Category : Focus

Millions more middle-aged are obese, study suggests

Using a lower cut-off for obesity would give a truer picture of who is affected, researchers say.

Indian spices face heat over global safety concerns

India is a global powerhouse of spices. But recent quality concerns have cast a cloud on its position.

'Corrupt ship inspectors demand our food and cargo'

Seafarers tell the BBC port officials routinely demand bribes before allowing ships through.

Taylor Swift Eras Tour to boost UK spending by £1bn, says report

More than a million fans are set to spend an average of £848 each, new data suggests.

Three ways to win the rental property race

From being first in the queue to being more flexible, here are some tips on how to get ahead in the rental race.

The illicit trade with China fuelling Mozambique's insurgency

Illegal shipments of rosewood continue and some of the profit ends up with jihadists, research says.

Co-op Live finally hosts first gig after spate of cancellations

£450m Manchester venue opens doors with Elbow concert two weeks after debris falling from ceiling forced shutdownIt has been billed by its American owners as the greatest music venue ever built: a state-of-the art arena to put Manchester back on the...

Better Off Dead? review – Liz Carr’s blistering film may well change your mind about assisted dying

As the UK edges towards legalising the right to die for those with terminal illness, the wickedly funny actor’s subversive documentary exposes the huge risks it poses for disabled people‘I’m really clear on my views and they’ll remain the same. I kno...

The Gathering review – elite gymnastics thriller is like somersaulting off a cliff

Urban acrobatics! Teen angst! A potential murder! It’s all happening in this story about two athletes from both sides of the tracks. Sure, it’s a little confused – but it will make you feel aliveWe open in Liverpool, with a group of teenagers having...

Five of the best Alice Munro short stories

The greatest examples of the late writer’s uncanny ability to capture the many complexities of life range from stories of sex to lonelinessA life in quotes: Alice MunroAlice Munro, Nobel winner and titan of the short story, dies aged 92It is almost i...

More than 100 acts quit Great Escape music festival in solidarity with Palestine

Brighton event’s opening showcase scrapped after performers join Massive Attack and Brian Eno in boycott of sponsor BarclaysMore than 100 acts have pulled out of the Great Escape music festival in Brighton as part of a Palestine-related campaign agai...

The Second Act review – Quentin Dupieux’s likable meta comedy of actors’ private lives

Cannes film festivalWith help from an A-list cast, Dupieux brings his customary mischief to an amiable tale of imposture and role playCannes can always do worse than choose a comedy for its opening gala, and the festival is off to an amiable, enterta...

Ian Penman’s ‘glittering’ book about Fassbinder wins Ondaatje prize

The veteran music journalist’s personal study of the German film-maker wins £10,000 honour for the year’s best literary evocation of placeBritish writer and music critic Ian Penman has won the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje prize for his stud...

Rust armorer appeals conviction in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin

Defense attorney files appeal as Hannah Gutierrez-Reed serves 18-month sentence at New Mexico penitentiary for womenA movie weapons armorer is appealing her conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Ba...

Brazilian butt lift firms banned after woman in hospital

The woman required emergency hospital treatment following the procedure in a hotel function room.