By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I always thought I was in good (ish) shape. Without trying to show off, I run or do weights pretty much every day (I’m still overweight; I drink too much). However, last year I tore my meniscus (cartilage in my knee I found out later) which was a bit of a wake-up call. I realised I was 33 and perhaps not the ironman I thought I was (more iron age). But after I finally recovered from...

By Elsa Buchanan, International Politics reporter How a Brazilian sporting event company went from being FIFA’s darling to its backbiter They had hired men dressed as Amazon trees, indigenous canoes and R&B singer Jennifer Lopez. On the night of the 12 June, excitement must have reached fever pitch at Team Spirit, the go-to company responsible for organising the opening and closing ceremonies at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. But the elation was short-lived for the Brazilian sport marketing and events...

By Michael Boxwell Eco-friendly cars have long been a good investment for Londoners. Driving an electric vehicle means you are exempt from both congestion charges and VED (road tax) both pet hates of the average motorist. There are an abundance of charging points around the City and local government offer a grant that will give you up to 75 per cent off the cost of installing a domestic charge point. With no fuel charges and the majority of car journeys...

Brits are inherently untrustworthy people, a new study has revealed, with the average adult in the UK only trusting four people. Researchers who polled 2,000 adults found the typical Brit claims to have around 15 friends through work, university and childhood – but only really trusts four of them. The report also found the circle of trust usually comprises just two immediate family members, as well as their partner and one best friend. Amazingly, a staggering 54 per cent of...

By Darragh Roche Schoolchildren are the latest to ridicule UKIP, and the parody keeps on coming. Nigel Farage now has a virtual alter ego as violent racist Nicholas Fromage, star of  a new mobile game. 'UKik' invites players to kick foreigners out of the UK (literally) and send racial stereotypes flying over the decidedly white cliffs of Dover. The Android app was developed by sixth form pupils, but its description page would make any newspaper satirist proud: "Do foreign voices...

 Review by Stephen Mayne @finalreel For all the celebrities walking the Lido at the Venice Film Festival last year, it was (then) 84 year old documentary maker Frederick Wiseman who received the biggest applause. Heading in to collect his lifetime achievement award, he was met by a spontaneous standing ovation from usually flinty critics standing along the way. National Gallery, his latest film, demonstrates for the umpteenth time in a career stretching back half a century just why it was...

 By Andy Irwin Immigration is once again set to be a key theme in the run up to this year’s general election. Backbench Conservatives want a tougher line in order to combat UKIP and Labour is attempting to position itself bizarrely as the ‘natural’ party of resistance against mass immigration. Toxic political narratives and campaigns of misinformation have propped up a profoundly negative way of looking at immigration in this country, particularly outside of London. All the while, families are suffering...

Sport News 24/7 By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic This weekend Britain's football elite will embark on their FA cup journey after a typically jam-packed Festive schedule. While clubs across Europe manage to get some much-needed rest, the powers that be (BT Sport, BskyB) ensure professional footballers in Britain ply their trade (getting people to watch the telly) to the detriment of long-standing institutions such as the FA Cup, which is left to deal with a Premier League hangover...

By Sam Inglis  @24FPSUK  The only interesting thing about Dying of the Light is its production history. Initially the screenplay by Paul Schrader was to be directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and star Harrison Ford and Channing Tatum. Some years later, the project has come to fruition with Nicolas Cage and Anton Yelchin, which feels like more than a small step down. The delay and change in casting appears to have been only the start of behind the scenes ructions....