Here’s a look at the life of Asif Ali Zardari, former president of Pakistan.

Personal

Birth date: July 26, 1956

Birth place: Karachi, Sindh province, Pakistan

Father: Hakim Ali Zardari, politician and businessman

Mother: Bilquis Zardari

Marriage: Benazir Bhutto (December 18, 1987-December 27, 2007, her death)

Children: Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Aseefa

Religion: Islam

Other Facts

Zardari is the widower of Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister of an Islamic nation. She was assassinated in December 2007.

In accordance with Pakistani culture, his marriage to Bhutto was arranged.

Nicknamed “Mr. Ten Percent” due to allegations he accepted bribes while his wife was prime minister.

Timeline

1988 – Bhutto, Zardari’s wife, is elected prime minister of Pakistan.

August 1990 – Bhutto is dismissed from office among allegations of corruption.

1990-1993 – Zardari is jailed on corruption charges.

1993 – Bhutto returns to power.

1993-1996 – Member of Pakistan’s National Assembly. Holds several ministerial positions in Bhutto’s government.

1996 – Bhutto is again dismissed from office among allegations of corruption.

November 1996 – Zardari is arrested and jailed on charges of corruption and murder.

March 1997 – Is elected, from jail, to the Pakistan Senate.

2003 – A Swiss court convicts Bhutto and Zardari of money laundering and orders them to pay the Pakistani government more than $11 million in restitution. The verdict is later overturned on appeal.

2004 – Is released from prison, ending eight years in custody.

October 2007 – A number of corruption charges against Zardari are dropped when President Pervez Musharraf grants amnesties to a number of politicians.

December 27, 2007 – Bhutto is assassinated during a rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

December 2007 – Following his wife’s death, Zardari and his son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, are named co-chairs of the Pakistan People’s Party.

September 6, 2008 – Is elected president of Pakistan. Zardari is sworn in as president on September 9.

December 16, 2009 – The National Reconciliation Ordinance, an amnesty that shielded Zardari from prosecution, is thrown out by Pakistan’s Supreme Court.

December 2011 – Travels to Dubai to receive medical treatment for a heart condition.

April 8, 2012 – Zardari meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a private trip. It is the first trip to India by a Pakistani leader in seven years.

September 8, 2013 – Leaves office at the end of his five-year term.

December 2016 – Zardari announces that he and his son, Bilawal, will contest the 2018 elections to become members of the Pakistani Parliament.

August 26, 2017 – A Pakistani court acquits Zardari of the last corruption charges pending against him – the charges had lingered for almost two decades.

August 13, 2018-present – Member of the National Assembly.

June 10, 2019 – Zardari is arrested on corruption charges after a court rejected his bail application. The charges against him are related to suspicious transactions worth 4.4 billion Pakistani rupees (about $29 million) allegedly carried out through bank accounts in other people’s names.

December 11, 2019 – The Islamabad High Court grants Zardari bail on medical grounds. He undergoes medical examinations beginning December 14.

August 10, 2020 – Zardari is indicted by an accountability court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on charges of corruption.

September 28, 2020 – Zardari is indicted on money laundering charges, along with his sister and 14 others.

Here is a look at the life of Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil.

Personal

Birth date: March 21, 1955

Birth place: Campinas, Brazil

Birth name: Jair Messias Bolsonaro

Father: Percy Geraldo Bolsonaro, dentist

Mother: Olinda Bonturi Bolsonaro

Marriage: Michelle Bolsonaro; Ana Cristina Valle (divorced); Rogéria Bolsonaro (divorced)

Children: with Michelle Bolsonaro: Laura; with Ana Cristina Valle: Jair Renan; with Rogéria Bolsonaro: Flavio, Carlos and Eduardo

Education: Agulhas Negras Military Academy, 1977

Military: Army, Captain

Religion: Roman Catholic

Other Facts

A conservative provocateur, Bolsonaro has a predilection for making inflammatory statements. His rhetorical targets include women and the LGBTQ community. In 2003, he told a congresswoman that she was not worthy of being raped. During a 2011 interview with Playboy magazine, Bolsonaro said he would be incapable of loving a gay son. He has expressed a sense of nostalgia for Brazil’s past as a military dictatorship.

Bolsonaro served seven terms as a congressman in the Chamber of Deputies. While in congress, his priorities included protecting the rights of citizens to own firearms, promoting Christian values and getting tough on crime. In 2017, he said, “A policeman who doesn’t kill isn’t a policeman.”

Bolsonaro changed his party affiliation numerous times, ultimately campaigning for president as a member of the Social Liberal Party.

When Bolsonaro took office in 2019, Brazil was suffering through a prolonged period of economic malaise and rising insecurity. His ascent was preceded by a corruption scandal that rocked political and financial institutions. During his inaugural address, Bolsonaro vowed to transform Brazil into a “strong and booming country.”

Timeline

1986 – Bolsonaro writes an opinion column for the magazine Veja that criticizes the Brazilian Army’s pay system. He is subsequently disciplined for insubordination.

1989-1991 – Councilman for Rio de Janeiro.

1991-2018 – Congressman representing Rio de Janeiro in the Chamber of Deputies.

July 22, 2018 – Bolsonaro announces he is running for president.

August 15, 2018 – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former president of Brazil, announces he has submitted the necessary paperwork to register as the Workers’ Party candidate to run against Bolsonaro. Lula da Silva campaigns from prison, where he is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption.

September 1, 2018 – Brazil’s top electoral court bars Lula da Silva from running for reelection while incarcerated. Ultimately, a former mayor of São Paulo named Fernando Haddad steps in as the Workers’ Party candidate.

September 6, 2018 – Bolsonaro is stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally. He spends more than three weeks in the hospital recovering.

October 7, 2018 – Voters cast ballots in the first round of elections. Although Bolsonaro wins more votes than Haddad, he doesn’t surpass the 50% threshold. A runoff is set for later in the month.

October 28, 2018 – Bolsonaro wins the runoff. The final tally shows Bolsonaro with 55.13% and Haddad with 44.87%.

January 1, 2019 – Bolsonaro is sworn into office. On the same day, he issues a series of executive orders. One order could potentially strip away many LGBTQ civil rights protections by eliminating LGBTQ issues from the list of matters handled by the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights. Another order gives the Agriculture Ministry the authority to designate indigenous lands, paving the way for agricultural development in areas that were previously off limits.

January 15, 2019 – Signs an executive order temporarily eliminating a regulation that limits firearms purchases only to individuals who provide a justification for owning a gun. The regulation gave police discretion to approve or deny gun sales.

January 28, 2019 – Officials say Bolsonaro has undergone successful surgery to remove a colostomy bag he was fitted with after being stabbed four months ago.

February 28, 2019 – Bolsonaro meets with Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaidó in Brasilia. During a joint news conference, Bolsonaro pledges Brazil’s support to help ensure “democracy is re-established in Venezuela.”

May 3, 2019 – A spokesman for Bolsonaro announces that the president has canceled a trip to New York, where he was set to be honored with a Person of the Year award from the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. The trip was scrapped amid political backlash. The event’s original host venue, the American Museum of Natural History canceled and some corporate sponsors dropped out. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio had called Bolsonaro “a dangerous man.”

May 7, 2019 – Bolsonaro signs an executive order relaxing gun control restrictions. The executive order makes it easier for guns to be imported and boosts the amount of ammunition an individual can purchase annually.

July 11, 2019 – During a news conference, Bolsonaro says that he wants his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, to serve as ambassador to the United States. He says that Eduardo is friendly with the children of US President Donald Trump.

August 23, 2019 – Bolsonaro announces a plan to send army troops to fight wildfires sweeping through the Amazon rainforest.

August 26, 2019 – At the G7 summit in France, French President Emmanuel Macron announces a $20 million emergency fund to help Brazil with the fires. Bolsonaro responds that he cannot accept Macron’s “intentions behind the idea of an ‘alliance’ of the G7 countries to ‘save’ the Amazon, as if we were a colony or no man’s land.” The dispute devolves after a Facebook user posts a meme ridiculing the appearance of Macron’s wife on Bolsonaro’s page and the president jokes, “Don’t humiliate the guy…haha.”

September 8, 2019 – Bolsonaro undergoes a hernia operation to treat complications from prior surgeries conducted as he recovered from a stab wound.

December 24, 2019 – Tells the Band TV network that he was hospitalized overnight after falling in the presidential palace December 23. He says he had brief memory loss, but that he has recovered.

April 19, 2020 – Bolsonaro joins a rally in the country’s capital, where protesters called for an end to coronavirus quarantine measures and some urged military intervention to shut down Congress and the Supreme Court. He later defends his participation, saying that he was not calling for military action against the country’s other branches of government.

June 23, 2020 – Bolsonaro is ordered by a federal judge in Brasilia to wear a face mask in public or face a fine. The decision extends to all government employees in the Federal District, where the capital Brasilia is located.

July 7, 2020 – Bolsonaro announces he has tested positive for Covid-19, following months of downplaying the virus.

March 16, 2021 – A Brazilian court orders Bolsonaro to pay damages to a journalist after he made remarks that questioned her credibility.

April 27, 2021 – Brazil’s Senate launches an inquiry into the federal government’s response to Covid-19.

July 14, 2021 – Bolsonaro is admitted to the hospital to investigate the cause of persistent hiccups that are leading to abdominal pains, according to Brazil’s Special Secretariat for Social Communication.

December 3, 2021 – Brazil’s Supreme Court orders an investigation into Bolsonaro’s false claim that people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 may have a higher risk of contracting AIDS. The inquiry is launched in response to a request by the country’s parliamentary commission which has been investigating Bolsonaro’s government’s response to the pandemic.

January 3, 2022 – Bolsonaro is admitted to a hospital with a blockage in his intestine.

June 29, 2022 – A Brazilian court rules that Bolsonaro must pay “moral damages” of 35,000 reais (approximately $6,700) to a Brazilian journalist after making remarks with sexual innuendo about her in 2020.

October 2, 2022 – In the presidential election, Bolsonaro finishes with 43.2% versus Lula da Silva’s 48.4%. Either candidate needed to surpass 50% to be elected in the first round of voting, so the two will face each other in a runoff on October 30.

October 30, 2022 – Bolsonaro loses his bid for a second term, after receiving 49.1% of the vote against Lula da Silva, who wins with 50.9%.

November 22, 2022 – Bolsonaro files a petition with Brazil election authorities formally contesting the results of the presidential vote, alleging that some voting machines had malfunctioned and any votes cast through them should be annulled. The petition is rejected the following day.

January 10, 2023 – Is discharged from a Florida hospital and arrives at a residence in Orlando. Bolsonaro said he was receiving treatment for complications related to his 2018 stabbing. Bolsonaro’s hospitalization came after hundreds of his supporters stormed the capital Brasilia on January 8, trashing government offices and drawing strong condemnation from the international community.

January 13, 2023 – Brazil’s Supreme Court says it has accepted the public prosecutor’s request to investigate Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement in the January 8 attacks on government buildings in Brasilia.

June 30, 2023 – Brazil’s highest electoral court bars Bolsonaro from running for political office until 2030, after finding him guilty of abusing his power and misusing public media during the 2022 election campaign. Speaking to Brazilian radio station Itatiaia, Bolsonaro says he plans to appeal the court’s decision.

Here’s a look at the life of Jacinda Ardern, former prime minister of New Zealand.

Personal

Birth date: July 26, 1980

Birth place: Hamilton, New Zealand

Birth name: Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern

Father: Ross Ardern, police officer

Mother: Laurell Ardern, school cook

Children: with Clarke Gayford: Neve Te Aroha

Education: Waikato University, B.A., 2001, communications studies

Religion: Agnostic

Other Facts

Worked as a staff member for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Ardern is engaged to television presenter Clarke Gayford.

Raised Mormon, but left the church.

Timeline

November 8, 2008 – Enters New Zealand’s Parliament, elected into the Labour Party as a list MP.

February 25, 2017 – Wins a special election for the MP seat representing Mt. Albert.

March 7, 2017 – The Labour Party elects Ardern deputy leader.

August 1, 2017 – The Labour Party elects Ardern leader.

October 19, 2017 – NZ First leader Winston Peters announces on television that he supports Ardern as prime minister in a coalition government.

October 26, 2017 – Sworn in as New Zealand’s prime minister.

January 19, 2018 – Announces her pregnancy.

June 21, 2018 – Ardern gives birth to daughter Neve Te Aroha, becoming the first world leader to give birth since Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990. Announces she will take six weeks leave following the baby’s birth. Peters, now deputy prime minister, serves as acting prime minister during that time.

March 15, 2019 – Ardern condemns the attacks at two mosques in the city of Christchurch that left 51 individuals dead.

March 18, 2019 – Ardern confirms that New Zealand’s government has agreed to reform the country’s gun laws in the wake of the Christchurch mosques shootings.

March 19, 2020 – Ardern closes New Zealand’s borders to foreign visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

March 23, 2020 – Announces a nationwide lockdown, requiring all non-essential workers to stay at home.

April 15, 2020 – Announces that she and her cabinet will take a 20% pay cut for the next six months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

August 17, 2020 – Ardern announces she is delaying the country’s parliamentary election by four weeks to October 17 after the reemergence of Covid-19 in the country last week.

October 17, 2020 – Ardern wins a second term in office as New Zealand’s prime minister.

January 29, 2022 – In a press release, Arden says she has entered self-isolation after being deemed a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case. The announcement comes a week after she canceled her own wedding plans amid a rise in Omicron cases across New Zealand.

May 13, 2022 – Ardern posts on social media that she and her daughter have tested positive for Covid-19. Gayford tested positive the previous week.

January 19, 2023 – Announces she will stand aside for a new leader within weeks, saying she doesn’t believe she has the energy to seek reelection in the October polls. Ardern formally resigns as prime minister on January 25.

April 4, 2023 – Joins the Board of Trustees of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize.

June 5, 2023 – Is made a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

Eight people were injured after a car driver rammed into pedestrians near a Tel Aviv shopping center and then got out of the vehicle to stab civilians, Israeli officials said Tuesday.

The attack came as Israeli forces continued military operations in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin for a second night, a day after incursions killed at least 10 people between the ages of 16 and 23, and injured about 100 others.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, and said it was a response to Israel’s ongoing operation in Jenin.

The chief of staff of the Israel’s Medical Emergency Service, Uri Shacham, outlined how the attack unfolded. “This terror attack was combined, both of the vehicle hitting pedestrians, and then the driver, leaving the car, going outside, and stabbing innocent civilians,” he said.

“Magen David Adom [the emergency service] deployed tens of ambulances, mobile intensive care units and motorcycles emergency motorcycles to the scene.”

One of the injured, a 46-year-old woman, is in serious condition, the Magen David Adom said.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also praised Tuesday’s attack, saying it’s the “response of the resistance to what is happening in Jenin,” a statement said.

The PIJ did not claim responsibility for the attack in the statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ramming and stabbings in Tel Aviv a “heinous terror attack.”

Netanyahu added: “Whoever thinks that such an attack will deter us from continuing our fight against terrorism is mistaken. He is simply unfamiliar with the spirit of the State of Israel, our government, our citizens and our soldiers.”

“Final hours I hope, but it’s not over yet till we declare it. There’s movements in the camp, forces are leaving the camp. It could still change,” Hecht said.

Human rights groups have expressed deep concern regarding the surge in violence in Jenin. UNICEF reported that at least three children lost their lives, while many others sustained injuries amid ongoing clashes, its Middle East and North Africa regional director Adele Khodr said on Tuesday.

Seemingly not content to dominate only the college basketball scene, Caitlin Clark stole the show at a PGA Tour event this week.

The superstar Iowa Hawkeyes point guard drew huge fanfare as she played in a pro-am tournament prior to the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Illinois on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old became a household name after a flurry of record-breaking performances to help drive Iowa to the NCAA Championship game for the first time in the school’s history. Clark rattled off an unprecedented 191 points across March Madness, though a record eight three-pointers in the championship game were not enough to overcome the LSU Tigers.

Three months on, the popularity of Clark – who will be eligible for the WNBA Draft in 2024 – shows no sign of waning. Flocks of fans, many of them younger than the Iowa star and donning the Hawkeyes’ black and gold colors, followed her for 18 holes, with Clark signing countless autographs throughout.

Clark played the first half of her round with Swedish pro Ludvig Åberg – who labeled her a “rock star” – before she was joined by 2023 US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson for the final nine holes.

A fellow Iowan, Johnson praised Clark for her “transcendent” basketball talents, but drew particular attention to her character.

“It’s off the court that makes it easy to be a fan,” Johnson, a two-time major champion, told reporters.

“I’m not surprised because that’s the way the university is, and it’s certainly the way Iowans are in general. I just think that’s the way you handle yourself, with integrity and class. But you work your butt off, and if success comes, you’re going to have fandom. It’s just the way it is.

“I can’t speak highly enough about how she handles herself, whether it’s in interviews or just the way she goes about her work. Obviously, she’s had a lot of awards and success, but she always goes back to her team.

“You have to surround yourself around great people, and they’re the ones that deserve at least a heavy dose of that credit, so it’s easy,” he added.

For Clark, it was an opportunity to turn her hand back to a sport she has played since childhood – and still plays occasionally when she has time.

“Honestly, I wasn’t really nervous,” Clark told reporters.

“I don’t get nervous for basketball either – more than anything just enjoying the experience. This is not an off day for me, but it is something I really, really enjoy and love getting to do this.

“It’s just cool getting to interact with all the young kids that were here today and really enjoy being around them. I used to run around golf courses and want to go to golf events when I was a young kid or basketball events, and it can really change your life if they can have one interaction with you.

“Just trying to make as much time as I can to sign an autograph for a young kid or give them a ball or give them a high-five because that goes a really long way.”

The John Deere Classic got underway on Thursday, with Sweden’s Jonas Blixt racing into an early two-shot lead with a scintillating nine-under 62 opening round.

World No. 19 Cameron Young is the highest-ranked player in the field, with American compatriot James Tyree Poston back to attempt to defend his 2022 title.

For the second time in as many months, Mirra Andreeva has reached the third round of a grand slam – well before her 17th birthday.

The Russian star advanced at Wimbledon on Thursday when her opponent, Czech 10th seed Barbora Krejčíková, retired from their second-round match with Andreeva leading 6-3 4-0.

In what will be just her sixth game on grass, Andreeva next faces compatriot Anastasia Potapova on Saturday. Her sudden rise this year has caught the attention of Netflix cameras filming the next instalment of the “Break Point” docuseries.

“They are following me,” Andreeva told reporters after Thursday’s match. “They’re actually somewhere here, I guess. I don’t know … They’re super nice people.”

Against 2021 French Open champion Krejčíková, Andreeva recorded two breaks of serve to wrap up the first set before racing into a commanding lead in the second.

At that point, a lower left leg injury forced Krejčíková – who had also required treatment in her second-round victory against Heather Watson – to retire from the match.

It means Andreeva is the third-youngest player to reach the third round of Wimbledon in the Open Era after Kim Clijsters in 1999 and Coco Gauff in 2019.

“I always want to win, it doesn’t matter which tournament, which round,” she told reporters. “I always go to win. I will just do my best.

“If I can advance to the round of 16, I will be super happy. If I can advance to the semifinal, I will be of course super happy … Honestly I don’t have any goals. I just play.”

Competing without a flag or national representation amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Andreeva has enjoyed a successful year so far, finishing runner-up at the junior Australian Open and reaching the fourth round of the Madrid Open, where she eventually lost to world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Ranked No. 102 in the world, she had to come through qualifying at the French Open and Wimbledon, losing to Coco Gauff in the third round of the former.

But despite her success, Andreeva isn’t immune from being star-struck – particularly when it comes to encounters with former Wimbledon champions.

“I met Andy Murray here,” she said, “but I’m too shy to talk to him. When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not talk to him because I’m super shy.”

Continue with her current form and Andreeva will undoubtedly be spending more time in the company of her childhood idols.

Soccer players and fans were left dumbfounded after a referee and his officials failed to award a goal after the ball crossed the line by about half a meter.

Inside the opening 10 seconds of Colo-Colo’s Chilean Cup match against Unión La Calera, Colo-Colo defender Alan Saldivia played a wayward pass back to goalkeeper Fernando de Paul.

As the ball made its way towards the goal, de Paul tried desperately to get back and prevent it from going over the line – but he failed to get there in time and kicked the ball away after it had gone over the line.

Some of La Calera’s players began celebrating, but quickly stopped when they realized referee Víctor Abarzúa hadn’t signaled for a goal and Colo-Colo continued playing.

To make matters worse, before La Calera could even make its case to the officials, Colo-Colo went up the other end and immediately scored to make it 1-0.

Adding insult to injury, Colo-Colo went on to win the match 6-1 and reach the regional semifinals, while La Calera finished the match with 10 men.

Some of Chile’s stadiums do have video assistant refereeing (VAR) – including the Estadio Monumental where this match was played – but it isn’t used during the earlier rounds of the Chilean Cup.

Roberto Tobar, the head of Chile’s refereeing committee, put the error down to a lack of concentration from the referee and his assistants.

“Regrettably … a quite obvious error was committed by the refereeing team in not sanctioning a legitimate goal for Unión La Calera after an own goal by a defender of Colo-Colo,” he said, according to outlet La Tercera.

“This type of situation, which very rarely occurs within 10 seconds of the start of a match, means that the referees are not 100% activated and, as a result, are not in an appropriate position to make the best decision.

“Situations that are unexpected are when concentration and a good location take precedence to make a very good decision,” Tobar added.

It’s unlikely that explanation will make La Calera fans feel any better.

Real Madrid have signed 18-year-old soccer sensation Arda Güler from Turkish side Fenerbahçe, the Spanish club announced on Thursday.

Güler is one of the most highly sought-after prospects in the sport and his signing was rumored to be a contest between numerous big-name teams.

But Real eventually won the race to add his talent and potential to its squad, with Güler signing a six-year contract with the club.

At his official unveiling with his visibly emotional family in tow, Güler expressed his excitement at signing for the historic club, leaping to the lectern next to club president Florentino Pérez before the Los Blancos supremo was finished with his speech.

Güler then shared a brief comment: “First of all, thank you to my family, to the people who have helped me get to this point and to this club. I also want to be a legend of Real Madrid. Thanks for everything.”

Güler’s low center of gravity, close control and ability to dribble in tight spaces – as well as his preferred position on the right side of the pitch to allow him to cut in on his stronger left foot – have earned him comparisons with Argentine great Lionel Messi, with fans dubbing him the “Turkish Messi.”

He has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Fenerbahçe over the past 12 months, having made his first-team debut in 2021 as a 16-year-old – he provided an assist on his debut giving fans a glimpse of what was to come.

He scored six goals in 35 appearances over the 2022/23 season, helping Fenerbahçe to a Turkish Cup victory with a performance for which he was named Man of the Match.

According to stats website Opta, Güler created 40 goalscoring chances – one every 23 minutes – over the last season which is the best average on record by a player in a Süper Lig season since 2014/15.

Güler is also a part of the Turkish national team squad, making his debut as a 17-year-old.

Since then, he has earned four caps and scored his first international goal for the senior team in his last game, curling home a stunning effort against Wales in a European Championship qualifier.

In doing so, Güler became the youngest player in his country’s history to score for the national side at just 18 years and 114 days old.

He will now compete for a spot in Real’s starting team alongside a host of talent, including Vinícius Jr. and Rodrygo in the frontline and the team’s exceptional midfield group which has added Jude Bellingham to go alongside Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni.

The excitement of his arrival in Madrid has seemed to permeate to the dressing room with Real star Vinícius Jr. tweeting: “Yet another who chooses the greatest.”

When Gloria Fila was a kid, airplanes were a home away from home.

The daughter of an Austrian Airlines flight attendant and pilot who met on the job, Fila often tagged along on her parents’ work trips. There are photos of her playing happily while in an airplane seat. Some of her earliest memories involve planes, and from a very young age, she loved every minute of being up in the air.

When Fila’s father wasn’t flying commercial flights, he’d take his daughter on joy rides on private aircraft.

“He always took me with him,” recalls Fila. “And I always specifically asked to do some aerobatics with the airplane, because I loved it so much and it was the best thing ever.”

Childhood photo

There’s a photo of young Fila which she feels epitomizes her childhood love of aviation, taken in 1999, when she was just two, on vacation in the Maldives.

In the foreground is Fila, dressed in a blue check dress and tugging a bright yellow suitcase in the shape of children’s character Winnie in the Pooh. In the backdrop is an Airbus A340 jet.

The photo was taken shortly before Fila and her family boarded the airplane to return to their home city of Vienna, Austria.

“It’s one of our favorite family pictures,” says Fila.

Whenever Fila, now 26, reflects on her love of aviation, this photo comes to mind.

As she was so young on the Maldives vacation, she doesn’t remember the actual moment the picture was taken.

“But I do remember parts of this trip – because one of my parents was there on duty, so the other one was flying with me there,” says Fila. “I have really great memories of this trip, even though I was so small.”

When Fila graduated from college, she got a job working for a bank in Austria. She’d always wanted to work in aviation, but as she got older, she started wondering whether that was just a dream she’d inherited secondhand from her parents.

Fila decided it was of “great importance” to try and work in another arena first, to check, as she puts it. “Do I love aviation only because of my parents, or do I personally really love it as much as they do, too?”

“But after one and a half years, I said, ‘Okay, that’s it, I’m going to quit my office job. And I’m going to finally go for what I really love,’” recalls Fila. “And that was when I decided to become a flight attendant.”

Dream job

Fila qualified as an Austrian Airlines flight attendant in 2022. She loved the job right away. Working at 30,000 feet just felt right. Every day when she went to work, Fila felt lucky.

“Airplanes have been the most present thing in my life – and aviation overall. To this day, I really truly love it – that’s what really makes my job, for myself, very special,” says Fila.

She also loves meeting passengers from around the world, and likeminded crew members.

“We do not always fly with the same colleagues. So, we get mixed up and every time, actually, you meet new people. However, we’re all kind of recruited with the same passion,” says Fila.

Recreated photo

Whenever Fila boarded a white and red accented Austrian Airlines aircraft, she found herself thinking about that childhood photo.

Then, a few months into the job, Fila had an idea – she would recreate the photo, over 20 years later, with the help of her crewmates. At the end of a shift one day, Fila showed a photo of the photo, saved on her cell phone, to a couple of her colleagues and asked if they’d help her take a 2022 version.

This time round, Fila’s once again in the foreground, now proudly wearing her red Austrian Airlines uniform. Her suitcase is smart and dark-coloured, not shaped like a beloved childhood character. And in the background, the aircraft behind her is an A320, rather than an A340, parked at Vienna Airport.

Fila sent the recreated photo to her family, who loved it. Her parents – who Fila says are “super supportive” of her move into aviation – were particularly delighted with this recreation of one of their favorite photos of their daughter.

Fulfilling a dream

In the months that followed, Fila regularly showed the two photos – the original and the recreation – to other crew during downtime on flights. One time, she showed them to a flight attendant who happened to moonlight in the Austrian Airlines head office. This colleague loved the two pictures and asked if they could share the shots on the airline’s social media accounts.

“When you finally do or find what you really truly love – there’s no better feeling than this, in my opinion.”

Gloria Fila, flight attendant

Fila was more than happy to oblige. For her, the two pictures are very personal. But they also hold a more general, universal message – about the importance of staying in touch with your childhood self, and being brave enough to follow through with your childhood dreams, even when they feel out of reach.

“I would totally recommend the person to try it, to go for it, no matter what,” says Fila. “When you finally do or find what you really truly love – there’s no better feeling than this, in my opinion.”

Fila sees herself working in aviation for years to come, and would love to recreate the photo again in the future.

“That would be amazing,” she says.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologized for the Netherlands’ historic involvement in slavery and the effects that it still has today.

The king was speaking at a ceremony marking the 160th anniversary of the legal abolition of slavery in the Netherlands, including its former colonies in the Caribbean.

“On this day that we remember the Dutch history of slavery, I ask forgiveness for this crime against humanity,” he said. He said racism in Dutch society remains a problem and not everyone would support his apology.

However “the times have changed and Keti Koti … the chains have truly been broken,” he said to cheers and applause of thousands of onlookers at the national slavery monument in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark.

“Keti Koti” are Surinamese words that mean the ‘the chain is broken’ and it is the title given to July 1 as a day of remembrance of slavery and celebration of freedom.

The apology comes amid a wider reconsideration of the Netherlands’ colonial past, including involvement in both the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in its former Asian colonies.

Willem-Alexander apologized in Indonesia in 2020 for “excessive violence” during Dutch colonial rule.

In December, Prime Minister Mark Rutte acknowledged the Dutch state bears a responsibility in the Atlantic slave trade and profited from it, and apologized.

Rutte has said the government will not pay reparations, as an advisory panel recommended in 2021.

A government-commissioned study published last month found that the House of Orange profited by around $600 million in modern terms from Dutch colonies in 1675-1770, much of it given as a gift from the Dutch East India Company’s spice trade profits.

The Royal House in December commissioned an independent investigation into the Royal Family’s role in colonial history, with results expected in 2025.