Despite the shapewear business being valued at £3 billion after only four years, the husband-and-wife team who run Kim Kardashian’s Skims line have insisted building a lucrative celebrity-based brand isn’t easy.

People living in and around the nation’s capital experienced a rare, if startling, sound: A sonic boom

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A 27-year-old internet star has died after drinking 'Chinese firewater' on a live stream. Zhong Yuan Huang Ge was allegedly seen chugging a bottle of the local spirit known as baijiu, which alcohol content ranges between 35 to 60 per cent. Huang's Douyin account – the Chinese version of TikTok – has reportedly since been deleted. His wife confirmed the devastating news, according to The Straits Times, explaining that he had been "desperately" trying to make money to pay off debt. She said he had "to repay hundreds of thousands of yuan in debt that he owed before his marriage". Huang's death marks the second in a month as a result of drinking challenges, after a fellow influencer experienced a similar fate. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The man, identified as Wang Moufeng, was found dead on 17 May after reportedly drinking four bottles of the alcohol for his fans. "When his family found him, he was already gone," a friend identified as Zhao informed Shangyou News. "He didn’t even get a chance for emergency treatment." In a bizarre turn of events, the pair were actually friends with Huang attending Moufeng's funeral weeks prior to his own death. "I don’t know how much he had consumed before I tuned in. But in the latter part of the video, I saw him finish three bottles before starting on a fourth," Zhao told The Straits Times. He added: "The PK games ended at around 1 a.m. and by 1 p.m., (when his family found him) he was gone." 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.

Facebook Marketplace is the most complained-about online retail platform for selling counterfeit, poor-quality and potentially unsafe goods, Trading Standards has reported. The online giant, which enables third-party sellers to trade goods on the platform via the marketplace, was criticised for being slow to take action against problem sellers and for enabling misleading product descriptions, counterfeit goods and potentially harmful products to reappear on its platform after being taken down. A national survey by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) found the online giant causes its officers the most concern, as well as being unresponsive or unco-operative when contacted about problem sellers. More than half (53 per cent) of respondents representing about 50 local authorities across the UK identified Facebook as the most complained-about online marketplace – more than all of the others combined. If it wants to be seen as a proper online retailer where people can buy safe and legitimate goods, it needs to start acting like one CTSI chief executive John Herriman The CTSI’s survey, the first of its kind, also found that Trading Standards teams were unable to properly address problems with online marketplaces because of a “triple whammy” of recurring issues – unco-perative businesses, unsuitable legislation and limited resources. Just 10 per cent of Trading Standards officers said they had been able to take action against online marketplaces as a result of these three obstacles. The CTSI’s survey found that 45 per cent of officers cited a lack of co-operation from online marketplaces as a recurring problem, 63 per cent said the law as it stands is not fit for purpose and 57 per cent had received no response when attempting to contact sellers on online marketplaces. Some 59 per cent said they had been unable to locate details about where third-party sellers on online marketplaces were based and 29 per cent said they wee unable to deal with complaints about online marketplaces because of a lack of time and resources. CTSI chief executive John Herriman said: “Facebook Marketplace needs to up its game. At a time when more and more people are going online to buy things, there is a real urgency for online retailers to take their responsibilities to their customers more seriously. Currently, online marketplaces like eBay and Facebook Marketplace are operating with fewer safety regulations than traditional high street retailers, eroding fair competition and allowing the sale of unsafe goods to flood the market unabated Martyn Allen, Electrical Safety First “The fact that Facebook Marketplace is an offshoot of a social media platform rather than a service that was built as an online retailer from the ground up speaks volumes. If it wants to be seen as a proper online retailer where people can buy safe and legitimate goods, it needs to start acting like one. “Failing to take action against sellers who use their platform to mislead, rip off and potentially endanger consumers just isn’t good enough. “We are calling for all online marketplaces to take action against problem sellers, for the law to be tightened up so enforcers have more tools at their disposal to protect consumers, and for more resources that enable us to do that more effectively.” A Meta spokesman said: “We take these issues seriously and when we find listings that violate our rules, we remove them. “We also work closely with external partners and respond to valid legal requests from law enforcement and the Office for Product Safety and Standards, to prevent illegal activity on our platforms.” Phil Lewis, director general of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG), said: “Criminals rely on legal e-commerce platforms, social media, maritime freight companies, express couriers, airlines, postal services and internet hosting services to set up rogue shopping sites. “ACG is calling on government to recognise the growing international threats to our families, job-providing businesses and the economy. “Appropriate enforcement resources and a policy architecture are desperately needed to ensure the companies providing these services work alongside our enforcement authorities and businesses, to combat this intensifying threat.” Martyn Allen, technical director of the charity Electrical Safety First, said: “Sadly, the high number of complaints Trading Standards officers receive regarding online purchases comes as no surprise. Online retailers like Facebook Marketplace need to be held to account just like any other type of business, otherwise consumers and legitimate businesses lose out Yvonne Fovargue, APPG on Consumer Protection “Currently, online marketplaces like eBay and Facebook Marketplace are operating with fewer safety regulations than traditional high street retailers, eroding fair competition and allowing the sale of unsafe goods to flood the market unabated. This puts UK citizens at serious risk of injury and harm. “It’s been a year and a half since the UK Government promised publication of the Product Safety Review, which is expected to include proposals to protect British consumers when they shop online. “The time for waiting is over – the Government must prioritise publishing the Review without any further delay.” Yvonne Fovargue, chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Consumer Protection, said: “Since the pandemic and now, with the cost-of-living crisis, more people are buying products from online marketplaces. “These consumers deserve to be treated fairly and should be able to be confident that what they buy is safe and accurately described. “Online retailers like Facebook Marketplace need to be held to account just like any other type of business, otherwise consumers and legitimate businesses lose out.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live UKRI announces £50 million to develop trustworthy and secure AI ‘Last Beatles record’ was created using AI, says Paul McCartney Put ‘public good’ at heart of AI and new tech, Starmer to say

Every morning since the school year started, before teacher assistant Madelyn Cedeno shuts the front door of Peter A. Reinberg Elementary School at the start of classes, she peers out one last time.

When 20-year-old Aya Najame, an Arab Muslim, was a little girl growing up in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, she would go on cultural exchange trips to Jewish schools to learn about the Jewish way of life. Jewish children would do the same, visiting Najame's school to learn about her life.

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Gemma Collins has opened up about her future plans for motherhood, amid her battle with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and an underactive thyroid. The former The Only Way is Essex star dismissed the suggestion that she could use a surrogate to have children, declaring that she has “the best doctors going” to help her get pregnant when she is ready. Speaking to OK! Magazine at the Chelsea Flower Show recently, Collins, 42, admitted that she did not know if she sees herself ever having children in the future, despite having previously said she was “desperate” to have a baby with fiancé Rami Hawash. “Obviously I’ve got PCOS and all of that,” she said. “I could have a child at 50. If I’d had kids sooner, I would probably have been crazy, whereas now, I’m Miss Organic, I can just be at Zen with the child.” However, Collins said that going to mother and toddler groups has “never interested” her, unless they are in “Knightsbridge, darling”. “I’m happy to host my own one indoors or around the vegetable patch,” she continued. “A bit of organic pressed champagne! “It’s a lot having a kid. It’s a big commitment but it’s also very rewarding. But my life will take me where it’d going to take me. It’s taken me this far and as sure as hell, it’s not over yet.” Asked if she would consider having a child via surrogate, the TV personality said: “I don’t think I’ll need too. I’m The GC, honey. I can have the best doctors going. I’ll just ring one up and say, ‘Right, come on, get me pregnant!” Collins also gave an update on her mental health and said she was off all anti-depression medication as it “really clouded” her judgement. In her 2021 documentary Gemma Collins: Self-Harm & Me, Collins revealed that she was “always put off having children” due to the fear that her depression and self-harming would make her an “unfit mother”. However, instead of taking medication to treat the condition, she now uses a device called the Flow Neuroscience Headset. The device, created by a Swedish company, uses electric pulses to increase brain activity and is currently being trialled by the NHS. Collins said: “I do it in the morning when I’m making a cup of tea. It’s a head device programmed to an app on your phone and it stimulates the frontal area of the brain linked to depression.” The I’m A Celebrity star claimed the headset has so far helped to clear her head and bring her emotions back, which she said were “numbed” by anti-depressants. “I’ve got all my feelings again and I felt that my judgement was quite clouded. I didn’t feel like I could see dodgy people around me. People were taking me for granted but my brain is so sharp now and I’ve got no side effects,” she said. “I was desperate to get off medication – but everyone is different and they need to consult their GP. But I was like, ‘I don’t want them in my life.’ That’s it.” Read More Dani Dyer chooses matching initial names for newborn twin daughters: ‘My heart feels so full’ Succession’s Sarah Snook welcomes her first child with husband Dave Lawson Queer parents need everyone’s support, not people calling us ‘breeders’ Gemma Collins urges women to talk openly about incontinence Sarah Beeny shares health update after all-clear from breast cancer Crackdown on vape adverts targeting kids – what parents can do

Nigeria, a nation of conflicts, corruption...

Your device comes with several built-in system fonts in apps like Mail and Safari. Just

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt vowed to scrutinize how businesses pass lower costs through to UK consumers