a former Real Madrid teammate and Ballon d’Or winner.

Chelsea have enjoyed a great start to the season under new manager Alonso, winning four of their opening five games across all competitions and only narrowly losing to champions Arsenal last week.

Their formidable attack has already notched up 16 goals, though they face a tricky test on Saturday, against Hull City who are yet to concede in the Premier League this season.

Cole Palmer and £117million summer signing Morgan Rogers have earned plenty of plaudits but it is Joao Pedro who was recently voted Premier League Player of the Month for August.

The centre-forward, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Brighton last year in a transfer worth up to £60m, has scored twice and assisted two in the opening three league games.

Last season, Pedro was a rare bright spot in an otherwise awful campaign for the Blues, recording 20 goals and nine assists, and was named Chelsea Player of the Season.

And Alonso believes the 24-year-old should already be considered among the best No.9s in the world, like Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland.

‘If you count how many top strikers we have in the Premier League, I am sure that Joao is there. So I would rate him that way,’ the Chelsea manager said in his pre-match press conference.

‘He has been top. Not just football-wise, personality-wise. His maturity, his desire.

‘He has a very strong goal this year: to have a great season, to score many goals, and to be a nominee for not just this month but more months.

‘I am not surprised, but really happy with the kind of player that we have here with Joao.’

The praise for Pedro did not stop there however, with Alonso positively comparing the Brazil international to one of the greatest centre-forwards of the last decade: Karim Benzema.

The pair were teammates at Real Madrid where the Frenchmen won four La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues across a 14-year spell, which culminated with him lifting the Ballon d’Or in 2022.

‘In many things he reminds me of him,’ Alonso added, boldly tipping Pedro to emulate Benzema’s great success.

‘Because he is good in the box, he is good out of the box, he is good coming to the left side, he is good with the head. He is very complete and he is intelligent.

‘He is still young. He still has things to develop. But he has many, many absolutely outstanding qualities.’

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Qasim Rizwan, from Bolton, said he feels as if his “life has restarted” after overcoming autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA).

He also visited experts at the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) national frozen blood bank in Liverpool who helped save his life.

Qasim was diagnosed with AIHA in June last year, but doctors at Manchester Children’s Hospital initially struggled to match his blood type.

Scientists at NHSBT discovered he was a rare mix, including r’r’, a subtype of the Rhesus system that is shared by roughly one in 10,000 people.

Only around 50 blood donors are type r’r’.

Qasim Rizwan with doctors (Image: NHSBT/PA Wire)

Staff urgently defrosted and sent all six matching units of blood from its national frozen blood bank, as well as sending another unit from its facility in Colindale.

One of the units Qasim received was the same age as him and was donated when he was just eight days old.

A rare donor was also specifically called up to give blood.

The transfusions were given alongside other medication, steroids and immunoglobulin to cure Qasim’s condition.

AIHA is a rare disorder, which impacts around 1,200 people in the UK each year and causes the immune system to mistakenly target and destroy red blood cells faster than the body can make them.

Symptoms include extreme tiredness, a rapid heartbeat and jaundice.

Qasim said: “I felt like I was going to die. I was really scared, hoping I would survive, and eventually I did.

“I really like the doctors, they helped me so much. They were so kind to me and they calmed me down if I was sad or angry.

“I feel like I have my daily routine and everything is back to normal. My life has restarted.

“I just feel unique and it’s quite amazing that I have rare blood.”

Qasim’s mother, Mahnaz Nazar, said her son “was a fit and healthy eight-year-old” before symptoms started.

The mental health support worker, 43, said: “Just a typical boisterous boy who loves sports, riding his bike, and he’s very sharp.

“It came on quite suddenly – he went from being healthy to waking up one morning with yellow eyes and skin.

Qasim Rizwan with doctors (Image: NHSBT/PA Wire)

“At the doctors, everything was going haywire. His heart rate was high and he was getting breathless just speaking – the doctors were surprised he was still walking.

“We were sent to Bolton Hospital. It took a week to figure out what was going on. It was terrifying because you don’t know what was going on, all you see is your child getting worse and worse. He was deteriorating in front of our eyes, getting yellower, and he could not tolerate noise or light.

“Then we were sent to Manchester Children’s Hospital.

“When they realised it was a blood issue, they were struggling to match his blood.

“They said they had some already stored in Liverpool, then after that was used, they said they had ran out and that they contacted someone who was a match and asked for a donation.

“It was quite daunting to watch him have a transfusion. He felt really well afterwards and perked up a lot. But the blood was breaking down so quickly the donated cells were gone in a few hours.”

Qasim spent around three weeks in hospital overall.

He visited NHSBT’s frozen blood bank in August with his father Rizwan Ahmed, 46, and brother Yusuf.

“I really enjoyed looking around the blood centre and seeing everything,” Qasim said.

“I didn’t know everybody did this in the background.

“Most of the people in the building saved my life and they are still saving lives too. Thank you to all the donors for donating blood to me because I have rare blood.”

Ms Nazar has also since become a blood donor herself.

Qasim Rizwan after his first transfusion. (Image: NHSBT/PA Wire)

She said: “The team at Manchester were absolutely amazing. Qasim wanted to know every little detail – what would happen next, the size of the needle – and they were very patient with him.

“I am very grateful to all the scientists and specialists at NHSBT who found out his blood types then found enough blood to keep him going. He thoroughly enjoyed his meeting and getting to know how things work.

“And blood donors are amazing. I can’t thank them enough, without them, Qasim would probably not be here, he would not have survived, and we will be forever grateful for that.”

Joanne Mathews, manager of the NHSBT frozen blood bank, said: “We work behind the scenes and almost never meet patients, so we loved hosting Qasim and his family.

“He met a few people who worked on his case and they all had big smiles.

“Qasim was so curious and polite – and he looked so cute in an adult lab coat.”

Rachael Barber, paediatric intensive care consultant and medical director for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, said: “Stories like Qasim’s show just how vital blood donations are to us to enable us to care for children with rare blood types.”

Staged at the Toughsheet, it will run in the morning.

And later, on Sunday afternoon, Wigan’s The Brick Community Stadium will host a car boot sale, giving you another chance to hunt for that perfect item.

Event posters (Image: Adam Froggatt)

Both events are free to attend, and parking is available at the stadiums themselves.

These are not the only upcoming markets available for intrepid shoppers.

Heaton Fold‘s popular Artisan Market will return to the garden centre later this month (September 27).

The artisan market has become a regular fixture at Heaton Fold Garden Centre, attracting visitors keen to discover unique products and meet local makers in person.