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By Michael Hogan HAMBURG Major grain importers in the Middle East and North Africa have reacted calmly to

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

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

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

The House on Thursday passed a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill to renew funding for the agency for the next five years.

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 Minnesota woman was severely injured by a bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota, according to the National Park Service.

Achieving a bronze glow that looks natural is no easy feat. Sure, there are illuminating serums, dewy oils and highlighters which offer a glass-like shine. But many will have you looking like an Oscar award, while others are so bright, they give Ross from Friends after a spray-tan.

"Blueberry milk nails" are apparently the manicure style for summer. The so-called aesthetic has been

In a sea of canned cocktails, Gay Water wants to stand out.

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 20, 2023--

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 20, 2023--