
Yesterday evening saw Madonna’s half-time Super Bowl concert in Indianapolis. It was 12 and a half minutes in which the pop icon gave us a lightning overview of her career. She wore a fantastic Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy haute couture outfit and performed a set that started with Vogue and finished (via Like a Prayer and Music) with her latest single, Give Me All Your Luvin. There were a whole range of guest stars, from Cee Lo Green to Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.... [Full article]
When was the last time you laughed out loud inside an art gallery? And I don’t mean sniggering at contemporary art. The Hayward Gallery’s new exhibition of 240 works by the popular artist and cartoonist David Shrigley should come with a promise: laughter guaranteed, or your money back. When I visited, I found myself chuckling almost immediately at a selection of deadpan, absurdist photographs that... [Full article]

Orang-utans, gorillas, chimpanzees and elephant are among animal artists being given their own exhibition of paintings. The event, taking place at University College London’s Grant Museum of Zoology, features works from zoos in the US and Thailand. One of the highlights is a painting... [Full article]
The American space agency looks set to pull the plug on its joint missions to Mars with the European Space Agency. Nasa has told Esa it is now highly unlikely it will be able to contribute to the endeavours, which envision an orbiting satellite and a big roving robot being sent to the Red Planet. The US has yet to... [Full article]

Dolls of cartoon favorites the Simpsons have followed the fate of Barbie and other cult characters after being banned from sale in the Islamic Republic. Their crime, apparently, was the promotion of Western culture. Iran’s “vice police” – the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults... [Full article]
German air pollution levels were higher in 2011 than in previous years, despite environmental zones banning certain cars from urban areas. Authorities attribute the rise to weather and industry. German authorities say air pollution levels were higher last year than in preceding years, despite the country’s ‘environmental zones’ that limit which cars may enter cities. The Federal Environment Agency (BUA)... [Full article]

You don’t have to go to the Alps to enjoy great skiing in Europe. Been there readers recommend resorts from Finland to Romania which are often cheaper, quieter and ideal for beginners. WINNING TIP: Saariselka, Lapland, Finland Saariselka is within the Arctic Circle and it felt like a frontier to a winter wilderness. It’s great for beginners and intermediates as the slopes are wide and quiet. We were hooked on cross-country skiing and snowshoeing – miles of starkly beautiful woods which you have almost to yourself. It was -20C... [Full article]
Heliskiing, restaurants on glaciers, fondue and chocolate treatments: here is our advice for a weekend that mixes... [Full article]
Leading Charles Dickens biographer Claire Tomalin has said children are not being taught to read with the attention... [Full article]
A legal bid to free five orcas from captivity at SeaWorld on the grounds that their “enslavement”... [Full article]
Cancer of the bowel is one of the most prevalent cancers within the Maltese community, being second only... [Full article]
Controversial US director Abel Ferrara says he is to make a film on the sex scandal that destroyed... [Full article]
Internet users have been generating content on social networks for a long time. Now, archives and libraries are... [Full article]
Cuban leader Fidel Castro is publishing two volumes of his autobiographical memoir entitled “Time Guerrilla,” the Cuban news... [Full article]
Lavishly overlooking the park at Interlaken stands the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa – towered, multi-balconied and... [Full article]
A loss of sea ice could be a cause of the bitter winds that have swept across the... [Full article]
The Guggenheim wants to build a 140 million euro (£116m) museum on the Helsinki waterfront as it expands... [Full article]