Video shows damage to Afghanistan’s shrine of Mazar-i-Sharif, also known as The Blue Mosque, after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Officials in the area say at least seven people have been killed and 150 injured.
Host Giovanna said: “I know that in the years to come you do find yourself in a place where you are completely comfortable with your body.”
Natalie, who has been promoting her new bookHappy Days, replied: “I am but I think it damaged me doing that.
“Well I still would look in the mirror and go ‘oh I could be this, could be that.’
“But I think that is just us today.
“I just think it’s what we’re seeing all the time as women and men, but as women, I think it’s a scary world when you think about what we look like all the time.”
The soap actress opened up about signing up to do the DVD at a vulnerable time – and said she regrets her decision.
She added: “I’d lost mum at 19 so all of that weight stuff was happening through all of that time.
“Silly decisions were being made, shouldn’t have done that, not the right guidance.
“It’s a silly thing to do but if someone says ‘here’s £100,000 you want to lose some weight?’ I was like ‘yeah, I’ll take that’.”
EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy reveals she has finally ‘forgiven herself’ over horrific family loss
Natalie said losing weight for the DVD left her “worse off” with her body.
She explained: “It took a turn for the worse, I put loads of weight on very, very quickly afterwards, if not more.
“I think I just ate loads and then I started taking laxatives at some point.
“And you know I would never say I had an eating disorder, I’m very fortunate to say that, but you know I think if I had carried on with laxatives and this and that, who knows where I’d be.”
Natalie said that raising her daughters Eliza, 14, and Joanie, eight, helped her snap out the cycle.
She said: “I think because you’re not the be all and end all. You have those kids and that’s it. You forget about yourself.
“All you worry about, all you focus on is if they’re well cared for, their dinner, what they’re eating, what they’re wearing, are they sleeping. that that was my focus and the idea of worrying about what I look like kind of fell to the wayside.”
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Natalie, who plays Sonya in Eastenders, shared how she was offered the DVD when ‘silly decisions were being made’Credit: BBC
DIET PILL RUMOURS
However, attention on her weight has not eased up over the years.
Just last year, Natalie, who has been with her BBC cameraman fiance Marc Humphrey since 2014, was forced to deny she used diet pills to lose weight.
Her fans were targeted by scams online and the actress took to her social media to clarify that she recently lost her weight by cutting out treats.
The actress previously told The Sun: “I cut out rubbish. I cut down on alcohol too, even though I love white wine.”
“Alcohol is full of hidden calories, which all add up when it comes to a person’s daily limit.”
Natalie explained: “I’ve never gone through any injectable route.
“I’ve not done Botox before or lip filler. I just haven’t. So to inject something, I’m just scared of it.”
Giovanna, 40 – mum to Buzz, 11, Buddy, nine, and Max, six – gave her own views on weight loss jabs and admitted that they have come up on her radar.
It’s a silly thing to do but if someone says ‘here’s £100,000 you want to lose some weight?’ I was like ‘yeah, I’ll take that’
Natalie Cassidy
The wife of McFly’s Tom Fletcher, explained: “Only because I’ve had people going and doing it in a way where it’s almost discussed in a way that they’re trying to encourage you to do it.
“I’m like, I don’t want to do that. No, I’m not interested.
“It feels so bizarre to go from ‘this is me’ to a ‘let’s change myself’, and for what?
“I don’t think anyone would like me more if I’m skinny.
“I don’t think anyone would love me more. I don’t think I’ll be happier.
“I think it would do the opposite.”
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Giovanna Fletcher opened up about her views on weight loss jabsCredit: PA
What are the side effects of weight loss jabs?
Like any medication, weight loss jabs can have side effects.
Common side effects of injections such as Ozempic include:
Nausea: This is the most commonly reported side effect, especially when first starting the medication. It often decreases over time as your body adjusts.
Vomiting: Can occur, often in conjunction with nausea.
Diarrhea: Some people experience gastrointestinal upset.
Constipation: Some individuals may also experience constipation.
Stomach pain or discomfort: Some people may experience abdominal pain or discomfort.
Reduced appetite: This is often a desired effect for people using Ozempic for weight loss.
Indigestion: Can cause a feeling of bloating or discomfort after eating.
Serious side effects can also include:
Pancreatitis: In rare cases, Ozempic may increase the risk of inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis, which can cause severe stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting.
Kidney problems: There have been reports of kidney issues, including kidney failure, though this is uncommon.
Thyroid tumors: There’s a potential increased risk of thyroid cancer, although this risk is based on animal studies. It is not confirmed in humans, but people with a history of thyroid cancer should avoid Ozempic.
Vision problems: Rapid changes in blood sugar levels may affect vision, and some people have reported blurry vision when taking Ozempic.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): Especially if used with other medications like sulfonylureas or insulin.
A baggage handler has shared his top tip for ensuring your luggage doesn’t get damaged during a flight – and it’s all to do with the type of wheels your suitcase has
It’s all in the wheels when it comes to which suitcases are least likely to be damaged(Image: Getty)
Picture yourself embarking on that dream getaway you’ve been planning for ages. You’ve navigated airport security at your perfect destination and now find yourself stationed beside the baggage carousel, anxiously awaiting your luggage’s arrival.
Yet when your case finally emerges, it’s glaringly obvious that it’s been through the wars. It’s bashed about, potentially sporting a busted zip, leaving you to wonder what carnage awaits your fragile belongings inside.
This nightmare scenario is every holidaymaker’s worst fear, but there are measures you can implement to reduce the likelihood of your baggage getting a battering.
An airport baggage handler has taken to Reddit to reveal insider knowledge about their profession, according to Devon Live.
The key to protecting your luggage lies entirely with the wheels, reports the Express.
How well your luggage fares may depend on the type of suitcase you have(Image: Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)
Cases featuring two wheels, or ideally four functioning ones, can be effortlessly wheeled into the aircraft’s cargo hold, keeping your precious items secure.
Bags lacking wheels frequently end up being hurled into the hold, potentially causing significant damage.
The baggage handler admitted that cases with jammed wheels represent their “absolute least favourite” items to handle.
They revealed: “We try to roll it down, but it just falls over after moving six inches.”
A baggage handler opened up about their job on Reddit(Image: Kathrin Ziegler via Getty Images)
To guarantee your belongings’ safety, they suggest purchasing a top-quality suitcase equipped with four properly working wheels, cushioned interior lining, and a robust outer casing for maximum protection. The handler confessed that fragile stickers might not offer the safeguard travellers assume, hinting that they could inadvertently encourage harsher treatment from staff.
“Some of us are tempted to treat them worse, but we never do. Having a fragile tag doesn’t really make a difference,” he clarified.
Regarding how far wheel-less luggage can be lobbed, the baggage handler revealed the furthest distance they’ve seen was “about five metres or so”.
North Korean leader says restoration of new vessel named Kang Kon has not delayed Pyongyang’s bid to boost naval power.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to build more warships and deploy them to the Pacific Ocean, as he officiated at the relaunching of a destroyer that partially sank during its inauguration last month, state media reports.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that Kim presided over the ceremony for the 5,000-tonne destroyer at the Rajin shipyard in the country’s far north. The ship has been named Kang Kon after a senior North Korean military official who was killed in action during the Korean War.
In a speech at the ceremony on Thursday, Kim was quoted as saying that repairs to the destroyer “had not delayed” North Korea’s attempts to enhance naval power.
“In two weeks’ time, the vessel was brought upright safely and set afloat, accomplishing its complete restoration today as planned,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader also announced that plans were in place “to build two more 5,000-tonne destroyers next year”, as he called for his country to strengthen its maritime military presence in the Pacific Ocean in the face of what he said were provocations by the United States and its allies.
“Soon, enemies will experience, themselves, how provocative and unpleasant it is to sit and watch the ships of an adversary run rampant on the fringes of sovereign waters,” Kim said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from the warship that had been damaged upon its first attempt to launch, as he and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the warship’s relaunching ceremony, in Rajin, North Korea, on June 12, 2025 [KCNA via Reuters]
“I’m sure that in the near future, the routes of our battleships … will be opened on the Pacific Ocean toward the outposts of aggression,” he said.
Recent satellite images had shown ongoing repairs of the Kang Kon destroyer that had partially capsized in May during a botched inaugural launch that Kim described as a “criminal act”.
The newly launched Kang Kon is North Korea’s second known destroyer and is seen as a crucial asset in Kim’s goal of modernising his country’s naval forces.
The South Korean military estimates, based on its size and scale, that the new warship is similarly equipped to the 5,000-tonne destroyer-class vessel Choe Hyon, which North Korea built with Russian assistance and launched in May.
Kim has been pushing for the modernisation of his military and calling for an aggressive response to threats from the US and South Korea, who are key allies and regularly conduct military drills together.
On Wednesday, the White House said that US President Donald Trump would welcome communications with Kim after having had friendly relations with him during his first term in office.
But the South Korea-based NK News, which monitors North Korea, reported recently that Pyongyang’s delegation at the United Nations in New York had repeatedly refused to accept a letter from Trump to Kim.
After the Palisades fire ignited, top brass at the Los Angeles Fire Department were quick to say that they were hampered by broken fire engines and a lack of mechanics to fix them.
If the roughly 40 fire engines that were in the shop had been repaired, they said, the battle against what turned out to be one of the costliest and most destructive disasters in Los Angeles history might have unfolded differently.
Then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley cited the disabled engines as a reason fire officials didn’t dispatch more personnel to fire-prone areas as the winds escalated, and why they sent home firefighters who showed up to help as the blaze raged out of control. The department, she said, should have had three times as many mechanics.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, and Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley address the media at a press conference onJan. 11.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
But many of the broken engines highlighted by LAFD officials had been out of service for many months or even years — and not necessarily for a lack of mechanics, according to a Times review of engine work orders as of Jan. 3, four days before the fire.
What’s more, the LAFD had dozens of other engines that could have been staffed and deployed in advance of the fire.
Instead, the service records point to a broader problem: the city’s longtime reliance on an aging fleet of engines.
Well over half of the LAFD’s fire engines are due to be replaced. According to an LAFD report presented to the city Fire Commission last month, 127 out of 210 fire engines — 60% — and 29 out of 60 ladder trucks — 48% — are operating beyond their recommended lifespans.
“It just hasn’t been a priority,” said Frank Líma, general secretary treasurer of the International Assn. of Fire Fighters who is also an LAFD captain, adding that frontline rigs are “getting pounded like never before” as the number of 911 calls increases.
That means officials are relying heavily on reserve engines — older vehicles that can be used in emergencies or when regular engines are in the shop. The goal is to use no more than half of those vehicles, but for the last three years, LAFD has used, on average, 80% of the trucks, engines and ambulances in reserve, according to the Fire Commission report.
“That’s indicative of a fleet that’s just getting older,” said Assistant Chief Peter Hsiao, who oversees LAFD’s supply and maintenance division, in an interview with The Times.
“As our fleet gets older, the repairs become more difficult,” Hsiao told the Fire Commission. “We’re now doing things like rebuilding suspensions, rebuilding pump transmissions, rebuilding transmissions, engine overhauls.”
The problem stems from long-term funding challenges, Hsiao said in the interview, with the department receiving varying amounts of money each year that have to be divvied up among competing equipment needs.
“If you extrapolate that over a longer period of time, then you end up in a situation where we are,” he said.
To make matters worse, Hsiao said, the price of new engines and trucks has doubled since the pandemic. Engines that cost $775,000 a few years ago are now pushing $1.5 million — and it takes three years or more to build them, he said.
The number of fire engine manufacturers has also declined.
Recently, the IAFF asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a consolidation in emergency vehicle manufacturers that it said has resulted in skyrocketing costs and “brutal” wait times. In a letter, the IAFF said that at least two dozen companies have been rolled up into just three main manufacturers.
Firefighters battle the Palisades fire on El Medio Avenue on Jan. 7 in Pacific Palisades.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
“These problems have reduced the readiness of fire departments to respond to emergencies, with dire consequences for public safety,” the letter said.
The IAFF is the parent organization of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the local union representing LAFD firefighters. IAFF has been running the local labor group since suspending its top officers last month over allegations of financial impropriety.
Hsiao said the LAFD’s fleet is well-maintained, and engines don’t often break down.
But the age and condition of the fleet could deteriorate further, even with an infusion of cash to buy new equipment, because the wait times are so long.
Mayor Karen Bass’ office has previously said that she secured $51 million last year to purchase 10 fire engines, five trucks, 20 ambulances and other equipment. The 2025-26 budget passed by the City Council last month includes nearly $68 million for 10 fire engines, four trucks, 10 ambulances and a helicopter, among other equipment, the mayor’s office said.
“The Mayor’s Office is working with new leadership at LAFD to ensure that new vehicles are purchased in a timely manner and put into service,” a spokesperson said in an email.
A majority of the Fire Department’s budget goes toward pay and benefits for its more than 3,700 employees, most of them firefighters.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department fill the council chambers to show support for former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who was at City Hall March 4 to appeal her termination to the Los Angeles City Council after Mayor Karen Bass fired her as head of the Fire Department. Under the city charter, Crowley would need the support of 10 of the 15 council members to be reinstated as chief.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Despite the city’s financial troubles, firefighters secured four years of pay raises last year through negotiations with Bass. And firefighters often make much more than their base pay, with about 30% of the LAFD’s payroll costs going to overtime, according to the city’s payroll database. Firefighters and fire captains each earned an average of $73,500 in overtime last year, on top of an average base salary of about $140,100, the data show.
Líma said that while new engines will be useful, “a one-year little infusion doesn’t help a systemic problem that’s developed over decades.” Asked whether firefighters would defer raises, he said they “shouldn’t fund the Fire Department off the backs of their salaries.”
The National Fire Protection Assn. recommends that fire engines move to reserve status after 15 years and out of the fleet altogether after 25 years.
But many larger cities need to act sooner, “because of the constant wear and tear city equipment takes,” said Marc Bashoor, a former fire chief who now trains firefighters across the country, in an email. “In my opinion, 10 years is OLD for city apparatus.”
Bashoor also noted that incorporating a variety of brands into a fleet, as the LAFD does, can increase repair times.
“When a fire department doesn’t have a standardized fleet, departments typically are unable to stock enough … parts to fit every brand,” he said in an email. “They then have to find the part or use a 3rd party, which can significantly delay repairs.”
Of the roughly 40 engines in the shop before the Palisades fire, three were built in 1999. Hsiao said engines that old are typically used for training and don’t respond to calls.
Those that are too old or damaged from collisions or fires to ever return to city streets sometimes remain in the yard so they can be stripped for parts or used for training. Some are kept as evidence in lawsuits.
According to the service records reviewed by The Times, a work order was opened in 2023 for a 2003 engine burned in a fire, with notes saying “strip for salvage.” A 2006 engine damaged in an accident was waiting for parts, according to notes associated with a work order from last April. Two 2018 engines were damaged in collisions, including one with “heavy damage” to the rear body that had to be towed in, according to notes for an order from last July. Other orders noted oil leaks or problems with head gaskets.
Almost 30 of the engines that were out of service before the fire — 70% on the list — were 15 or more years old, past what the city considers an appropriate lifespan. Only a dozen had work orders that were three months old or less. That included three newer engines — two built in 2019 and one in 2020 — whose service records showed they were waiting for “warranty” repairs.
“The LAFD does not have the funding mechanism to supply enough mechanics and enough money for the parts to repair these engines, the trucks, the ambulances,” Escobar told KTLA-TV.
The issues date back more than a decade. A 2019 report showed that LAFD’s equipment was even more outdated at the time, with 136 of 216 engines, or 63%, due for replacement, as well as 43 of 58 ladder trucks, or 74%. In a report from 2012, LAFD officials said they didn’t have enough mechanics to keep up with the workload.
“Of paramount concern is the Department’s aging and less reliable fleet, a growing backlog of deferred repairs, and increased maintenance expense,” the 2012 report said, adding that mechanics were primarily doing emergency repairs instead of preventative maintenance.
LAFD’s equipment and operations have been under heightened scrutiny since the Palisades fire erupted Jan. 7, destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people, with many saying that officials were severely unprepared.
A total of 18 firefighters are typically on duty at the two fire stations in the Palisades — Stations 23 and 69 — to respond to emergencies. Only 14 of them are routinely available to fight brush fires, The Times previously reported. The other four are assigned to ambulances at the two stations, although they might help with evacuations or rescues during fires.
The Palisades fire burns along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
LAFD officials did not pre-deploy any engines to the Palisades ahead of the fire, despite warnings about extreme weather, a Times investigation found. In preparing for the winds, the department staffed only five of more than 40 engines available to supplement the regular firefighting force.
Those working engines could have been pre-positioned in the Palisades and elsewhere, as had been done in the past during similar weather.
Less than two months after the fire, Bass dismissed Crowley, citing the chief’s pre-deployment decisions as one of the reasons.
Bass has rejected the idea that there was any connection between reductions at the department and the city’s response to the wildfires.
Meanwhile, the number of mechanics on the job hasn’t changed much in recent years, fluctuating between 64 and 74 since 2020, according to records released by the LAFD in January. As of this year, the agency had 71 mechanics.
According to its report to the Fire Commission, the LAFD doesn’t have enough mechanics to maintain and repair its fleet, based on the average number of hours the department said it takes to maintain a single vehicle.
Last year, the report said, mechanics completed 31,331 of 32,317 work requests, or 97%. So far this year, they have completed 62%, according to the report.
“With a greater number of mechanics, we can reduce the delays. However, a limited facility size, parts availability, and warranty repairs compound the issue,” LAFD said in an unsigned email.
Special correspondent Paul Pringle contributed to this report.
