Life Travel

Seduced by Barcelona

BARCELONA: "Please, no more Catalan," my wife, Barbara, protested. "You're giving me a migraine." It was our first morning in Barcelona, and things weren't off to a great start. As soon as we landed I realized my faux Castilian wasn't going to get me far in this fiercely proud, Catalan-speaking city.

Saint Nicholas' home isn't the North Pole

DEMRE/KEMER, Turkey: The sarcophagus is empty. In 1087, unscrupulous merchants took the bones of the holy man who once lay here to Bari in Italy. But despite that loss, the number of people who make the pilgrimage to find happiness, health and wealth at the basilica dedicated to Saint Nicholas never slackens.

Breathe easily alongside volcanoes

PURWOKERTO, Indonesia: As Indonesians breathe a sigh of relief after a barrage of warnings of eruptions from the country's most active volcanoes, Baturraden resort at the foot of Mount Slamet in central Java remains calm and shines as an eco-tourism jewel.

Life Health

Dairy scary? On the contrary

FRANKFURT: At last it is time for your coffee break, and you decide on an extra large cup of cafe au lait for a change. There are ominous rumblings in your gut soon afterwards. Your abdomen bloats. You have gas.

Moderation is the key, even for exercise

NEW YORK: A brisk 30-minute walk six days a week is enough to trim waistlines and cut the risk of metabolic syndrome - an increasingly common condition that is linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, a new study indicates.

How best to face the cold light of a brand new day

When it's still pitch dark in the morning and the rain is lapping on the bedroom window, it's twice as difficult for some people to get out of bed during the cold months of the year.

This weight loss scheme's a Wii bit rich

PARIS: Parents are fooling themselves if they hope Nintendo's Wii active games console, which uses a wireless handheld controller to replicate athletic movement, will stop their youngster becoming obese, a study says.

IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Life Culture

Ms Wang reveals Japan to itself

Yang Yi, a female Chinese writer, has won the Japanese Literature Award for New Writers with her novel Ms Wang. She is the first non-Japanese writer to win this award.