Venice Biennale: In every pavilion, a parallel universe

There are always new artists to discover at the Venice Biennale, but usually you find them in the group show at the Arsenale or in some godforsaken palazzo way off the beaten track. This year, the work that impressed me most was shown in the national pavilions of Great Britain, Germany and Japan – in each of which the artist created a world-within-a-world, immersing visitors in a parallel universe and sweeping them up in the intensity of the artist’s imaginative vision.

Three-way shootout: noise-cancelling headphones

PILOTS have been using noise-cancelling headsets for years but it took a while for the message to filter back to the passenger cabin. Now you see people wearing noise cancellers on every flight and the market is crowded.

Eat broccoli to live longer: study

Plants from the mustard family – including broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower – seem particularly beneficial, although the study can’t prove that eating more vegetables automatically increases longevity.

Kate Middleton recycles old coat for Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday celebrations

The Duchess of Cambridge may be one of the world’s most-watched women but she showed her thrifty side yesterday by “recycling” an old coat for the Duke of Edinburgh’ 90th birthday church service.

Africa’s most wanted al-Qaeda terror suspect shot dead at checkpoint

Somali police said at the weekend that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Africa’s most wanted al-Qaeda militant, was killed in the capital last Tuesday.

Report: Life in Beijing worse than Guangzhou, Shanghai

Life quality in China’s national capital of Beijing is worse than that in the metropolises of Guangzhou and Shanghai, according to a report on urban life in China.

Eurasian geopolitics face Astana earthquake

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Washington is at a loss, facing regional integration led by Russia and China.

China inflation may top 6 percent in June: expert

China’s inflation rate may accelerate to more than 6 percent year-on-year in June, which could bring the full-year consumer price index for 2011 to as high as 5 percent, a government researcher said in remarks reported on Sunday.

Finding a reason to live on

What follows the emptiness of a goal completed? How does one ever overcome such a loss of purpose? Tibetan director Sonthar Gyal gives an answer in The Sun Beaten Path, his first film.

Historic Jiaxing in southern China

Jiaxing, located in northeast Zhejiang Province, is a small southern city with an important geographic role in the Yangtze River delta.