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Taiwan’s exports tumbled for the eleventh straight month in July in a sign that global demand for chips

Global demand for Chinese goods has fallen as the cost of living and rising interest rates bite.

By Li Gu and Summer Zhen SHANGHAI/HONG KONG Investors betting on recovery in China's battered property sector are

Man Utd have unveiled their new third kit for the 2023/24 season.

What makes a holiday in Dorset? Maybe it’s fish and chips at the seaside, or hiking to the highest point on England’s south coast before rewarding yourself with a pint of local beer. Or visits to nude hill figures or an iconic limestone arch might take your fancy. This jewel of the West Country has things to do in spades – eating, drinking, active or laidback – plus plenty of on-trend hotels in which to lay your head. If Dorset’s much-extolled salted sea air and bucolic tranquillity isn’t enough to bring you utter relaxation, you’re in luck. Among the county’s hills and on its rugged coast are hotels that have getting guests to unwind baked into their being. Think warmed underground pools, blissful treatments ranging from traditional through modern, and space to just… be. There’s more to Dorset than just apple cake and Thomas Hardy. If you want a UK getaway – and to give your wellbeing a holistic boost – these are the best spa hotels in Dorset to book. The best spa hotels in Dorset are: Best for style by the sea: The Nici Best for the traditional approach: Summer Lodge Country House Hotel Best for a hidden escape: The Eastbury Best for a foodie getaway: Christchurch Harbour Hotel & Spa Best for coastal cool: The Pig on the Beach Best for style by the sea: The Nici Location: Bournemouth The hotel that Bournemouth – overstocked with dowdy, dated seaside accommodation – has been crying out for. Inside, spaces are filled with art, tropical prints and a hint of Art Deco; outside, the star is a 30m heated pool, very much a nod to Miami’s South Beach, and the town’s long stetch of sand can be reached by a short zig-zag path. If you can wrench yourself from a cabana, The Nici’s swish spa beckons, all soft lighting and gentle music (a change from the pumping soundtrack poolside). Treatments incorporate products from British “nutri-cosmeceutical” beauty brand Oskia, as well as CBD pioneers OTO. The latter’s Nici signature massage is a joy, where CBD-infused oils soothing tired muscles and dislodge long-held knots; afterwards, curl up in the relaxation space and pop open a can of OTO’s CBD seltzer, before making use of the steam room, sauna and indoor pool (or the gym, if you feel suitably energised post-treatment). Best for the traditional approach: Summer Lodge Country House Hotel Location: Evershot Summer Lodge remains Dorset’s countryside grande dame (and the county’s only five-star hotel). The quintessential rural pad, it has beautifully restored rooms with high ceilings, watercolours, and chandeliers. The four-acre estate is set in Evershot, a village little changed since it featured in local author Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles (and while there, prop up the bar or sit beside the fire at the trad-yet-cool Acorn Inn). The spa is a major highlight of Summer Lodge, packed with Elemis treatments, from deep-cleansing facials through to rejuvenating wraps, plus a hefty list of massages and manicures. Bespoke spa packages can be arranged depending on the occasion, and if you’re on a family break there are special “junior” treatments for younger guests. Wellbeing extends to a gym, sauna and heated indoor pool, and there are quiet corners of the fragrant gardens in which to unwind in private. Best for a hidden escape: The Eastbury Location: Sherborne This is perhaps the prettiest little spa in the West Country, hidden at the bottom of The Eastbury’s walled garden and reminiscent of a Hobbit hole. Only the occasional ringing of bells from the abbey reminds you that you’re in the historic market town of Sherborne. There are two treatment rooms, where massage therapy mollifies any pesky aches, as well as a hydrotherapy tub, sauna and relaxation areas which you have all to yourself (you book the space by the hour). The hotel dates from the 18th century, built as gentleman’s townhouse, so expect plenty of traditional style as well as modern touches brought in during a 2018 refurb. Since the start of 2023, they no longer have a restaurant (a shame, as chef Matthew Street’s tasting menus were impressive) but instead offers breakfast, light lunches and afternoon tea. Best for a foodie getaway: Christchurch Harbour Hotel & Spa Location: Christchurch Christchurch’s natural harbour is wonderful sweep of the Dorset coast, and the best ways to soak up its views – over to Mudeford Spit and its expensive beach huts, and beyond to the Channel – is by staying at its namesake hotel. The 1930s property has a blended palette of muted and vibrant tones inside, and right on the water is its headline restaurant, The Jetty. It’s seafood-heavy menu comes from Alex Aitkin, who held a Michelin star at Le Poussin; for a reliable, fresh taste of local waters, plump for the catch of the day. The HarSpa is found below-ground – they describe it as “subterranean” – and is lit by coloured spotlights around a heated pool and whirlpool tub. While away a day on one of the sun loungers (indoor and outdoor), an activity you can break up with Espa beauty treatments or full-body massages. The spa menu also features offerings designed specifically for men and pregnant women. Best for coastal cool: The Pig on the Beach Location: Studland The litter of Pig hotels has one of its very finest locations in east Dorset, at the edge of land overlooking the Old Harry Rocks chalk formation. There’s whimsy in the turrets and sloping roofs that make up the 16th-century manor, and – in classic Pig aesthetic – there’s a surrealism in the luxe Victoriana-meets-countryside décor. The restaurant makes use of the county’s incredible larder, only sourcing produce within a 25-mile radius, and its menu favours unfussy, well-paired flavours. Don’t forget to visit the pigs and sheep in their pens, which you can hear as you knock back cocktails (try the rum-drenched Jungle Pig 2.0) on the lawn. Beyond the garden, which guests can discover down a path, are two adorable shepherd’s huts. These comprise the spa, simple and understated. They’re very Mr McGregor’s garden (of The Tale of Peter Rabbit fame) in style, in keeping with the kitchen garden ethos of the restaurant. The six treatments, each 60 minutes and costing £115, use products from the County Sligo seaweed brand VOYA. thepighotel.com Read more on the best Dorset hotels

The brain’s appetite control centre is different in the brains of people who are overweight or live with obesity, a new study suggests. The researchers said their findings add further evidence to the relevance of brain structure to weight and food consumption. Current estimates suggest that more than 1.9 billion people worldwide are either overweight or obese. And, according to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, almost two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or living with obesity. This increases the risk of developing health issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke, cancer and poorer mental health. The last two decades have given us important insights about appetite control and how it may be altered in obesity Professor Paul Fletcher, University of Cambridge A number of factors influence how much people eat and what they eat, including genetics, hormone regulation, and the environment they live in, researchers say. However, it is not entirely clear what happens to the brain to tell us that we are hungry or full. Past studies have shown that the hypothalamus – a small region of the brain about the size of an almond – plays an important role. Dr Stephanie Brown, from the Department of Psychiatry and Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, said: “Although we know the hypothalamus is important for determining how much we eat, we actually have very little direct information about this brain region in living humans. “That’s because it is very small and hard to make out on traditional MRI brain scans.” Professor Paul Fletcher, the study’s senior author, from the Department of Psychiatry and Clare College, Cambridge, said: “The last two decades have given us important insights about appetite control and how it may be altered in obesity. “Metabolic researchers at Cambridge have played a leading role in this. “Our hope is that, by taking this new approach to analysing brain scans in large datasets, we can further extend this work into humans, ultimately relating these subtle structural brain findings to changes in appetite and eating and generating a more comprehensive understanding of obesity.” The majority of evidence for the role of the hypothalamus in appetite regulation comes from animal studies, which indicate complex interacting pathways within the hypothalamus, with different cell populations acting together to tell us when we are hungry or full. To get around this researchers used an algorithm developed using machine learning to analyse brain scans taken from 1,351 young adults across a range of BMI scores. They looked for differences in the hypothalamus when comparing individuals who are underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or living with obesity. According to the findings, the overall volume of the hypothalamus was significantly larger in the overweight and obese groups of young adults. The researchers describe a significant relationship between volume of the hypothalamus and body mass index (BMI). The differences were most apparent in those sub-regions of the hypothalamus that control appetite through the release of hormones to balance hunger and fullness. While the exact significance of the finding is unclear, one explanation is that the change relates to inflammation, the researchers suggest. Eating a high-fat diet could trigger inflammation of our appetite control centre Dr Stephanie Brown, University of Cambridge Previous animal studies have shown that a high-fat diet can cause inflammation of the hypothalamus, which in turn prompts insulin resistance and obesity. In mice, just three days of a fat-rich diet is enough to cause this inflammation. Other studies have shown that this inflammation can raise the threshold at which animals are full – in other words, they have to eat more food than usual to feel full. Dr Brown added: “If what we see in mice is the case in people, then eating a high-fat diet could trigger inflammation of our appetite control centre. “Over time, this would change our ability to tell when we’ve eaten enough and to how our body processes blood sugar, leading us to put on weight.” More research is needed to confirm whether increased volume in the hypothalamus is a result of being overweight or whether people with larger hypothalami are predisposed to eat more in the first place. It is also possible that these two factors interact with each other, causing a feedback loop, the study published in Neuroimage: Clinical, and supported by the Bernard Wolfe Health Neuroscience Fund, Wellcome and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, with additional funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK, suggests.

The won was the worst affected Asian currency amid last week’s bond market turmoil and some analysts expect

Areas with lower bird diversity appear to have a higher number of hospital admissions related to mental health conditions, research suggests. Experts analysed data from ebird – an online database of bird observations by citizen scientists – to estimate diversity across the US state of Michigan. The team then combined this with hospital admissions for anxiety and mood disorders in the state. The findings, published in the journal Geo: Geography And Environment, showed lower bird diversity to be a significant predictor of higher numbers of hospital admissions for mental health conditions, highlighting the complex relationship between the disorders and biodiversity crises. It is critical we take a holistic approach to our mental health and nature Dr Rachel Buxton The researchers said that while income and the presence of green spaces were the strongest predictors of anxiety and mood disorder-related admissions, there were also independent “significant associations” between mental health and bird diversity. Lead author Dr Rachel Buxton, assistant professor at the Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Sciences at Carleton University in Canada, said: “Often we consider nature as representing the amount of green space near homes or the distance to the nearest park, but the link between species diversity and health is underexplored. “Our study shows that if species diversity can affect mental health at the severe end of the spectrum (hospitalisations), it is possible that the decline in biodiversity across the globe may be intricately connected with our anxiety and mood on a day-to-day basis. “It is critical we take a holistic approach to our mental health and nature. “Investing in nature should not be viewed as a luxury, but a necessity, and evaluated in the context of the support for wellbeing it offers individuals and communities living in urban or nature-scarce environments. “Restoring and conserving diverse bird communities could be one avenue to improving mental health in cities and factored into urban restoration projects and public health policies.” Last year, researchers from King’s College London found that watching birds or listening to birdsong was linked to mental wellbeing, with effects lasting up to eight hours. The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) team said at that time that the links between birds and mental wellbeing were not explained by co-occurring environmental factors such as the presence of trees, plants or waterways.

Italy’s right-wing government spooked markets with an unexpected tax on banks’ windfall profits, sending the country’s leading lenders

The “orderly” pullback in US stocks last week has reduced the risk of a chaotic selloff and set

European stocks fell after Italy surprised investors with a new tax on bank profits, sending lenders’ shares plunging.

The teenage cousin of the gunman responsible for the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting was arrested Monday on suspicion of threatening to "do the same thing" to a school, according to court documents obtained by CNN.