Madonna airs 1944 Warsaw Uprising clip amid concert row

WARSAW: US pop star Madonna aired a World War II-era newsreel on the 1944 anti-Nazi Warsaw Uprising at the top of her Wednesday gig in the city marking the day 68 years ago when the bloody insurrection was launched.

Thousands of fans applauded the two-and-a-half minute long film which ran as the concert got underway with nearly an hour's delay, the Polish PAP news agency reported.

Warsaw city hall requested the singer air the clip in the wake of an online petition against her concert by a group of young Catholics furious it would coincide with the Polish capital's annual World War II commemoration of the doomed uprising against the city's Nazi's occupiers.

As of Wednesday, the petition had gathered 54,000 supporters for the "Material Girl's" concert to be called off out of respect for the estimated 200,000 people who died in the 63-day uprising by Polish partisans.

Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered the deportation of the half-a-million residents who survived before his forces systematically bombarded the city leaving it as little more than a smouldering heap of rubble.

"August 1 is a day of remembrance in Poland. We pay our respects to those who survived and those who perished in the uprising. We won't allow the desecration of our hallowed symbols," reads the Internet petition launched by a group calling itself the Youth Crusade.

Warsaw ground to a halt Wednesday at 5 pm (1500 GMT) and sirens wailed as residents stood still to observe the annual minute's silence across the capital remembering the loss of life in the largest single rebellion against Nazi Germany during WWII.

The Youth Crusade also slammed the 53-year-old Queen of Pop's on-stage antics as "attacking the Catholic faith... offending Jesus Christ by burning crosses and wearing a crown of thorns" as well as promoting homosexuality and pornography.

Warsaw Archbishop Henryk Hoser urged residents to pray against what he termed Madonna's "blasphemous concert". Poland remains one of Europe's most devoutly Roman Catholic countries.

Madonna's ongoing "MDNA" world tour has been been marked with her trademark brand of controversy.

The pop diva outraged fans in France who had paid more than 250 euros (300 dollars) per ticket by quitting the stage in Paris after barely 45 minutes on July 26.

France's far right National Front has taken legal action against her for screening a video showing its leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead during an earlier concert in Paris.

The video was also shown at a Tel Aviv gig in May kicking off the tour, covering about 30 countries and wrapping up in Australia in 2013. (AFP)

French far right to sue Madonna over swastika images

PARIS: France's far right National Front will sue Madonna after she screened footage of party leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika superimposed on her face at a concert in Paris on Saturday, a party official said.

The video shown on a huge screen has already been used on other legs of the U.S. singer's tour and shows the singer's face merging with other public figures, such as Pope Benedict and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled by popular protests last year.

The face of the National Front leader appears for a few seconds, with the Fascist symbol briefly imposed on it, and is followed by the features of a man resembling Adolf Hitler.

"A private plaintiff's case for insult will be presented next week," Florian Philippot, vice-president of the National Front, told Reuters.

He called the images an "unacceptable" provocation for attempting to associate Le Pen, who won 18 percent of the vote in April's first-round presidential election in France, with fascism.

Since taking the reins of the National Front last year from her ex-paratrooper father Jean-Marie, Le Pen has tried to widen her party's appeal by expelling extremists and cracking down on racist talk and anti-Semitism.

"It is our duty to bring a complaint to defend our voters and our supporters," Philippot said.

Although Le Pen's calls for protectionism and for France's to exit the euro currency have won sympathy with some parts of the electorate, the party won only two seats in the 577-member National Assembly in last month's legislative elections, partly due to France's first-past-the-post electoral system. (Reuters)

Madonna readies for Abu Dhabi concert following ‘violent’ Tel Aviv performance

Pop sensation Madonna is set to light up a UAE stage on Sunday night as she prepares to perform in Abu Dhabi as part of her world tour.

The concert in the Emirati capital, which has sold an estimated 28,000 tickets, follows a performance on Thursday in the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv, in which Madonna called for peace in the Middle East and raised awareness towards the ongoing conflicts raging throughout the region.

But the Tel Aviv show was criticized for presenting violent imagery.

“For a show that was originally billed as a ‘Concert for Peace,’ the opening night of Madonna’s world tour in Tel Aviv featured a disproportionate amount of violence,” the Hollywood Reporter stated early Sunday, citing the weapons and religious imagery used during the first part of the concert.

Others noted Madonna’s use of “grim dance routines depicting violence and bloody gunmen among her more colorful numbers,” Dan Williams of Reuters news agency said.

In the Abu Dhabi performance, Madonna is expected to combine the old and the new, performing hits the music world has come to recognize over the past three decades.

Meanwhile, the 53-year-old pop star has taken an unusual decision during her concert in Abu Dhabi, refusing to allow air-conditioning units to be set up during her time on stage. Source:http://english.alarabiya.net

Blood, guts and guns as Madonna kicks off world tour

TEL AVIV: Dark Catholic imagery was spliced with blood, guts and guns as Madonna burst onto the stage at Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan stadium late on Thursday to kick off her hotly-anticipated MDNA world tour of some 30 countries.

The portentous tolling of a church bell opens the first set with bare-chested monks in burgundy robes swinging a giant golden censer in front of a giant red cross.

A plainchant melody turns into a Hebrew prayer as monks rise out of the floor, mixing Jewish and Catholic imagery as the Material Girl rises in silhoutte, shattering the backscreen as she launches into "Girl Gone Wild."

Guns feature heavily in the next two numbers, "Revolver" and "Gang Bang" with the Queen of Pop and her dancers repeatedly 'firing' into the audience with a variety of guns, as huge images of empty bullet casings fall to the ground.

"Bang bang, shot you dead, shot my lover in the head," she sings as brains splat onto the back screen behind her in a number which ends with her shooting down one of the dancers and flinging the gun onto the floor.

This time, it appears as a cage-like bustier over a white shirt complete with black tie and trousers: office-wear -- Madonna style.

In between sets, she addresses the audience, urging Israelis to end the conflict and seek peace.

"I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason," she said, to wild applause and cheering.

"You can't be a fan of mine and not want peace in the world," she said. "We all bleed the same colour."

"If we can all rise above our egos and our titles and the names of our countries and our religions, and treat everyone around us with dignity and respect, then we are on the road to peace.

"If there is peace here in the Middle East, there can be peace in the whole world."

Excited fans were already pouring through the gates when they opened some four hours before the 9:45 pm (1845 GMT) start, with all 32,000 tickets sold out.

Turning heads at one of the main entrances was 41-year-old Cocoa Chandelier. Six-feet tall -- "without the heels" -- and with a bouffant easily adding another foot, she said she had never missed a single of Madonna's concerts.

"It's quite appropriate that it's starting here in Israel. She has adopted this culture and religion," Chandelier told AFP, dressed in copious quantities of fluorescent plastic beads and earrings to match.

"That's why we've come all the way from Hawaii -- to support her."

Israeli fan Carmit Zindani, 32, beamed: "There is simply nothing bigger than Madonna starting her world tour here in the Holy Land. She is one of us."

"She's a real queen, this is very exciting," said Roma Ryabchikov, a 26-year-old lawyer who flew in specially from Moscow.

The eye-popping extravaganza marked the start of the 53-year-old Queen of Pop's ninth world tour and her first since her "Sticky and Sweet" outing in 2008/2009.

From Israel, she is to move on to Abu Dhabi and then to Europe and the Americas before ending in early 2013 in Australia, where she has not performed in more than 20 years.

Kicking off her latest tour in Israel was a natural choice for the Catholic-born singer, who over the past decade has become deeply involved in the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah.

Since then, she has been back to the Jewish state several times, on both public and private visits, last performing here in 2009.

Officials said her two older children -- 15-year-old Lourdes, and 12-year-old Rocco -- would also take part in the show.

"This show is epic and bigger than anything she's done before. There are many more costume changes. We're taking 700 shoes on the road," her costume designer and stylist Arianne Phillips told the WWD website.

"Madonna changes outfits seven or eight times and the dancers change 10 to 15 times, depending on the dancer," she said.

Although all 32,000 tickets were completely sold out, a day ahead of the performance, the diminutive diva briefly met with members of the Palestinian Israeli Peace NGO Forum and handed them 600 tickets.

Since she arrived in Israel late on Friday on an El Al flight from New York, Madonna has reportedly spent much of time rehearsing, praying or attending Kabbalah events.

Her partner Brahim Zaibat, a French-Algerian model in his 20s, also flew in with her, as did her four children, Lourdes, Rocco, David and Mercy, with pictures of them enjoying the beach splashed across the newspapers.

More than 4,000 fans have flown into Israel to attend the concert, with each paying from $62 (50 euros) for a ticket up to $620 for a VIP package.

The Tel Aviv show is reported to have cost $3.9 million (3.1 million euros).

As for the outfits, Madonna has signed up a list of designers including Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott, Alexander Wang, Dolce & Gabbana, Fausto Puglisi and J Brand.

She was also due to wear Prada and Miu Miu shoes, as well as footwear and lingerie from her Truth or Dare line. (AFP)

Madonna's 'MDNA' sends pop lesson to young guard

PARIS: Jostling for space with younger rivals like Lady Gaga, Madonna brings a grown woman's voice to her new album "MDNA", out on Monday, on which the 53-year-old Queen of Pop evokes the pain of her divorce.

Since her last album, the dance-flavoured "Hard Candy" in 2008, new faces have crowded into the space long ruled by the Material Girl: Rihanna for sexiness, Lana Del Rey for edgy glamour, and the ever-theatrical Lady Gaga.

So when Madonna announced she was working on a new album, the music world raised a sceptical eyebrow: put frankly, can a woman in her 50s still set the pace in a youth-driven pop world?

The first track from the album, "Give Me All Your Luvin", which Madonna performed at the Superbowl last month, failed to win over the music press.

But critics have since given a thumbs up to Madonna's 12th studio album, which leaked on the Internet this week ahead of its release.

"Madonna is still very much the Queen of Pop," wrote the US magazine Billboard. "Nearly 30 years after first hitting the Billboard charts with her debut single 'Everybody', Madonna is still showing the world how it's done."

Likewise, Britain's Daily Mirror wrote that "Madonna's new album shows the young pretenders she is still a force to be reckoned with."

Madonna teamed up with a host of carefully chosen collaborators for "MDNA", most notably M.I.A, the British hip-hop star who set tongues wagging at the Superbowl with a brief flip of the middle finger to the cameras.

Production side, she signed up the French DJ Martin Solveig and Italian duo Alle and Benny Benassi, masters of the dance floor hit.

The album - whose title is a play on the nightclub drug MDMA - is peppered with hedonistic dance tracks, but they share space with highly personal pieces in which Madonna alludes to her 2008 divorce from British director Guy Ritchie. (AFP)

Madonna Sets 2012 World Tour Dates

EUROPE


29-May Tel Aviv, Israel Ramat Gam Stadium On Sale Feb. 10
3-Jun Abu Dhabi Yas Arena On Sale Feb. 27
7-Jun Istanbul, Turkey Turk Telecom Arena On sale soon
11-Jun Zagreb, Croatia Maksimir Stadium On Sale Feb. 17
14-Jun Milan, Italy Stadio San Siro On Sale Feb. 13
16-Jun Florence, Italy Stadio Franchi On Sale Feb. 13
20-Jun Barcelona, Spain Palau Sant Jordi On Sale Feb. 16
24-Jun Coimbra, Portugal Estadio Cidade de Coimbra On Sale Feb. 11
28-Jun Berlin, Germany O2 Arena On Sale Feb. 13
2-Jul Copenhagen, Denmark Parken Stadium On Sale Feb. 13
4-Jul Gothenburg, Sweden Ullevi Stadium On Sale Feb. 17
7-Jul Amsterdam,The Netherlands Ziggo Dome On Sale Feb. 11
12-Jul Brussels, Belgium Stade Roi-Baudouin On Sale Feb. 17
14-Jul Paris, France Stade De France On Sale Feb. 14
17-Jul London, UK Hyde Park On Sale Feb. 10
21-Jul Edinburgh, UK Murrayfield Stadium On Sale Feb. 10
24-Jul Dublin, Ireland Aviva Stadium On Sale Feb. 17
29-Jul Vienna, Austria Ernst-Happel-Stadion On Sale Feb. 24
1-Aug Warsaw, Poland National Stadium On Sale Feb. 17
7-Aug Moscow, Russia Olimpiski Arena On sale soon
8-Aug St. Petersburg, Russia SKK Arena On sale soon
12-Aug Helsinki, Finland Olympic Stadium On Sale Feb. 14
15-Aug Oslo, Norway Telenor Arena On Sale Feb. 20
18-Aug Zurich, Switzerland Stadion Letzigrund On Sale Feb. 24
21-Aug Nice, France Stade Charles-Erhmann On Sale Feb. 14

NORTH AMERICA


28-Aug Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center On Sale Feb. 13
30-Aug Montreal, QC Bell Centre On Sale Feb. 18
1-Sep Quebec City, QC Plains of Abraham Site On Sale Feb. 17
4-Sep Boston, MA TD Garden On Sale Feb. 13
6-Sep New York, NY Yankee Stadium On Sale Feb. 13
10-Sep Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place On Sale Feb. 13
12-Sep Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre On Sale Feb. 13
15-Sep Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall On Sale Feb. 27
19-Sep Chicago, IL United Center On Sale Feb. 13
23-Sep Washington, D.C. Verizon Center On Sale Feb. 13
29-Sep Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena On Sale Feb. 13
2-Oct Seattle, WA Key Arena On Sale Feb. 13
6-Oct San Jose, CA HP Pavilion On Sale Feb. 13
10-Oct Los Angeles, CA Staples Center On Sale Feb. 13
13-Oct Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand On Sale Feb. 27
16-Oct Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center On Sale Feb. 27
20-Oct Dallas, TX American Airlines Center On Sale Feb. 27
24-Oct Houston, TX Toyota Center On Sale Feb. 27
27-Oct New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena On Sale Mar. 5
30-Oct Kansas City, MO Sprint Center On Sale Mar. 5
1-Nov St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center On Sale Mar. 5
3-Nov St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center On Sale Feb. 27
10-Nov Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena On Sale Mar. 5
15-Nov Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena On Sale Mar. 5
17-Nov Atlanta, GA Philips Arena On Sale Mar. 5
TBC Miami, FL To Be Confirmed On Sale Soon

Madonna makes sacrifices

MADONNA has to make sacrifices to juggle a successful career and personal life.
The singer recently directed her first movie W.E. and is planning a new album but admits making sure her children, Lourdes, 14, Rocco, 11, Mercy, six, and five-year-old David, and 24-year-old lover Brahim Zaibat don’t feel neglected is difficult.

She told the Daily Mail newspaper: “You can [have it all] but what you can’t then expect is a good night’s sleep. I have all three; love, children and work. Lucky me. I can’t imagine not having children. I can’t imagine not being in love and I can’t imagine not being creative and doing the work I do.”

Critics boo Madonna’s W.E.

VENICE: Madonna may be the "queen of pop," but her crown as movie director slipped this week after most early reviews of her second feature film "W.E." ranged from middling to poor.

The picture, which had its world premiere at the Venice film festival on Thursday, is loosely based on the life of American divorcee Wallis Simpson, whose affair with Kind Edward VIII led to his abdication.

Madonna said she had been fascinated by the story for some time, pondering why a man would make such a huge sacrifice for love.

Andrea Riseborough stars as Simpson and Abbie Cornish as a modern-day woman who becomes obsessed with the person who prompted a constitutional crisis in 1936.
Britain's Guardian newspaper did not spare Madonna's feelings with a one-out-of-five star review.

"Could it be that Madonna is in deadly earnest here?" wrote Xan Brooks.
"If so, her film is more risible than we had any right to expect; a primped and simpering folly, the turkey that dreamed it was a peacock."

Others were less damning, although the general tone was negative and one website quipped that it may be time for the 53-year-old singer to abdicate as a film maker.

Todd McCarthy of the Hollywood Reporter opined: "Madonna's second foray into directing is pleasing to the eyes and ears, but lacking anything for the soul."

And Mark Adams, chief critic for Screen Daily, wrote:
"Madonna aims high as she seeks to tackle love, celebrity, fame, abuse and disappointment, often hitting her targets -- and sometimes not -- but always offering up images that are beautifully shot and staged."

He singled out Riseborough's performance, which he described as "quite brilliant."
The Daily Telegraph gave W.E. three stars out of five, while Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail was generally complimentary.

"A lot of people will loathe it, simply because it's been made by Madonna," he wrote.
"But if they were to watch it with no knowledge of who directed, they would be pleasantly surprised. They might even find much of it enjoyable, although the odd moment may have them wondering if Madge has committed treason."

Some of Madonna's collaborators on the picture had wondered whether viewers' judgments might be colored by their opinion of the 53-year-old celebrity.

"When an iconic, global entity is involved it will be interesting to see how people react to that and whether people can judge the film without their own baggage or how they've felt about Madonna for 30 years," producer Kris Thykier told trade publication Variety.

The budget of W.E. is estimated to be around $15 million, and it hits movie theatres in North America in December. (Reuters)

Comic book on Madonna's life published

LOS ANGELES: A comic book covering the life and times of pop superstar Madonna has been published in the America. It is termed a birthday gift to lady singer.

Bluewater Productions Inc. has made her the latest edition to their 'Female Force' comic series. The 32-page book touches every aspect of her life, starting with her childhood.

The 'Female Force' series covers influential women who have shaped modern history and culture.

Hilary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Palin have also been included in the series.

Madonna explains 'subconscious' attraction to Wallis Simpson

She became one of the best known, most photographed and then most vilified American women to ever live in England – Wallis Simpson, that is, the subject of Madonna's new movie W.E., which had its world premiere on the Venice Lido.

Directed by the singer, the film is a sympathetic portrait of star-cross'd lovers Edward and Mrs Simpson.

At a press conference following the film's screening at the world's longest running film festival, now in its 68th year, Madonna told journalists "there was obviously some kind of subconscious attraction" to Simpson.

She added: "I identify with her in that it's very common when people become celebrities or public figures or icons, we are often reduced to a soundbite and you are given a few attributes and then you're not allowed to have any more than that."

Madonna said she had spent three years researching and writing the script for W.E., fascinated by the question of why the king would give up the throne for a married woman.

"I think people try to diminish her as a human being because they didn't understand the choice he was making," she said. "It was important to me, not to make her a saint by any stretch of the imagination because I don't think she was, but to portray her as a human being."

In some ways it was brave of Madonna to bring her film to such a big festival. Three years ago she premiered her previous effort Filth and Wisdom at the Berlin film festival, to the incredulity of critics. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw wrote at the time that festival goers were "in a state of clinical shock, deathly pale and mewing like maltreated kittens" after watching it.

W.E. is arguably a better film but there were signs of critics sharpening their pencils to damn it. It is certainly a slightly revisionist take on the story, with Edward coming across as a frustrated social reformer demanding better housing for the poor before supping another gin martini.

The film is told through the eyes of a modern New Yorker, Wally Winthrop, played by Abbie Cornish, who becomes fascinated by the story at a Sotheby's auction preview of the couple's effects. Madonna said she chose to tell parallel stories because she did not want to do a "straightforward biopic" and that truth was subjective.

Many people did not understand the choice the King made, she said, a choice that "changed English history, changed the history of the world in many ways."

Madonna has been married to two film directors. When questioned about this she said: "I am and was attracted to very creative people which is why I married Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie, very talented directors, and they both encouraged me as a director to do what I did. They were both very supportive."

Madonna has a patchy record when it comes to film. Aside from Filth and Widsom, she has also acted in a couple of stinkers – not least Swept Away and Body of Evidence.

But this is Madonna, obviously, and she remains undaunted. "I've always loved film, all my life," she said. "As a child I was always inspired by movies and I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to make one."

Asked where her spirituality came into the equation, Madonna replied: "Making films is really hard in the first place. You have to believe in your subject matter and be passionate about it because there will be challenges along the way. You have to be prepared like the captain of a ship, no matter what happens you have got to keep going. So your spiritual foundation has to be strong."

Stories abound of how tricky and controlling Madonna can be to work with, but the film's actors could not praise her enough . Andrea Riseborough – who memorably portrayed the young Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley – stars as Wallis Simpson, while James D'Arcy is Edward VIII.

D'Arcy said: "She had very strong vision, was a very clear communicator and a really good laugh." Natalie Dormer, who plays a young Queen Mother, said Madonna encapsulated what it is to be "a strong woman with a vision" adding that she had an incredibly nurturing spirit.

"Considering the epic requirements needed to write and direct a movie, no question was too small or too stupid," she said.

W.E. was showing out of competition at Venice. In competition, meanwhile, was Roman Polanski's Carnage, a movie version of Yasmina Reza's hit play The God of Carnage starring Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C Reilly and Christoph Waltz, which drew whoops among the applause. Source:

Madonna’s school: A barren field of failed dreams

CHINKOTA:The abandoned site looks more like a quarried mine than a pop superstar’s multi-million-dollar dream to groom girls into Malawi’s next leaders and doctors. But the bleak, levelled terraces of gravelly sand near Malawi’s capital are the only evidence of Madonna’s $15 million academy which was ditched in a cloud over misused funds and disgruntled locals.

“This has just become a football ground now,” said local chief Binson Kalenga. The bulldozers are long silent where Madonna — who adopted two children from Malawi — laid a foundation stone engraved ‘dare to dream’ in April 2010, in a village in a desperately poor African country that many could not find on a map. A year later the school had been called off.

The star is being sued by former employees, her charity is tied up in a US tax investigation and the Malawi government is investigating how the land was paid for. “Initially although I welcomed it, personally I was very sceptical about the whole thing,” said Lilongwe district commissioner Paul Kalilombe. In January 2011, she said the academy project was off in favour of helping existing schools across the country. The New York Times reported on an audit, ordered by Madonna, and found $3.8 million squandered on the discarded academy.

In Chinkhota, unhappiness began with payments to villagers for the land which Madonna’s charity Raising Malawi, paid through the government. An explanation is yet to reach villagers, who have to swallow a doubly bitter pill with their former fields ruined and not a classroom in sight. “People were surprised that there is no activity,” said Tsiyent Foroyati. As the biggest landowner around the school’s site, she was paid 39,000 kwacha ($258) in compensation.

For the school, Madonna should have worked with an existing organisation that knows “what is actually happening on the ground”, said Kalilombe who believes an orphanage is planned for the academy site.
“She had good intentions, but implementing the project on the ground brought a lot of complications.”
Chief Kalenga said he wants to ask Madonna why the project failed. “We welcomed her as a fellow Malawian,” he said. “We are heartbroken because of the rumours we still hear about this project being stopped. Madonna should come and tell us what has happened.”

Published in The Express Tribune, Pakistan

Pop star Madonna's directorial venture "W.E." will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival

The film is about the life of Britain's King Edward VIII and his American wife Wallis Simpson and a modern-day woman called Wally. It will be screened out-of-competition at the Aug 31-Sep 10 event.

"'W.E.' is about the nature of true love, and the sacrifices and compromises that are often made. I've wanted to tell this story for a very long time, and bringing it to life has been a great adventure for me," Madonna said about her film.

Films included in the competition line-up are "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and Andrea Arnold's new adaptation of classic tale "Wuthering Heights".

"Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky will chair the competition jury that will pick the winner of the Golden Lion Award.

Madonna 'to open Malawi orphan care centre'

Madonna has revealed plans to open an orphanage in Malawi.
The '4 Minutes' singer, who adopted son David and daughter Mercy from the impoverished South African country, explained her charitable goals in an interview for Ovation's new series American Revolutionaries: The Hitmakers.

Madonna explained: "My short term goals are to build an orphan care centre that will service and reach at least 1,000 children and I'm also actively involved in funding several orphanages that already exist."

It was reported in March that Madonna's charity Raising Malawi had squandered more than £2.4 million ($3.8m) over plans for a school that was never built, leading to an upheaval in the foundation's board of directors.

Madonna was later said to be considering taking legal action against the directors following the financial mismanagement.

She revealed in January 2011 that she planned to restructure Raising Malawi so that the charity could operate on a "bigger scale" in the coming years.

Madonna in Comic Book

Madonna will soon star on the pages of a comic book.The star will have her life story told in 32 pages by Bluewater Productions Inc., the latest celebrity to be part of its semi-regular line of "Female Force" comics.

"Our goal is to show the little-known events and influences that resulted in Madonna becoming the phenomenon she remains to this day, more than a quarter-century after she burst upon the scene," said Jason Schultz, Bluewater's executive vice president.

"A visual medium provides perspective that is not only accessible but more relatable to the average person without losing any of the information involved."

"Most pop stars owe everything to this woman. It's amazing all of the things that she's done in her lifetime".

Lady GaGa: Madonna rip-off claim "retarded"

Lady GaGa has branded an interviewer's suggestion that her single 'Born This Way' is a rip-off of Madonna's 1989 hit 'Express Yourself' as "retarded".

In an interview with NME, the musician briskly responded to a question about the melodic resemblance between the two songs.

"I'm a songwriter. I've written loads of music," GaGa asserted. "Why would I try to put out a song and think I'm getting one over on everybody? That's retarded."

She continued: "What a completely ridiculous thing to even question me about… If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression.

"It's the same one that's been in disco music for the last 50 years. Just because I'm the first f**king artist in 25 years to think of putting it on Top 40 radio, it doesn't mean I'm a plagiarist, it means that I'm f**king smart. Sorry!"

The star went on to profess that 'Born This Way' was divinely inspired, remarking: "I feel like, honestly, God sent me those lyrics and that melody... There's no way for something that pure to be wrong."

GaGa previously responded to criticism of the track by telling Tonight Show host Jay Leno that she'd received a supportive e-mail from Madonna and her representatives.

"I am the hugest fan personally and professionally, and the good news is I got an email from her people and her sending me love and complete support," GaGa claimed at the time.

Madonna's stalker claims to be her lover

A man who is accused of trespassing pop diva Madonna's London home claims to be her lover.

The stalker, Grzegorz Matlok has admitted to the prosecutor that he has an intimate relationship with her.

The 29-year-old appeared in court in Westminster and prosecutors claimed he had arrived in Britain from his native Poland hours before the alleged break-in.

According to prosecutor Punal Chopra, "Matlok, as he explained in his interview, has initially rung the doorbell, it has not been answered, so he climbed onto the balcony using a rope he brought with him."

"He entered bedrooms and bedclothes have been disturbed, particularly the bed belonging to the artist. He explained to police he had travelled from Poland with the specific intention of meeting the artist known as Madonna who he believes he is in an intimate relationship with."

Matlok was remanded in custody while psychiatric reports are prepared.

Lady Gaga says Madonna supports her new song 'Born This Way'

Lady Gaga has addressed allegations that she copied Madonna's classic hit 'Express Yourself', insisting the Queen of Pop has given her "complete support" over her new single 'Born This Way'.

The pop sensation sparked a huge buzz in the lead up to releasing her highly anticipated track, which she hailed as an anthem for a new generation, on Friday (11Feb11), reports the Daily Star.

During an interview with U.S. chat show host Jay Leno, Gaga failed to dismiss the criticisms, but insisted the Material Girl has no issue with her song - and so neither should anybody else.

She said, "There is really no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me. I am the hugest fan personally and professionally.

"Well, the good news is that I got an email from her people and her, sending me their love and complete support on behalf of the single and if the queen says it shall be, then it shall be," she added.

Madonna's adoptive daughter's family has no legal right to see her: Lawyer

Madonna's lawyer has said that the family of singer’s adopted daughter has no legal right to see the five-year-old.

The claim comes after James family, led by Mercy Chifundo James'' biological uncle Peter Baneti and grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa, approached the Cicil Liberties Committee (CILIC) of leading human rights campaigner Emmie Chanika to sue Madonna for breach of trust.

Chanika conceded no visitation rights were included in the adoption agreement, which saw Mercy James leave Malawi for a new life with Madonna, 52, two years ago.

She admitted there is no written agreement but insisted the family has reasonable cause to push for the visitation.

“It was like a gentleman''s agreement,” she said.

‘They have a strong recollection that Ms. Madonna (sic) assured them they would be able to see Mercy on a regular basis,” she added.

Chanika said legal action would not be necessary if Madonna allows the family to see James.

Madonna''s lawyer Alan Chinula has also denied claims that she ever-promised regular visits.

“There was no such agreement,” the Daily Mail quoted Chinula as saying.

Vanilla broke up with Madonna over her Sex

Infamous rapper-turned-reality-star Vanilla Ice has revealed that he broke up with Madonna over her explicit ‘Sex’ book.

The pair split in 1992 after an eight-month relationship, reports Digital Spy.

"I broke up with her after she printed [the explicit book, "Sex"] because I was hurt to be an unwitting part of this slutty package," the 43-year-old told News of the World.

Ice, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, appeared in the 1992 book in a sexually suggestive position with a fully nude Madonna, but admitted to the U.K. paper that he found it "disgusting and cheap."

"We were in a relationship, yet it looked like she was screwing all these other people," the New York Daily News quoted him as saying.

"I thought she was taking pictures and running round naked because she was like that. Then when the book came out I was so embarrassed and ashamed. It was a porno." Madonna, 52, "threw me in like I was a product off a shelf, and I didn't appreciate it," he said.

"That was it and I ended it," the musician recalled. "She said she didn't have sex with these men, but it looked like she was," he added.

Madonna to invest in Malaysian man's nightclub

Pop queen Madonna is talks with a Malaysian tycoon to invest in his nightclubs.
"Madonna sees it as a natural move. She has ambitious plans," said one of her associates.

Madonna reportedly met Tony Fernandes, a Malaysian entrepreneur who owns Aura Mayfair, in London to discuss buying a stake in the company, reports telegraph.co.uk.

The company also runs events after Formula One Grand Prix races around the world and Fernandes, 46, is the team principal of the Lotus Racing team.