Ada Sofia Nicolette Herras is a Filipino celebrity child, best known as the daughter of Filipino actor Mark Herras. Mark…
Read More: Mark Herras’ daughter Ada Sofia Nicolette Herras Biography: Age, Parents, Siblings, Net Worth
TODAY marks three years since the start of Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine — a war that has seen more than 1.3million killed or injured.
Brave Volodymyr Zelensky’s offer yesterday to step down as Ukrainian president — in answer to Donald Trump’s bogus charge that he is a dictator — shows his commitment to peace.
But he is not the problem.
Blood-soaked Putin has already sacrificed more than 860,000 of his own soldiers and is no more bothered by current losses of 1,500 a day than he is by the deaths of 12,000 Ukrainian civilians ruthlessly targeted by his forces.
He is supported in this slaughter by the terrorists of Tehran and North Korean madman Kim Jong-un.
Meanwhile, China watches on.
The world is a very dangerous place right now and Europe cannot keep relying on America to fight its battles.
Even pacifists like Stephen Fry recognise that increasing spending on defence is not about ideology. It’s about self-preservation.
Sir Keir Starmer hinted that Britain will raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 and offer 30,000 peace-keeping troops for Ukraine.
But that is meaningless when we don’t have 30,000 troops to spare, when 2.5 per cent is not enough and 2030 is too far away.
What are we waiting for?
THE number of deaths from weight loss and diabetes jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro shows they are not always the silver bullet that slimmers crave.
Used properly, these so-called “fat jabs” can be transformative for those who are overweight or have diabetes.
Wrongly taken, they can be dangerous.
Endorsed by celebrities, there is huge demand for the jabs but — as our investigation reveals — they are far too easy to get hold of.
Drug dealers have even started adding them to their menu of illicit offerings.
No one doubts the benefits of these drugs, but it is vital they are prescribed by a doctor or reputable medic or more tragedies will follow.
IT’S no wonder real crimes go unpunished when police are busy knocking on pensioners’ doors to warn them not to criticise Labour councillors on social media.
It appears we now live in a country where burglars and shoplifters are given a free pass while innocent people are hounded for thought crimes or just daring to say that the authorities are getting things wrong.
Police should file these ludicrous complaints of non-crime hate incidents in one place — the waste-paper basket.
SOME 82 Brits have died after using weight-loss and diabetes jabs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro.
The official figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reveal the toll up to the end of January.
The disclosure comes as a Sun reporter paid £280 for four doses of Mounjaro without any checks.
Up to the end of January, 22 died after taking meds for weight loss, and another 60 for Type 2 diabetes, according to the official Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
MHRA chief safety officer Dr Alison Cave said professionals must always advise on whether they are necessary.
She added: “The decision to start, continue or stop treatments should be made jointly by patients and their doctor, based on full consideration of benefits and risks.”
An estimated half a million Brits take the drugs, with the total expected to double in a year.
Mounjaro, known as the King Kong of jabs, is to be rolled out on the NHS.
Sun GP Dr Zoe Williams said they can save the lives of people with “life-threatening levels of obesity”.
The NHS website warns: “Never take an anti-obesity medicine if it has not been prescribed to you. These types of medicines may not be safe for you and can cause serious side effects.”
The figures show 18 deaths were linked to Mounjaro – the brand name for tirzepatide.
Another 29 came after taking Ozempic, Rybelsus or Wegovy (also known as semaglutide).
Meanwhile, 35 Brits died after taking Saxenda and Victoza (liraglutide).
The drugs make users feel full, causing the body to burn fat.
It was revealed last year that Scots nurse Susan McGowan, 58, died after taking low-dose injections of Mounjaro over a fortnight.
A probe also found that nearly 400 people have gone to hospital after taking weight-loss drugs.
Side effects include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, leaving sufferers with severe dehydration.
But doctors say they have also seen “life-threatening complications”, including seizures, bowel obstruction and inflammation of the pancreas.
Model Lottie Moss, 27, says she had a seizure after taking high doses of Ozempic.
The makers of Mounjaro, Lilly UK, said patient safety is its “top priority”.
It added: “Regulatory agencies conduct extensive independent assessments of the benefits and risks of every new medicine and Lilly is committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety data.
“If anyone is experiencing side effects when taking any Lilly medicine, they should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.”
WEIGHT-loss drugs can be bought on the black market with no checks or consultation, The Sun has found.
We obtained self-injectable Mounjaro, dubbed the King Kong of fat jabs, for £280 after responding to a post by celeb hairdresser Ozzy Tudo.
He openly advertises the drug to 72,000 Instagram followers and promised our reporter she would shed at least one stone in two weeks, saying: “It’s magic.”
He advised a 5mg dose “is enough”.
Without being asked her height or BMI, our reporter met an assistant in North London who handed over the pen.
It holds four jabs, to be taken once a week for a month.
Tudo then sent a video on how to inject the drug.
We took the pens to Harley Street doctor Sophie Shotter who said: “This is a controlled, prescription-only drug. It is a UK-approved pen so has not been smuggled in.
“How has it got on the black market? If you came to me asking to go on a weight-loss drug, I’d say ‘No.’ It’s terrifying you’ve been able to buy it, and that you’ve been placed on a higher dose.”
Confronted about the illegal sale, filmed on hidden cameras, Tudo said: “I don’t even have Mounjaro here.”
Pressed on how he prescribed the drug — linked to dozens of deaths — without qualifications, he said: “Deaths? No. Just a few overdoses.”
Eating disorder charity Beat said: “We’re incredibly concerned that it’s so easy to access these injections. They cause severe side effects such as vomiting and nausea.
“And while it may bring down BMI in isolation, it will do nothing to address the root cause of an eating disorder.”
Mounjaro maker Lilly said: “These black-market products are often made in unsanitary conditions.
“They may contain wrong ingredients, no active ingredient at all, or other harmful ingredients. No one should ever risk putting them into their bodies.”
Weight loss jabs are a hot media topic at the moment, with hundreds of success stories from people who shed the pounds.
In March 2023, the NHS announced it would make Wegovy, a drug made by Danish firm Novo Nordisk, available on prescription to thousands of obese Brits.
It contains the drug semaglutide, which is said to have helped reality star Kim Kardashian and Twitter boss Elon Musk lose weight.
Wegovy, which helped a third of people reduce their weight by 20 per cent in trials, is now available from pharmacies like Boots.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less and therefore lose weight.
To do this, semaglutide mimics the role of a natural hormone, called GLP-1.
GLP-1 is part of the signalling pathway that tells your body you have eaten, and prepares it to use the energy that comes from your food.
London GP and founder of wellgoodwellbeing.com, Dr Zoe Watson, said: “Your body naturally produces an appetite regulating hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1.
“These jabs work by regulating your appetite, which can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Aren’t they diabetes drugs?
Semaglutide, the active drug in Wegovy, was originally sold under the name Ozempic specifically for diabetes patients.
But people started noticing it helped suppress their appetites, stopping them eating as much and helping them shed the pounds.
Novo Nordisk then developed Wegovy, which contains the same chemical but at higher doses specifically to aid weight loss.
Wegovy is not prescribed for diabetes patients.
Can I get them?
Wegovy is offered on prescription to obese adults given specialist weight loss treatment.
The NHS currently also offers a similar drug called Saxenda, or liraglutide.
Both are only available throught specialist weight management services, which means you have to be referred to clinics led by experts.
GPs can’t prescribe them on their own, Dr Watson said.
The jabs have to be taken as part of an overall programme to help with lifestyle changes and psychological support to get the best effect from the medication prescribed.
Are there any risks?
Like all medicines, the jabs do not come without side effects.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
What other options are there?
Mounjaro (brand name for tirzepatide) also came onto the market in early 2024.
Like Wegovy, tirzepatide stems from a drug originally designed to treat diabetes.
The weekly injection helped overweight people drop more than two stone in 18 months.
It is available with to order with a prescription online from pharmacies including Superdrug and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor.
It works in a similar way to Wegovy and Saxenda, but is more effective.
Dr Mitra Dutt from LloydsPharmacy says: “Based on clinical trials, 96 per cent of people were able to lose more than five per cent of their body fat using Mounjaro. In similar trials, 84 per cent of people lost more than five per cent of their body weight on Wegovy, and 60 per cent on Saxenda.
“Mounjaro works by activating two hormonal receptors (GIP and GLP-1), which enhance insulin production, improve insulin sensitivity, and work to decrease food intake.”
COPS must end “pathetic” witch hunts on free speech and focus on real crime, MPs insisted yesterday.
It came after a nan was quizzed for criticising local Labour councillors online.
Two cops called on Helen Jones, 54, at her home in Stockport, Gtr Manchester, after she said councillors in an offensive WhatsApp group should quit.
The nan had posted on Facebook 48 hours earlier about the scandal, which saw Health Minister Andrew Gwynne and Labour MP Oliver Ryan suspended.
Free Speech Union’s Toby Young compared it to “a scene out of East Germany’s Stasi playbook”.
Reform MP James McMurdock said: “Decision-making processes by senior officers need a reality check. It’s time to focus on solving real crime.”
Reform’s Rupert Lowe added: “It’s pathetic. We’re being failed by woke police leadership.
“Crackdown on real criminals, not opinionated grandmothers.”
Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Non-hate crime guidance must be re-written to ensure only if there’s a real risk of imminent criminality should police get involved.”
Ms Jones, who was informed she had not committed a crime, told the Mail on Sunday:
“It was actually quite scary. It made me think I best just keep quiet for the rest of my life.”
Greater Manchester Police said: “We are under a duty to inform her she is the subject of a complaint of harassment.
“No further action is necessary.”
A NEWLY-engaged couple have found the “ideal” starter house on Virgin Media’s Help Me Buy A Home
Buyers agent Liz O’Kane was back for a second season of Help Me Buy a Home tonight to unpack the unfiltered realities Irish people face in the search for a home.
Liz lends her experience to overwhelmed and frustrated house-hunters and her mission is to get people out of endless viewings and drive them toward that elusive goal of home-ownership.
First up tonight Liz tried to help Westport couple, Avril and Barry.
Avril’s dad passed away seven years ago, which led her mum to give up the running of the family-owned pub.
Two years ago she met her now partner Barry and ever since they have been living above the pub.
The pair wanted to find a three-bedroom bungalow in Westport so they could have their own space to raise a family.
For their search the happy couple had a budget of €290,000, made up of €80,000 in savings and were mortgage approved for €220,000.
They held back €10,000 for stamp duty and possible taxes.
Liz explained that the couple’s hope of a turn-key condition home wasn’t entirely possible within their price-range.
It was more likely they could get a starter home and eventually “sell-up” to their forever home
For their first home, Liz brought the couple just 6km from the town centre to a cute three-bedroom cottage with an asking price of €280,000.
However, they didn’t appear to be totally sold on the home, so Liz brought them to another property in an attempt to meet more of the couple’s criteria.
Next, they were brought to a charming three-bedroom home a bit further afield with an asking price under the couple’s budget of €240,000.
Despite the home coming in well under their budget, the happy couple didn’t seem taken by the property, as Liz exclaimed: “I can’t tell what’s going on with you at all behind those glasses. I can’t tell at all.”
Taking off his shades, Barry admitted: “I’m keeping to myself.”
While Avril said the price and location were “food for thought”.
Soon the reason behind the couple’s hesitations became clear as they contacted Liz telling her about a property they had fallen in love with.
The home, just outside Westport, had been previously viewed by the couple, but they were outbid at the time.
In a twist of fate, that home’s sale fell through putting it back on the market for €260,000.
Liz was adamant the couple should put in the full offer, but Barry wanted to go in lower with €250,000 – leaving Liz less than impressed.
Catching up with the couple at the end of the show, Liz was overjoyed to discover Barry’s prudent nature had paid off as they secured the three-bedroom bungalow for €257,000.
In the time since filming, they also got engaged, with Barry getting down on one knee.
Elsewhere on the show, viewers met Dublin-based couple JP and Tom, who were selling their mortgage-free apartment in the capital, in place of a country lifestyle.
Together, the couple hoped to sell their apartment for over €800,000 in order to find enough acreage to start an alpaca and chicken farm.
For their first property, Liz brought them to a 6-acre four-bedroom home in Meath, just a forty-minute drive from the capital.
The pair liked aspects of the home, including its tennis court and size, but ultimately felt that it would be too costly for them to renovate.
Next, she brought them to a 20-year-old four-bedroom bungalow in Avoca, County Wicklow.
The breathtaking property was situated on ten acres of land in the Wicklow wilderness – the unfinished home didn’t spark much imagination with the couple.
And it didn’t seem much more attractive when Liz revealed its €780,000 price tag.
Finally, Liz brought them to a 3,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home just outside Mullingar in County Westmeath.
The couple were blown away by the “ideal” 9 acre home, complete with a forrest and perfect space for JP’s yoga studio.
However they were almost instantly put off by the €950,000 asking price.
In the end, the couple settled on the “magical” home in Avoca that needed some work, but it had everything the couple wanted.
