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At least 110 people have been injured after tennis ball-sized hail rained down on a region of northern Italy overnight Wednesday.

The country has struggling with a surge in food prices after bad weather damaged crops.

Kenvue Inc., the consumer-focused spinoff of Johnson & Johnson that owns brands such as Band-Aid and Tylenol, fell

Claire Richards, one of the five-member girl group Steps, has opened up about experiencing an eating disorder in the Nineties, before she joined the band. The singer, 45, said she went on a restrictive diet that only allowed her to eat 900 calories a day, with her meals comprising of just “fish fingers, peas and baked beans”. Appearing on Vicky Pattison’s The Secret To podcast on Thursday’s (20 July) episode, Richards claimed she was told she had to lose weight even though she was a UK size 10 to 12 at the start of her career in the music industry. She added that Kate Moss’s “heroin-chic” thin look was what people aspired to at the time when it came to body image, which in turn encouraged her dieting. “It happened when I was in TSD,” Richards said, referring to her first band, The Scan-Dolls. “They did it to all of us because we were all quite curvy girls. I was probably a [size] 10 or a 12 and wasn’t big at all. “But in the music world, and at that time, that whole Kate Moss, heroin-chic, was a thing and they wanted everyone to be really, really skinny. “So, we were all put on a diet. That diet was interesting because we were encouraged to eat fish fingers, peas and baked beans and have like a 900-calorie diet.” After she auditioned for Steps, Richards claimed she was still under pressure to lose weight. “The audition for Steps was [in] 1997 and by that time I had cut my hair really short, stupidly, and I was wearing this stripey catsuit which I wore in the video for ‘Last Thing on My Mind’,” she explained. “And I always used to tie a hoodie around my waist because I was really conscious of my bum because I thought I had a massive bum… They sat me down, did my audition and they said, ‘Oh, we really like you. We want you to be in the band, but you’re going to have to lose weight’. “It set me on a pathway of not really eating for four-and-a-half years.” Richards said that the years spent worrying about her body image damaged her confidence so much that she has never managed to fully regain it. “I think I’m much better than I was,” she reassured listeners, but added: “But I don’t think I ever will get rid of it completely because it’s played such a massive part of my life for such a long time. “I think I probably was anorexic. You know, I manged to kind of stop what I was doing to myself, but that went from not eating at all, to overeating.” The “It’s The Way You Make Me Feel” singer said she went from being “dangerously thin” to weighing 16.5 stone (104kg) at her heaviest. Richards has previously spoken out about her struggle with disordered eating and expressed how anxious she was about image filters that are popular on the internet today. Last May, she appeared as a guest on Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Spinning Plates podcast and said: “I’ve gone from being dangerously thin to obese and I honestly do believe it’s all part of the same… if it’s an eating disorder, it’s one extreme to the other. “There is a massive lack of understanding, generally, and I think especially on the overweight side of it. I think people just look at anybody who’s overweight [and think] that they’re lazy and have got no discipline. “I’m not lazy and I definitely have discipline but I found myself in that position,” she continued. “I struggle everyday and I’ve managed to maintain a good size now for a long time but it’s a battle everyday and people just don’t understand that psychological side of it generally.” For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this piece, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677. NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040. Read More Bye bye swimwear round, hello body positivity: How beauty pageants became less ugly Prince Harry and Meghan weren’t allowed to fly Air Force One with Biden after Queen’s funeral, report says ‘Just awful’: Man accused of ‘selfish’ behaviour after proposing to girlfriend at their graduation Should I keep my windows closed or open during a heatwave? Why am I so lethargic in the heat? 6 hacks for handling the heatwave at a festival

As extreme heat dominates news headlines, the gate-keepers of global capital are failing to keep pace with a

Zimbabwe plans to sell 40,000 tons of corn to Rwanda, marking its first export of the crop since

The US military killed five al-Shabaab militants in a "collective self-defense airstrike" in Somalia, US Africa Command announced Thursday.

Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel walked Ronald Acuña back to third base, creating some unnecessary drama with the Braves star.The Diamondbacks and Ginkel would get the last laugh, as they won 5-3, taking the first two games of their series against Atlanta. However, the bat...

European natural gas advanced as traders weighed potential upticks in demand against recovering supplies from Norway. Benchmark Dutch

The owner of a Chinese takeaway has become an internet icon for her fiery responses to disgruntled customers. Alice Cheung, the boss of Oriental Express restaurant in Pudsey, West Yorkshire has garnered 149 reviews on Just Eat – and she’s made a point of personally replying to every negative one. While most customers award the eatery five or six stars, Cheung refuses to pander to the complaints of some of the “sillier” reviews, she told Leeds Live. So when one woman complained that the food was “terrible”, she was having none of it. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter “You ordered a Vegetarian Munch Box and then called the shop to complain there was no MEAT in it,” Cheung wrote back. “We sent what you ordered and there was nothing wrong with it. The bad review is to cover your error,” she continued, before ending the response: “Please do not call again.” Another reviewer moaned that her meal was “not good, soggy and old” and that she “threw most of it away,” before condemning it for being much more expensive than her regular takeaway. Cheung, or rather Oriental Express, replied: “I suggest you stay with the other takeaway and take your false review with you.” Responding to a one-star reviewer, whose full comment has been deleted, Cheung wrote: “What sort of idiot orders ‘Salt & Pepper Chicken’ and then complains it has salt in it, our delivery record shows it was NOT late and it was NOT cold. “A fake review and derogatory too. Take your foul mouth and business somewhere else.” Another critic – who offered the restaurant a similarly measly two stars out of six – said her meal had been “totally ruined” by “small pieces of battered dry chicken mixed in with battered prawns.” The furious response read: “Will you please open your eyes and read the descriptions, you ordered the ‘Special sweet and sour’ which contains king prawns. You got what you ordered so how is this our fault? “The food was fresh and perfectly cooked. We are good but mind reading the stupid is not one of our skills.” Another two-star reviewer failed to write a justification for his low score. So Cheung replied sardonically: “Thank you Kyle, whay? Too much food, too hot, too tasty, delivered too quickly?” Speaking to Leeds Live, Cheung defended her tough tactics: “If you’re writing a review just be honest about the situation,” she said. "If we messed up, we’ll reply seriously. If not, expect some banter.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A TikTok video has gone unexpectedly viral after it shocked viewers by exposing the reality of the financial hardships of people who work as drivers for food-delivery companies. The clip was uploaded by user Riley Elliot back in 2021 (although he clarified that his legal name is Riley Todd until he’s married). According to a subsequent video, he only had 9 followers at the time – all of whom were his close friends. But his video clearly resonated. It’s been widely viewed on TikTok, amassing hundreds of thousands of likes and comments, and Elliot’s account has blown up – he now has more than 17,000 followers. In the video, Elliot is sitting in a vehicle, clearly distressed after having completed a food delivery job. He says: “Y’all I wish that people who order UberEats or Doordash understood what it’s like to be a driver.” Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter In tears, he goes on to explain that he was only paid $2.50 for the 45-minute job, and had to pay $3 for parking as the customer wouldn’t come outside to meet him. He added that the customer gave him only a $1.50 tip. “I gotta prove three times rent for income in two weeks and I can’t. It doesn’t matter that I’m working multiple jobs, that I barely sleep, that I can barely afford to feed myself. I’m about to be homeless for the third time since May and it’s all because people don’t tip their delivery drivers. Like, how hard is it to throw us five bucks?” In the on-screen caption, he added: “I’m out here risking my life in a pandemic and no one cares.” Elliot's sudden increase in popularity helped him turn his life around and is now reportedly in a much better place. A successful GoFundMe page, that is still active for Elliot has raised more than $20,000 for him. Elliot's clip was also shared on Twitter, where it has been viewed 3.4 million times. The responses largely echoed the comments on the TikTok video, with people sympathising with Elliot while also debating whether blaming the customers for a lack of tips is the solution, as opposed to holding the delivery companies accountable. In a video posted later the same day, Elliot explained that he had received an overwhelming amount of support, as well as donations which allowed him to move into a new home. @elliot_wanders THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! #ubereatsdriver #fyp #tipyourdeliverydriver #payitforward #tiktokchangedmylife He also addressed comments that referenced expensive items visible in his video, explaining that his income has drastically changed since the start of the pandemic – as has been the case for so many Americans. In a later follow-up, Elliot acknowledged that the blaming customers entirely was not helpful, and that he believed that food-delivery companies that rely on gig workers should bear more responsibility to ensure drivers are paid fairly. He added that this is a broader issue too, highlighting the tip-based culture which exists in the service industry in America. While Elliot appears to be in a much better financial situation now thanks to the viral success of his video, it’s important to remember that there are thousands of others in similar situations who aren’t going viral and may well still be struggling. Just something to bear in mind next time we order pizza... Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Fulham standing firm over their valuation of star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic amid interest from Saudi Arabia and will not sell for less than £60m.