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Canadian woman welcomes twins after conceiving with sperm from Facebook stranger

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Canadian woman welcomes twins after conceiving with sperm from Facebook stranger

A mum is raising her premature twins alone after conceiving with sperm from a stranger she met on Facebook.

Sarah Mangat, 34, had been single for nearly eight years when she decided to embark on solo motherhood in July 2020.

She had planned to use a sperm bank but found the process ‘’too impersonal’’ so instead found a Facebook group for sperm donors.

After hitting it off with someone, Sarah underwent 14 months of fertility tests at Victory Reproductive Health Fertility Clinic, Ontario, Canada, where they medically monitored her cycle.

When the time was right, she used the stranger’s sperm and was shocked to discover she had not only fallen pregnant on the first go but was expecting twins.

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Despite her joy, she had a difficult pregnancy and was told her short cervix could cause premature birth or miscarriage.

Doctors performed a cervical stitch to stop it opening too soon, but the procedure failed after two weeks, and Sarah went into premature labour in April 2022.

Her daughters, one-year-old Elora and Addison, arrived at 27-weeks on 30 April 2022 at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.

Elora was born at 6.38pm weighing 2lb 20z and Addison arrived shortly after at 6.42pm weighing 1lb 9oz.

The pair suffered a catalogue of health issues including a bleed on the brain, heart defects, jaundice, and infections.

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

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Despite the odds stacked against them, Elora spent 70 days in hospital and Addison was in for 79 days, until they were all able to go home.

Sarah, an HR business partner, from Toronto, Canada, said: “I had tried every dating app under the sun and wasn’t meeting someone.

“You can’t wait forever for the right person to come into your life.

“If you’re thinking about doing it alone, I say do it.

“It’s the best decision I ever made.

“I nearly had a heart attack when they told me there was two.

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“But I can’t imagine my life without my daughters.”

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

Sarah, who had been single for nearly eight years, was never sure about having children.

But one morning, in July 2020, she woke-up with the desire to have a baby.

She said: “I enjoyed being selfish and not being responsible for someone else.

“But that day I woke up and thought, ‘I want to have a baby now.’

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“It was so strange – like a flick switched and I was ready.”

Without a partner, Sarah decided to do the process solo and opted for a sperm donor.

But she found the sperm banks ‘’too clinical’’ and began exploring other options.

After researching online, Sarah found a Facebook group called ‘Canadian Sperm Donors’.

“At the sperm bank, you can only meet them when your child turns 18,” she said.

“But I wanted to know the person before that.

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“I was already becoming a mum unconventionally – why not find the donor myself.”

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

Sarah spoke with a few people on the Facebook page and eventually found one she ‘clicked’ with.

In February 2021, she met him in person, and he agreed to undergo STI checks and genetic tests and be her sperm donor.

She said: “Of course, I was a bit wary of meeting someone from online.

“I had a few weird messages.

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“But made sure we I met up in a public place and we got on really well.

“I knew he was the one to be my donor.

“We actually became quite good friends because we stuck with me through all my fertility issues.”

Sarah also joined Victory Reproductive Health Fertility Clinic, Ontario, Canada where routine tests revealed she wasn’t ovulating correctly.

She underwent 14 months of fertility tests and treatment which involved medically monitoring her cycle.

Sarah spent around £5,000 on hormonal injections to increase her fertility.

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In October 2021, she was underwent her first full medicated cycle and was delighted to conceive in November 2021 using the strangers sperm.

But just six weeks later she experienced severe cramping and was scheduled for an early ultrasound.

To her shock, Sarah was told during a scan that she was expecting twins.

(Sarah Mangat / SWNS)

She said: “I was so delighted, but first trimester was terrible.

“I was so nauseous and barely able to keep any food down.

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“I survived on French fries for weeks.”

At 20 weeks along, Sarah went for a routine check-up and doctors discovered her cervix had shortened to 1cm and was at risk of opening too early.

She underwent a cervical stitch which she was told would prevent it the babies arriving too soon.

But it only worked for two weeks and medics told Sarah the babies could come at any time.

She said: “The doctor asked me if I’d want them to try and save the babies lives or just provide ‘comfort care’ which was support if the babies didn’t make it.

“I asked them to do anything they could to save them.

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“Every day I was talking to my bump begging them to stay in longer.”

At 26 weeks and six days, Sarah went to the bathroom and saw a toilet “full of blood.”

She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada, and one day later, when she hit 27 weeks, she went into labour.

After 36 hours, her premature daughters Elora and Addison arrived within minutes of each other on 30 April 2022 weighing 2lb 2oz and 1lb 9oz, respectively.

The twins were rushed to prenatal ward where medics fought to save their lives.

Sarah said: “I was given an epidural and told they would arrive around midnight.

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“But they arrived really quickly, and doctors were running in from the hallway.

“They were so tiny.

“Literally all skin and bone – they looked like aliens.

“Both of them were wrapped in plastic to stay warm.

“I later found out that Addison had to be resuscitated which was terrifying.”

Both girls suffered from grade 1 bleeds on the brain, had heart defects and needed blood transfusion.

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The twins also had underdeveloped lungs and were on breathing machines for the first few months of their lives.

Elora developed a blood infection and a UTI during her stay in hospital.

Sarah continues: “Every day I left the hospital at 5pm and go home to an empty house.

“That was a difficult part about doing it by myself.

“I couldn’t comfort them when they cried.

“Being there became my nine to five, and for the first few weeks my mum, Jane, 63, went every day too.

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“I couldn’t have done it without her.

“I was allowed to hold one at a time for a few hours a day.”

After a long health battle, the twins defied the odds and were able to go home.

“They needed to wear a helmet because they’re heads are flattened but otherwise doing great,” Sarah said.

“It’s really important to share my NICU journey – it was very traumatic.

“I know a lot of parents have been through this.

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“I still have hard moments as one person two babies.

“But I also have very wonderful moments.

“So true what people say – the days are long, and the years are short.

“They’re a year old now and I can’t believe they’re mine.”

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Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

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Facebook Problem Again

Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

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During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.

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Christian family goes in hiding after being cleared of blasphemy

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Christian family goes in hiding after being cleared of blasphemy

LAHORE, Pakistan — A court in Pakistan granted bail to a Christian falsely charged with blasphemy, but he and his family have separated and gone into hiding amid threats to their lives, sources said.

Haroon Shahzad (right) with attorney Aneeqa Maria. | The Voice Society/Morning Star News

Haroon Shahzad, 45, was released from Sargodha District Jail on Nov. 15, said his attorney, Aneeqa Maria. Shahzad was charged with blasphemy on June 30 after posting Bible verses on Facebook that infuriated Muslims, causing dozens of Christian families in Chak 49 Shumaali, near Sargodha in Punjab Province, to flee their homes.

Lahore High Court Judge Ali Baqir Najfi granted bail on Nov. 6, but the decision and his release on Nov. 15 were not made public until now due to security fears for his life, Maria said.

Shahzad told Morning Star News by telephone from an undisclosed location that the false accusation has changed his family’s lives forever.

“My family has been on the run from the time I was implicated in this false charge and arrested by the police under mob pressure,” Shahzad told Morning Star News. “My eldest daughter had just started her second year in college, but it’s been more than four months now that she hasn’t been able to return to her institution. My other children are also unable to resume their education as my family is compelled to change their location after 15-20 days as a security precaution.”

Though he was not tortured during incarceration, he said, the pain of being away from his family and thinking about their well-being and safety gave him countless sleepless nights.

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“All of this is due to the fact that the complainant, Imran Ladhar, has widely shared my photo on social media and declared me liable for death for alleged blasphemy,” he said in a choked voice. “As soon as Ladhar heard about my bail, he and his accomplices started gathering people in the village and incited them against me and my family. He’s trying his best to ensure that we are never able to go back to the village.”

Shahzad has met with his family only once since his release on bail, and they are unable to return to their village in the foreseeable future, he said.

“We are not together,” he told Morning Star News. “They are living at a relative’s house while I’m taking refuge elsewhere. I don’t know when this agonizing situation will come to an end.”

The Christian said the complainant, said to be a member of Islamist extremist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan and also allegedly connected with banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, filed the charge because of a grudge. Shahzad said he and his family had obtained valuable government land and allotted it for construction of a church building, and Ladhar and others had filed multiple cases against the allotment and lost all of them after a four-year legal battle.

“Another probable reason for Ladhar’s jealousy could be that we were financially better off than most Christian families of the village,” he said. “I was running a successful paint business in Sargodha city, but that too has shut down due to this case.”

Regarding the social media post, Shahzad said he had no intention of hurting Muslim sentiments by sharing the biblical verse on his Facebook page.

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“I posted the verse a week before Eid Al Adha [Feast of the Sacrifice] but I had no idea that it would be used to target me and my family,” he said. “In fact, when I came to know that Ladhar was provoking the villagers against me, I deleted the post and decided to meet the village elders to explain my position.”

The village elders were already influenced by Ladhar and refused to listen to him, Shahzad said.

“I was left with no option but to flee the village when I heard that Ladhar was amassing a mob to attack me,” he said.

Shahzad pleaded with government authorities for justice, saying he should not be punished for sharing a verse from the Bible that in no way constituted blasphemy.

Similar to other cases

Shahzad’s attorney, Maria, told Morning Star News that events in Shahzad’s case were similar to other blasphemy cases filed against Christians.

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“Defective investigation, mala fide on the part of the police and complainant, violent protests against the accused persons and threats to them and their families, forcing their displacement from their ancestral areas, have become hallmarks of all blasphemy allegations in Pakistan,” said Maria, head of The Voice Society, a Christian paralegal organization.

She said that the case filed against Shahzad was gross violation of Section 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which states that police cannot register a case under the Section 295-A blasphemy statute against a private citizen without the approval of the provincial government or federal agencies.

Maria added that Shahzad and his family have continued to suffer even though there was no evidence of blasphemy.

“The social stigma attached with a blasphemy accusation will likely have a long-lasting impact on their lives, whereas his accuser, Imran Ladhar, would not have to face any consequence of his false accusation,” she said.

The judge who granted bail noted that Shahzad was charged with blasphemy under Section 295-A, which is a non-cognizable offense, and Section 298, which is bailable. The judge also noted that police had not submitted the forensic report of Shahzad’s cell phone and said evidence was required to prove that the social media was blasphemous, according to Maria.

Bail was set at 100,000 Pakistani rupees (US $350) and two personal sureties, and the judge ordered police to further investigate, she said.

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Shahzad, a paint contractor, on June 29 posted on his Facebook page 1 Cor. 10:18-21 regarding food sacrificed to idols, as Muslims were beginning the four-day festival of Eid al-Adha, which involves slaughtering an animal and sharing the meat.

A Muslim villager took a screenshot of the post, sent it to local social media groups and accused Shahzad of likening Muslims to pagans and disrespecting the Abrahamic tradition of animal sacrifice.

Though Shahzad made no comment in the post, inflammatory or otherwise, the situation became tense after Friday prayers when announcements were made from mosque loudspeakers telling people to gather for a protest, family sources previously told Morning Star News.

Fearing violence as mobs grew in the village, most Christian families fled their homes, leaving everything behind.

In a bid to restore order, the police registered a case against Shahzad under Sections 295-A and 298. Section 295-A relates to “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs” and is punishable with imprisonment of up to 10 years and fine, or both. Section 298 prescribes up to one year in prison and a fine, or both, for hurting religious sentiments.

Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, up from eighth the previous year.

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Morning Star News is the only independent news service focusing exclusively on the persecution of Christians. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide complete, reliable, even-handed news in order to empower those in the free world to help persecuted Christians, and to encourage persecuted Christians by informing them that they are not alone in their suffering.

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Individual + Team Stats: Hornets vs. Timberwolves

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