O Segmento Urbano e a Engel & Völkers Portimão estabeleceram uma parceria estratégica para aplicar a metodologia Land Staging® à promoção e comercialização de terrenos e lotes urbanos no Algarve, introduzindo uma nova abordagem de valorização imobiliária focada no potencial de desenvolvimento dos ativos. A colaboração foi apresentada durante as comemorações do 8.º aniversário da […]
Xena the Greek warrior princess, who started as an antagonist of Hercules, captivated audiences around the world more than twenty years ago. One of the joys of looking back at Xena is its playfulness. It features some badass female characters and at times offers a serious message about female solidarity and feminism.
By Amanda Potter
Xena the fictional Warrior Princess, played by Lucy Lawless, captivated audiences around the world for six series with her high kicks, sword skills, and distinctive war cry. The series followed her as she fought her way through armies, monsters, and gods alongside her soul mate and moral compass, Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor).
Xena travelled across space and time, taking us from ancient Greece to Rome, Egypt, Britain, China, India, Scandinavia, and finally to Japan, where it all came to an end twenty years ago on June 18, 2001.
Starting life as an antagonist of Hercules in three episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena was so popular as a character that she was given her own spin-off series that ran from 1995 to 2001. At the time, Xena: Warrior Princess was considered groundbreaking, as it starred a strong female action heroine and was the only popular adventure, action, science fiction, or fantasy show that featured female leads without male counterparts.
On the twentieth anniversary of the final episode, it is worth revisiting this great show and exploring why it was loved by a broad spectrum of viewers, from young girls drawn in by an active female role model to ancient history buffs, sci-fi fans and the LGBTQ community.
A reformed warlord from ancient Greece, Xena was not an Amazon but a friend to the tribe of warrior women. To ancient Greek writers, the Amazons were women who fought and behaved like men and were unnatural barbarians. They have since been adopted as positive female role models who break with misogynistic stereotypes of womanhood—they live in a self-sufficient, female-dominated society as warriors and intellectuals. The term “Amazon feminism” is now used to describe a branch of feminism that promotes female physical prowess as a way to achieve gender equality.
Before Xena, the Amazons featured in the 1970s Wonder Woman television series. Not quite the feminist icons we expect today, these women wore pastel-colored negligees as they adopted a peaceful life—without men—on Paradise Island.
In Xena, while the Amazons may also have been attired in revealing costumes made of furs and skins, their separatist society valued martial, as well as academic, skills. An Amazon tells Gabrielle that the Amazon world is based on “truth and an individual woman’s strength.”
The Amazons from Greek mythology lived apart from men at the edge of the known world and fought bravely against male heroes such as Hercules, Theseus, and Achilles. In Xena, the Amazons also lived in a matriarchal society and were skilled fighters who could hold their own against men.
The Amazons in Wonder Woman (2017) can be seen as Xena’s big-screen descendants. The costumes and fighting prowess of Penthesilea (Nina Milner) in the BBC drama Troy: Fall of a City (2018) has tinges of Xena. The leadership ability of the immortal Amazon Andy (Charlize Theron) in the Netflix film The Old Guard can also be seen as inspired by Xena.
But while Troy: Fall of a City and The Old Guard are aimed at older audiences, Xena was popular across all age groups. For instance, episodes of Xena were broadcast in the UK on Channel Five’s Milkshake! Saturday morning slot in the ’90s and early 2000s for young viewers. This led many young girls to adopt Xena as their role model.
Xena was also popular with gay and lesbian viewers. In the 1990s, openly gay relationships were mostly missing from popular US television series. However, Xena’s relationship with Gabrielle was interpreted as friends and lovers as much as hero and sidekick. Series producers began to play with this idea, for example, putting Xena and Gabrielle together in a sexy bath in season two fan-favorite episode “A Day in the Life,” so that for many, the subtext became the main text.
Although a lot of fans were dismayed that Xena died in the final episode, they were treated to a long goodbye kiss between Gabrielle and Xena’s ghost. Series producers never openly made Xena and Gabrielle a lesbian couple. But LGBTQ+ fans championed their relationship, which is believed to have paved the way for the openly gay relationships we see in television series today.
One of the joys of looking back at Xena twenty years afterward is its playfulness when compared with dark sci-fi fantasies like Game of Thrones. It features some badass female characters and at times offers a serious message about female solidarity and feminism, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Some of the special effects may now seem dated, but the storylines still ring true, and the characters of Xena and Gabrielle can continue to be inspirational for a new generation of young female viewers.
Amanda Potter is a Visiting Research Fellow at The Open University. The article was published in The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons License.
No próximo dia 13 de junho de 2026, o Parque de Convívio e Lazer de Pechão recebe a primeira edição do Sunset no Parque, um evento de entrada livre promovido pelo Clube Oriental de Pechão, que promete marcar o arranque do verão na freguesia com música, convívio e animação ao ar livre. Com início marcado para as 18h30 e prolongando-se até às 02h00, […]
Um incêndio no concelho vizinho alentejano de Odemira, na zona de Lameiros, freguesia de São Luís, já lavra há muitas horas, obrigando a uma grande mobilização de meios.
O conteúdo Já lavra há várias horas grande incêndio em concelho que faz fronteira com o Algarve aparece primeiro em Algarve Marafado.
The first interaction between the Jews and the Persians (the ancient Iranians) was a profoundly important and beneficial one. This initial interaction between the two nations was not a battle. Rather, the Persians freed the Jews from captivity in Babylon. What were the circumstances behind this event, and what exactly did the Persians do?
The background to this event is that the ancient Babylonians attacked and destroyed the Jewish city of Jerusalem near the turn of the seventh century BCE. Consequently, the Babylonians took the surviving Jews captive, deporting them to the region of Babylon.
Despite not enduring the extreme hardships of slavery, as in their Egyptian bondage, they nevertheless faced harsh and unpleasant conditions. They were captives in the region, along with many other peoples whom the Babylonians had conquered.
This captivity lasted for several decades. According to the Hebrew Scriptures of the Bible, there were ancient Jewish prophets who had foretold that this captivity would end and Babylon would fall. Historically, what occurred?
Eventually, the Persians freed the Jews from Babylon. How did this happen?
During much of the sixth century BCE, the Babylonians ruled over a vast empire. It controlled essentially the entire Fertile Crescent, from the Persian Gulf to the Egyptian border. It also ruled over much of northern Arabia. Historians believe that the city of Babylon at that time was the largest in the world.
For that reason, its downfall was a shock to the world. In 550 BCE, King Cyrus I of Persia began conquering the Middle East with the defeat of the Medes. He then travelled to Anatolia, where he conquered the Lydian Empire. Finally, he turned his attention to Babylon.
In 539 BCE, Cyrus’s army marched towards the powerful and intimidating city of Babylon. They diverted the Euphrates River, which surrounded the city like a moat. This lowered the water level enough for the Persian army to wade across.
For some reason, the gates of the city had been left open, and the army simply marched in. The Babylonians were completely unprepared for a battle, resulting in a swift and definitive Persian victory.
The Babylonians had a policy of never releasing their prisoners of war. The Persians, in contrast, had no such policy. Cyrus the Great—and the Persian Empire in general—is famous today for the relatively lenient position taken regarding subject peoples.
According to the ancient Hebrew Scriptures, in the first year of Cyrus’s rule over Babylon, he ordered the Jews to be released and return to their land of Jerusalem. Thus, the Persians freed the Jews from Babylon. In fact, rather than merely allowing them to go, Cyrus positively supported them in their return.
According to the Bible’s Book of Ezra, written in the fifth century BCE, Cyrus took the treasure of Jerusalem’s temple that the Babylonians had plundered and gave it directly to the Jews. He allowed them to take it back with them to Jerusalem.
Furthermore, when the Persians freed the Jews, they went even further in their support for them. The record in Ezra states that Cyrus encouraged his subjects to assist the Jews by giving them financial support for their return trip.
Did the Persians really free the Jews from ancient Babylon, or is the Bible’s account about this event fictional? Archaeologists uncovered an ancient artifact known as the Cyrus Cylinder in 1879. This dates to just after the fall of Babylon and describes Cyrus’ conquest of the city. Notably, it includes the following description:
“I returned to sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been ruins for a long time, the images which (used) to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I (also) gathered all their (former) inhabitants and returned (to them) their habitations.”
Although this does not mention Jerusalem and the Jews specifically, it does provide significant support to the Biblical narrative. As we can see, Cyrus claimed to have been responsible for the restoration of certain sanctuaries, or sacred temple sites, in distant cities.
He even specifically mentions returning the “images”, or idols, that came from those sanctuaries. This ties in very well with the Bible’s claim that Cyrus returned the Jews’ temple treasures to Jerusalem.
Furthermore, alongside the restoration of the temples, Cyrus claims that he returned the inhabitants of those cities to their respective sanctuaries. This aligns perfectly with the Bible’s assertion that the Persians freed the Jews and allowed them to return to Jerusalem.
All evidence indicates that the construction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem began only after the Persians defeated Babylon. This logically concludes that the Persians freed the Jews, thereby allowing them to return to their city and build the Second Temple.
A pesquisa foi desenvolvida no Hemocentro de Ribeirão Preto, em parceria com o Instituto Butantan e o Ministério da Saúde.
“Os resultados são muito animadores e trazem uma esperança para os pacientes que precisam desse tratamento. O Comitê de Inovação, formado pelos diretores da Anvisa [Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária] reforçou que vai tratar desse produto como um dos produtos inovadores e, com isso, acelerar a avaliação e o acompanhamento que já são feitos permanentemente pela equipe técnica da Anvisa”, disse o ministro da Saúde, Alexandre Padilha.
O ministro explicou que, como o estudo ainda está em andamento, novos pacientes continuarão sendo recrutados, seguindo os padrões internacionais.
“É preciso acompanhar o paciente por pelo menos um ano a partir da data de aplicação da terapia para analisar os marcadores de segurança e eficácia”, disse Padilha. Como o último paciente foi incluído em maio, estima-se um prazo de cerca de um ano e meio para a conclusão das análises e a possível aprovação do registro.
Atualmente, um tratamento similar na rede privada custa R$ 2,5 milhões. A expectativa do governo é que, ao ser incorporado ao SUS, o tratamento seja oferecido de forma totalmente gratuita.
O custo de aquisição pelo Ministério da Saúde também deve ser reduzido devido à escala de produção e ao fato de envolver instituições públicas e sem fins lucrativos. A fábrica em Ribeirão Preto, apontada como a maior da América Latina e do Sul Global, tem capacidade para produzir até 1 mil terapias desse tipo.
A pesquisa clínica da CAR-T Cell também contempla crianças e adolescentes. No caso da leucemia linfoide aguda, o câncer mais comum na infância, responsável por 70% a 80% dos casos infantis, os pacientes recrutados têm entre três e 25 anos de idade.
Embora mais de 90% das crianças respondam bem à quimioterapia convencional, a terapia celular surge como uma alternativa vital para os 10% que não apresentam resposta ao tratamento padrão. Já para os linfomas, cuja prevalência é significativamente menor em crianças, o recrutamento é voltado para maiores de 18 anos.
Padilha disse ainda que o governo federal fez um aporte de R$ 180 milhões para a segunda fase do programa Genomas Brasil. O projeto, que existe desde 2020 e tem a USP de Ribeirão Preto como uma de suas bases, agora incluirá novas universidades, como a Universidade de Brasília (UnB), que terá o primeiro laboratório do gênero na região Centro-Oeste, e mais hospitais do SUS.
“O projeto Genomas é um orgulho para o país. O Brasil é um dos países com maior diversidade genômica, segundo dados do projeto. Isso faz com que o Brasil seja um país com grande potencial para o desenvolvimento de medicamentos”, destacou o ministro.
Ele destacou ainda que a nova lei de pesquisa clínica, sancionada pelo presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, desburocratizou e encurtou os prazos de aprovação de estudos no país, o que aumentou a participação do Brasil no cenário internacional de pesquisas clínicas em 30%, no ano de 2025.
“O mapeamento do exoma, viabilizado por laboratórios parceiros do projeto, passou a ser garantido pelo Ministério da Saúde para todos os centros de especialidades do SUS. Essa tecnologia permite que o diagnóstico de doenças raras em crianças, que antes demorava cerca de sete anos, seja realizado nos primeiros seis meses de vida, antecipando tratamentos e melhorando a qualidade de vida dos pacientes”, afirmou Padilha.
A pesquisa foi desenvolvida no Hemocentro de Ribeirão Preto, em parceria com o Instituto Butantan e o Ministério da Saúde.
“Os resultados são muito animadores e trazem uma esperança para os pacientes que precisam desse tratamento. O Comitê de Inovação, formado pelos diretores da Anvisa [Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária] reforçou que vai tratar desse produto como um dos produtos inovadores e, com isso, acelerar a avaliação e o acompanhamento que já são feitos permanentemente pela equipe técnica da Anvisa”, disse o ministro da Saúde, Alexandre Padilha.
O ministro explicou que, como o estudo ainda está em andamento, novos pacientes continuarão sendo recrutados, seguindo os padrões internacionais.
“É preciso acompanhar o paciente por pelo menos um ano a partir da data de aplicação da terapia para analisar os marcadores de segurança e eficácia”, disse Padilha. Como o último paciente foi incluído em maio, estima-se um prazo de cerca de um ano e meio para a conclusão das análises e a possível aprovação do registro.
Atualmente, um tratamento similar na rede privada custa R$ 2,5 milhões. A expectativa do governo é que, ao ser incorporado ao SUS, o tratamento seja oferecido de forma totalmente gratuita.
O custo de aquisição pelo Ministério da Saúde também deve ser reduzido devido à escala de produção e ao fato de envolver instituições públicas e sem fins lucrativos. A fábrica em Ribeirão Preto, apontada como a maior da América Latina e do Sul Global, tem capacidade para produzir até 1 mil terapias desse tipo.
A pesquisa clínica da CAR-T Cell também contempla crianças e adolescentes. No caso da leucemia linfoide aguda, o câncer mais comum na infância, responsável por 70% a 80% dos casos infantis, os pacientes recrutados têm entre três e 25 anos de idade.
Embora mais de 90% das crianças respondam bem à quimioterapia convencional, a terapia celular surge como uma alternativa vital para os 10% que não apresentam resposta ao tratamento padrão. Já para os linfomas, cuja prevalência é significativamente menor em crianças, o recrutamento é voltado para maiores de 18 anos.
Padilha disse ainda que o governo federal fez um aporte de R$ 180 milhões para a segunda fase do programa Genomas Brasil. O projeto, que existe desde 2020 e tem a USP de Ribeirão Preto como uma de suas bases, agora incluirá novas universidades, como a Universidade de Brasília (UnB), que terá o primeiro laboratório do gênero na região Centro-Oeste, e mais hospitais do SUS.
“O projeto Genomas é um orgulho para o país. O Brasil é um dos países com maior diversidade genômica, segundo dados do projeto. Isso faz com que o Brasil seja um país com grande potencial para o desenvolvimento de medicamentos”, destacou o ministro.
Ele destacou ainda que a nova lei de pesquisa clínica, sancionada pelo presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, desburocratizou e encurtou os prazos de aprovação de estudos no país, o que aumentou a participação do Brasil no cenário internacional de pesquisas clínicas em 30%, no ano de 2025.
“O mapeamento do exoma, viabilizado por laboratórios parceiros do projeto, passou a ser garantido pelo Ministério da Saúde para todos os centros de especialidades do SUS. Essa tecnologia permite que o diagnóstico de doenças raras em crianças, que antes demorava cerca de sete anos, seja realizado nos primeiros seis meses de vida, antecipando tratamentos e melhorando a qualidade de vida dos pacientes”, afirmou Padilha.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has been suspended with immediate effect after the court’s governing body referred disciplinary proceedings against him to member states following a sexual misconduct investigation.
The ICC, based in The Hague, is a permanent international court created under the Rome Statute to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression when national courts are unable or unwilling to act.
Khan became one of the world’s most controversial prosecutors after seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, making his suspension a major development well beyond the court itself. Israel and the United States have rejected the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction, and neither country is a member of the court.
The Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute had decided to refer the disciplinary proceedings against Prosecutor Karim Khan to the full Assembly of States Parties, suspend him from duty pending a final decision and convene a special session to consider the matter, the International Criminal Court’s Presidency said in a Tuesday statement.
ICC PROSECUTOR BEHIND NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANTS STEPS ASIDE AMID SEXUAL MISCONDUCT PROBE
"The Court respectfully invites the Assembly of the State Parties to conclude the process with the highest priority," the court's presidency said.
Khan, who has denied wrongdoing, led the court’s controversial push for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Khan’s suspension followed an 18-month investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct involving a lawyer in his office.
Khan’s lawyers have denied the allegations and called the decision "unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence."
The findings have moved through several layers of review.
A U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation found evidence supporting the allegations, while a separate judicial review found the evidence was not enough to prove misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt, Reuters reported. The Assembly of States Parties Bureau, which oversees the court on behalf of member states, nevertheless found that Khan had committed serious misconduct involving nonconsensual sexual activity and recommended his removal, Reuters reported.
The disciplinary probe found Khan had engaged in "serious misconduct" and a "serious breach of duty," The Associated Press reported.
The case now goes to a special session of the Assembly of States Parties, the International Criminal Court’s 125 member governing body. The final decision lies with the assembly and a date for the special session has not yet been set.
Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, told Fox News Digital that, "The fact that states parties appear to be taking this seriously is important but the decision is confidential so we can’t comment on it. We will be monitoring next steps closely. Meanwhile, state parties should continue to support the court in its important work across its docket."
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024 after Khan requested them months earlier. Israel and the United States condemned the move, accusing the court of equating Israeli leaders with Hamas terrorists.
The Trump administration sanctioned Khan in February 2025 over the court's actions targeting Israeli officials, under an executive order targeting ICC officials involved in actions against the U.S. or its allies. The order authorized asset freezes and U.S. entry restrictions, and Treasury later added Khan to its sanctions list.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News Digital that the U.S. position on the International Criminal Court "has never wavered."
"We oppose any overreach by the ICC against the United States or our allies. Period," Waltz said. "And we expect our partners to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us against these outrageous actions."
Waltz said the U.S. is watching the disciplinary proceedings against Khan, while declining to comment on the specifics of the case.
"As for the situation with Prosecutor Karim Khan, this is a bit rich that this prosecutor sought to jail a democratically elected prime minister and now we are tracking his immediate suspension and the ongoing disciplinary proceedings," Waltz said. "Of course, we aren't going to comment on the specifics of that case while it plays out."
The suspension drew immediate reaction from Israeli officials, who argued that the decision further undermines the court’s case against Netanyahu and Gallant.
"Want to divert attention from sex crime accusations? Just make up war crime accusations against Israel! Classic," Netanyahu wrote Wednesday on X. "The ICC is corrupt to the core."
TRUMP, CONGRESS LOOKING TO PUT SUFFOCATING SANCTIONS ON 'KANGAROO' ICC OVER NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told Fox News Digital that Khan’s suspension proves the International Criminal Court’s problems go beyond one prosecutor.
"The International Criminal Court's decision to immediately suspend the Chief Prosecutor in The Hague, Karim Khan, following the UN investigation, proves that this body is rotten to the core," Danon said. "Now is the time to cancel the absurd indictments against Prime Minister Netanyahu!"
Anne Bayefsky, president of Human Rights Voices and director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, told Fox News Digital that the scandal has damaged the credibility of the entire court.
"The astounding story of the world’s International Criminal Court and its lead prosecutor headed by a criminal, an alleged rapist, is not just about one rotten apple," Bayefsky said. "The entire ICC machine let the process to hold Khan to account drag on for two years after his crimes were first reported."
Bayefsky argued that the court’s actions against Israeli officials should now face renewed scrutiny.
US ANNOUNCES MORE SANCTIONS ON ICC OFFICIALS FOR TARGETING AMERICANS, ISRAELIS
"ICC judges decided that Khan’s efforts to criminalize Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister weren’t tainted by the clear evidence that Khan was trying desperately to use his attack on Israelis to save himself," Bayefsky said. "Khan has taken the credibility of the whole shameful ICC apparatus down with him."
The Presidency said the court’s leadership remains committed to "independent and impartial proceedings," recognition and redress for victims of mass atrocities, and the "dignity, rights and aspirations" of court personnel.
The statement also sought to defend the institution itself, calling the ICC "one of the most significant achievements of human civilisation" and saying the court has a duty to protect "the proper functioning of the Court as a whole and its reputation," the integrity of judicial proceedings, the rights of victims and suspects, and the well-being of court staff.
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The court did not say whether Khan’s suspension would affect the cases involving Netanyahu and Gallant.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the International Criminal Court for comment.
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