Alasdair Roberts and Mairi Morrison are part of a golden generation of Scots performers bringing new light to bear on folk music.

The global pandemic of obesity that blights developed nations has driven a national obsession which has demonised fat and created a "fatist" society. For over two decades we have been subjected to a media vilification of those who dare to carry a few extra pounds and an incessant diatribe of diet propaganda purporting to possess the panacea for health.

A Bangladeshi child drowns every half hour. So why are so few taught to swim? David Bergman in Dhaka looks at a project trying to change that

Official cosmetics add to fragrance and clothing lines in Pop Art's fashion moment

A leading union today attacked the jobs "carnage" in the public sector after official figures showed a 381,000 reduction in the number of workers since the general election.

The world's largest delivery company, United Parcel Service, boosted its presence in the UK today with a deal to buy European rival TNT Express.

Anything that feels or looks forced on a woman doesn't make her look beautiful I would never buy something thinking who it might please around me. I wear things for my own pleasure and for feeling comfortable; inner beauty is usually nothing to do with trying to make an effort.

The nation's love affair with booze is centre stage in a slew of dramas that examine our problematic relationship with alcohol

The hair/make-up

Blue eyeshadow has cut a friendless figure in the make-up world for some time; after outrageous popularity in the Abigail's Party years, it slipped into disdain for many. The logic of this contempt is fuzzy. Some women will tell you it is horrible because it looks "unnatural". Of course, the same could be said – though rarely is – of flicky black eyeliner or scarlet lips. The difference, then, lies in a belief that make-up should mimic and exaggerate, even to an absurd degree, some existing facial trait or tone.

"Tone?  A little cheesy-pineapple one?": yes, it's that bag again.  This time, she comes in the slim-line, lime-green-gowned form of Jill Halfpenny in Lindsay Posner's vibrant, splendidly cast revival of Abigail's Party.

The execution of an American white supremacist convicted of murder in Nebraska has been put on hold, because of a dispute as to whether one of the Indian-produced drugs that will be used to administer death has been legally obtained.

Television coverage of Championship rugby league will break new ground when it starts this week, with unprecedented access to what makes the game tick.