Mission of the month: dakar has a vibrant history marred by trouble
On the hard-core backpackers' circuit, Mali is regarded as the jewel in West Africa's crown – and an exciting place to travel. The country has a rich history which has produced some dramatic cultural attractions, and the vast majority of people you meet here are ultra-friendly, generous and helpful. Mali bustles with a diverse and fascinating mix of cultures and people. As a result you will find intriguing ceremonies and festivities everywhere you go.
Caught in a culture clash: taiwan is thriving in china's shadow
My favourite fact about Taiwan's capital, Taipei, is this: within two years no resident nor office worker will be further than 50 metres from an entrance to an underground station. It puts the estimate that Londoners are never more than 20 yards from a rat to shame.
America's epic pass offers a jam-packed ski holiday of a lifetime
It was hard not to feel a little disoriented. Powdery sheets of pure, light snow were falling from the sky, dusting both Vail's vast expanse of skiable terrain and the three-inch thick juicy steaks that sizzled on the outdoor hot plates at Belle's Camp Warming Hut. The Hut offers basic food, free barbeques and – at 11,480ft above sea level – views of the vistas of Vail's Blue Sky Basin ski area.
24-hour room service: hospes palacio del, bailío córdoba
The Spanish dramatist and poet Federico García Lorca once described the Andalucian city of Córdoba as "distant and remote". Ninety years on, while it is hardly an undiscovered treasure bereft of tourists, neither is it consumed by the crowds at the two other points on the Moorish triangle, Seville and Granada.
Larry sabato: a moment of truth for the democrats
As the most crucial day of his young presidency approaches, Barack Obama is privately confident that he will prevail on healthcare reform. He has every reason to be.
Logistical problems threaten to leave forces without a vote
Thousands OF British military personnel in Afghanistan risk losing their say in the impending general election because of massive problems in getting their postal votes back in time.
Whether it's served hot or cold, tongue is one of those great under-used cuts of meat – and I reckon that even the kids might consider eating this dish.
The third sex: the truth about gender ambiguity
the greek scholar Diodorus Siculus wrote of the mythical double-sexed Hermaphroditus: "Some say [he] is a god and ... has a body which is beautiful and delicate like that of a woman, but has the masculine quality and vigour of a man. But there are some who declare that such creatures of two sexes are monstrosities, and coming rarely into the world as they do, have the quality of presaging the future, sometimes for evil and sometimes for good."
Courage under fire: afghanistan heroes honoured
There were 160 names in the military awards list yesterday, a record, and poignant reminders of a bloody year in Afghanistan: seven of those honoured did not make it home, writes Kim Sengupta. Others bore the scars of bravery under fire.
Rupert cornwell: never have i witnessed a vote so dramatic
I have spent most of the last two decades in Washington. Never though, do I remember a Congressional vote in which interest has been as intense, the outcome as uncertain, and where there is so much at stake – in this case the management of a sector accounting for a sixth of the entire US economy, not to mention the future of a presidency.
Leading article: smell isn't everything
"You simply cannot bring together a country," as President de Gaulle famously once said, "that has over 265 kinds of cheese." Since then France has added at least 40 more types as their urge to elaborate has taken flight.
Leading article: the bright side of the banks
Alistair Darling is not used to receiving so much good news. Hot on the heels of Thursday's surprisingly resilient government borrowing figures arrives the unexpected revelation from Lloyds Banking Group, in which the taxpayer owns a 41 per cent stake, that it now hopes to turn a profit this year.
Leading article: mr obama's healthcare reform enters its endgame
No one can reasonably accuse Barack Obama of faintheartedness. Whatever the enterprise in hand, he tries, tries and tries again to implement the policies he was elected on. We saw the months and the attention he applied to remaking US policy in Afghanistan, to the point where he was reproached with over-intellectual dithering. We are now witnessing, one more time, his Herculean efforts to persuade Congress to pass a healthcare reform that will really help uninsured, or underinsured, Americans.
Son will not be prosecuted over suicide
courts The son of the conductor Sir Edward Downes will not be charged with assisting his suicide, the Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday. Keir Starmer said there was sufficient evidence to prosecute Caractacus Downes but it was not in the public interest to do so. Sir Edward died with his wife, Lady Joan Downes, at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland on 10 July last year. The Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry, and found evidence that Mr Downes booked a hotel room in Switzerland for his parents and accompanied them. Mr Starmer said these acts would be sufficient to charge him under the Suicide Act 1961. But he added that there was evidence that Mr Downes's parents reached a "voluntary, clear, settled and informed" decision to take their lives and Mr Downes was "wholly motivated by compassion".
Simon calder: what's the truth about travel? don't ask me
Truth can be elusive, especially in travel. Take the Stansted Express: its timetables have often been compared to works of fiction, but now the creaky old train link to London Liverpool Street has finally been accelerated. "Train to London, 35 minutes," brags the sign at the ticket desk. So how has National Express East Anglia cut 10 minutes from the fastest journey time?
Blunder by jury could see appeal in dog murder case
The question every jury is asked when returning a verdict is: "Is it unanimous?" Not a particularly complicated enquiry, but one which proved confusing for one Old Bailey foreman. On Thursday, the jury in the murder case of Chrisdian Johnson, the 22-year-old who used his dog to maul his victim before stabbing him to death, returned a unanimous verdict.
Blairites win one battle in Labour stronghold but lose another
Andrew grice: there may be no money to spend, but don't expect the budget to be boring
A draft of Alistair Darling's Budget speech next Wednesday has just pinged into my inbox, so I thought I would share it with you: "For a decade since 1997, Britain's economy grew strongly. But the global banking crisis is a stark reminder that growth cannot be taken for granted, and the foundations of the economy must be strong.
Pupils to be sent to china on work placements
A radical new way of teaching Mandarin could open the subject to thousands of state-school pupils. The approach involves teaching the language as part of an engineering diploma – a flagship Government course – and includes a two-week work-experience placement with engineers in China.
The blackburn resistance is futile...
They styled themselves "The Blackburn Resistance chapter" and filmed each other dressed in camouflage, "leopard crawling" through woodland in their local park in preparation for their forthcoming holy war against the evil oppressor.
Ejup ganic: war criminal or just a political pawn?
When Ejup Ganic arrived at Heathrow airport on 1 March accompanied by the ambassador of his native Bosnia, he was expecting a routine departure. It was only when two Scotland Yard detectives stepped in front of him proferring a piece of paper with the words "arrest warrant" and "conspiracy to murder" that the raven-haired engineering professor realised that extraordinary events nearly 18 years ago had returned to haunt him.
Charles crawford: bosnia will be the real loser in this messy legal battle
Once more, the London courts may find themselves making far-reaching legal rulings with momentous political implications for other countries. In 1998, the alleged crimes of Augusto Pinochet became the focus of the courts right up to the House of Lords when the former Chilean dictator was arrested in London.
Cheese-only restaurant opens in london (just don't expect cheddar)
For turophobics, it is a new and rather pongy circle of hell. In fact, even for those without the (admittedly rare) fear of cheese, the smorgasbord of nearly 100 fromages, sourced in Lyon and shipped weekly, is the stuff of nightmares.
Murder, 'orrible murder. Also rape, crucifixions, hangings, garrottings, stonings, decapitations, cannibalism, torture machines and dancing girls. The most violent and lurid show in Paris this week – and up to 27 June – is not in the cinema, or theatre, or on television or in comic books or mangas. The most violent show in Paris is in the highly respectable Musée d'Orsay and includes paintings by, amongst others, William Blake, Francisco Goya, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, René Magritte and Andy Warhol.
Riots in soweto after hip-hop star given bail
South African police fired water cannon at angry youths and children protesting at a court decision to grant bail to a hip-hop artist accused of killing four children in a drag race.
The attraction that may prove fatal to leader's chances at polls
South Australians vote today in a state election that would ordinarily be a bit of a yawn for the rest of the country. Then again, a state Premier is not normally stalked throughout the campaign by a waitress claiming she had a steamy affair with him.
If you ask me, the best response to Piers Morgan's "Top 100 Celebrities" as devised by him in the bath and as recently published in the Mail on Sunday has to be our own list of top celebrities, as devised by me not just while in the bath, but also while drying off, as I am one of those people who likes to go the extra mile. So here, in no particular order except the one I've put them in, are my top five celebrities for now and until I next take a bath, which will probably be on Tuesday:
Anthony rose: 'the self-enforcing pithiness of twitter can be a boon in the world of wine'
Having neither a blogger nor a Twitterer been, it was only last year that I succumbed to the wine Twitterverse and blogosphere. Howard Jacobson rails against the Twitterati because the participants are "too angry, often too incoherent and inarticulate". Twitter does have its fair share of social misfits and bores Tweeting ad nauseam in the "need more cake" vein. Or the ones who end up saying more than intended, like the wine PR who recently blathered she'd sent 10 times as many personal as work e-mails that day (she left soon after). But there's no bore, misfit or overbearing ego who can't be zapped at the click of an "unfollow".
Puntarelle and treviso with blood oranges and pecorino
Puntarelle is a member of the chicory family and it can be quite bitter. But it makes a great salad– just soak it in iced water and it will lose some of its bitterness.
Spring into action: gardens everywhere are bursting back into life
Kirtling Tower, near Newmarket, is all that remains of the grand house built around 1530 by Baron North, the son of a London merchant. Cleverly, he managed to stay on the right side of both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. He was the moneybags, managing the lucrative aftermath of the dissolution of the monasteries. The tower is a lovely building, red brick patterned in blue diamonds with a pretty oriel window squeezed between the two outer turrets.
Pork and fennel meatballs with agretti
Meatballs make such great sharing food. You can make these with pork or beef or even veal, and if you can't get hold of agretti (or monk's beard) – which is a succulent, salty variety of marsh grass – then just serve the meatballs as they are.
The truth about maps: how cartographers distort reality
What is a map? In effect, says Peter Barber, head of maps at the British Library, a map is a lie. "Unless you have a scale of one-to-one, every map is subjective, and always will be," he explains. "You have to select what you put on it." And selection involves rejection.
My secret life: jason donovan, actor&singer, 41
My parents were ... divorced. Divorce is always going to leave its problems and its scars, but I had love. I was brought up by my dad; it was a happy childhood.
Sweden's Robin Soderling delivered a tennis master class in the opening set before eliminating fourth seed Andy Murray 6-1 7-6 in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells ATP tournament last night.
Public vote to choose the next great briton winner!
You don't need to be a sports fan to know that the 2010 Olympic Winter Games took place in Vancouver, Canada, last month. Next up is Britain – The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games kicks off on 27 July 2012 and will see 26 Olympic sports played by 10,500 athletes in 34 venues, and 20 Paralympic sports played by 4,200 athletes in 21 venues. Inspired by this celebration of sporting excellence, British Airways, the official airline partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games, has launched its own search for home-grown excellence called Great Britons. Every UK citizen resident aged 16 and over who needs support to develop their talent in their chosen field can apply – and it’s not just future sports stars they’re after. The judges are looking for talented individuals and groups who epitomise the values associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games and who strive to be the best. Only those who can demonstrate that they are determined, competitive and courageous enough to follow their dreams will win. The winners get flights to British Airways destinations and use of its luxury Executive Club lounges, plus a winner’s pack, which includes a camcorder. One of the Great Britons judges is Denise Lewis, who won a Gold Medal in the Heptathlon at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, despite injuring her Achilles tendon shortly before and being advised by her doctor not to compete. “I got involved in Great Britons because I know what it takes to have a passion and to need someone’s support and help to realise your dream,” she says. “It’s important that an iconic brand like British Airways is doing something to draw out people’s passions and inspire them.”
Srebrenica massacre was 'fault of gay troops'
It was one of the most shameful episodes in the history of military peacekeeping. As Dutch troops stood by, Bosnian Serbs overran the "safe" United Nations enclave of Srebrenica in 1995 and massacred some 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
E jane dickson: it's time we stopped playing the 'what if?' game
What would you do in the face of evil? Would you stand up for justice or would you simply follow orders? These are the questions that gnaw at our untested souls. Born to an era of peace and plenty, the post-war generation cannot, it seems, stop playing the "what if?" game.
Michael Gove's description of "Labour" under Gordon Brown is a fantasy ("Deep red is the new black", 17 March). He accuses "Labour" of "Seventies socialist nostalgia" two days after Gordon Brown condemned a union for striking, which it is doing only because the management refuses to negotiate. Brown has repealed none of the Tories' anti-union legislation.
Dr anthony seldon: education goes beyond exams
Ed Balls, Michael Gove and David Laws, the respective spokesmen on schools for their parties, have been slugging it out in the past few days, and I do mean slugging it, from the BBC's Newsnight studios to newspaper forums. They are on the prowl trying to convince us why they should be entrusted with running the country's education system after the May general election.
Howard jacobson: the salty tale of 'andsome 'oward and the cornish fishermen
In the hold this gear must go,Rattling winches, O!For mister mate has told me so,Rattling winches, O!
The truth is out there: 20/03/2010
* Healthcare does not include sex, according to a national campaign launched by a Dutch nurses' union last week. A 24-year-old woman said a 42-year-old disabled man asked her to provide sexual services as part of his care at home. A Reuters report said the woman had witnessed other nurses offering the patient sexual gratification. When she refused, he tried to dismiss her on the grounds that she was unfit to provide care.
Jez butterworth: king of jerusalem
Tomorrow's night's Olivier Awards will almost certainly see Jerusalem by 40-year-old Jez Butterworth confirmed as the best new play of the year. The occasion, whatever the outcome – Jerusalem is nominated in six categories, including best actor for Mark Rylance and best director for Ian Rickson – marks a triumphant vindication for a talented writer with an uneven track record.
Errors&omissions: an entirely expected event happens, and you're still shocked?
"Shock defeat for Sarkozy in local elections," said a headline on Monday, reporting the results of Sunday's vote in France. Three things are wrong.
Robert fisk's world: as things get worse in pakistan, the optimism continues to soar
A few days ago, I was driving around Lahore, its population still shattered by the suicide bombers who blew themselves up next to two army trucks, killing 18 Pakistani soldiers and 48 civilians. The civilians, of course, were the usual "collateral damage" – the bad guys have even adopted our own obscene expression for unintended casualties – and they paid the price for Pakistan's continuing war against the Taliban in Swat and South Waziristan on behalf of America's "war on terror". Indeed, the conflict here is primarily between the army and the Taliban. I couldn't help noticing that the street where the bombs exploded is in the RA Barracks area of Lahore – and it took a time before I discovered that RA stands for Royal Artillery. Yes, our imperial ghosts continue to stalk this place while America's more recent empire ensures that its people suffer as they did under the Raj. Will freedom at midnight never come?
Channel 4 pulls plug on £10m ross deal
Where now for Jonathan Ross? Two months ago, after he announced his departure from the BBC in a deft PR play that allowed him to take control of the story, he was said to be weighing up interest from at least one American network while British commercial broadcasters were being invited to form a queue to make their offers for his signature.
Mary wakefield: a testosterone-filled brain cannot cope with an oscar-winning wife
Even lovely Sandra Bullock and lovelier Kate Winslet must be wondering if there's actually is a curse attached to the Best Actress Oscar. If they've caught a glimpse of a newspaper this week, they'll have seen the endless pics of those other actresses who've won the Oscar but lost their man: Julia Roberts, Hilary Swank, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, that nice Reese Witherspoon. Well, I'm sorry to point this out, especially when Jesse James (Mr Sandra Bullock) has just apologised so nicely and publicly for his affair with a tattooed lady, but I think it's worse than a curse. A curse can be reversed. If it were just a curse, the contenders for best actress could make a pilgrimage up into the Hollywood hills and beg some shaman – Shirley MacLaine perhaps – to break the spell.
Pope tries to stem tide of sex abuse allegations
Pope Benedict XVI will today make a desperate attempt to draw a line under the Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal with the publication of a long-awaited pastoral letter demanding that urgent steps be taken to bring the crisis to an end.
Obama embarks on final push for healthcare votes
The US House of Representatives is poised for a historic vote tomorrow that could bring into law the biggest changes to the country's healthcare system in half a century, and transform Barack Obama's presidency.
Lava bread, anyone? pompeii snack bar rises from the ashes after 2,000 years
THE LAST patrons who stood at the L-shaped counter of Pompeii's best-known snack bar eating the house-speciality – baked cheese smothered in honey – had to leave in a hurry owing to violent volcanic activity. But after an unforeseen break in business of 1,921 years, the former holiday hotspot of ancient Rome's in-crowd will finally re-open for business tomorrow.
World focus: ladies of the left spell trouble for sarkozy's re-election bid
A resurgent left, and the rapid growth of the Greens, look certain to condemn President Nicolas Sarkozy to two years' hard labour when French regional elections are completed this weekend. Opinion polls suggest that an alliance of the Socialists, the Greens and the harder left is likely to sweep at least 21 of the 22 regions in Metropolitan France after the second round of voting tomorrow.
Hunger striker dies in swiss police shackles
Switzerland halted all "repatriation flights" for rejected asylum seekers yesterday after a Nigerian man on hunger strike died in police shackles at Zurich airport as he was being forced towards a plane that was about to deport him.
Netanyahu heads to us as settlement row rumbles on
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to meet top US administration figures in Washington next week after sharp international condemnation yesterday of his government's most recent plans to expand a Jewish settlement.
Jail for mother who killed her six babies
A 38-year-old woman has been jailed for 15 years for killing six of her newborn babies.
California declares war on biker gang accused of 'booby trap' plot
The FBI calls it "a ruthless criminal organisation" which deals in "guns, drugs, and death". The Justice Department holds members responsible for "assault, extortion, insurance fraud, money-laundering, murder, vehicle theft, witness intimidation and weapons violations". But it turns out that one of America's most notorious biker gangs is also pretty handy at DIY.
Tablet war heats up: hp slate details leaked, windows phone 7 series slate
Spanish technology blog Clipset.net is claiming to have tested HP's iPad competitor, the HP Slate, revealing that it is set to be launched in June and will be priced at approximately €400.
Weekly design agenda: paris art and design pavilion
Paris is preparing for its yearly display of modern art and design at the Tuileries Garden. Also coming up over the next few weeks: I Saloni in Milan and SOFA in New York.
Roasted artichokes with caper and anchovy sauce
Small violet and baby artichokes from Italy and France are starting to appear around now; and they don't need any preparation, apart from just cooking. When they are really young and tender you can even slice them thinly and eat them raw.
With the first fresh whiff of spring something disturbing happens to my taste. One minute my wardrobe is more or less planned around clean basics with a dash of utility: pale denim, a blush-pink silk dress, heeled canvas or tan suede boots. A few blue skies later, however, and disturbing boho urges start appearing. Suddenly – whether through curiosity, desire or nostalgia I'm not sure – I'm being drawn to "traveller trousers", those patterned harem-ish pants that are popping up everywhere.
Bistrot bruno loubet, zetter hotel, st john’s square, 86-88 clerkenwell road, london ec1
When I tell people what I do for a living, the question they most often ask is, do the restaurants know beforehand that you're coming? To which I answer, "No, but I always book in as Fay Maschler, just to keep them on their toes." The business of anonymity among reviewers is something of a red herring. After all, if the kitchen can't cook and the front of house is inept, just knowing there's a professional diner in the house won't make them significantly raise their game.
We run through the top applications downloaded for Apple's iPhone over the last week.
'i was a victim of abuse. this is what the pope must do to stop it'
It was not being raped by a priest at the age of 14 that shattered my faith; it was the horrifying realisation that the Catholic Church had wilfully, knowingly abandoned me to it, the knowledge that they had ordained the priest who abused me despite knowing he was a paedophile and set him free to abuse with near impunity, ignoring all complaints.
Battle of ba begins as last-ditch talks collapse
Thirteen months of ill-tempered negotiations ended yesterday afternoon when talks broke down between British Airways and the cabin crew union, Unite. During the next three days, many of BA's cabin crew will strike in a bitter dispute over cost-cutting and working practices. They risk the permanent loss of travel perks, while the airline has vowed to fly two out of three passengers booked to travel. The battle of British Airways has begun.
Brown hopes for obama bounce from us summit
Leaders in trouble at home often turn to the international stage to boost their domestic profile. Their advisers are convinced that images of the Prime Minister mingling with Presidents and Premiers remind voters back in Britain of their leader's clout on the world stage.
Richard ingrams's week: no one knows how to educate our children
In a moving appeal to his fellow Tory Michael Gove, the London Mayor Boris Johnson has pleaded for the preservation of the teaching of Latin in state schools.
With knife crime high on the political agenda, a film called Shank featuring scowling teens set against a grime soundtrack could have been a case of repetition as far as British urban dramas are concerned. The past decade has seen film-makers preoccupied to the point of obsession with exposing the harsh realities of today's youth. But where Kidulthood set a controversial precedent with its coarse portrayal of violence, sex and drugs, Shank emerges as as a well-executed, urban action film with the intent of making the Government's crackdown on knife crime that bit more achievable.
Charlie crowe: wing-half and stalwart of the great newcastle side of the early 1950s
Charlie Crowe was an effervescent bundle of footballing fervour who gave his all for Newcastle United when the Magpies were a buoyant power in the land during the decade immediately following the Second World War. The highlight of the diminutive Tynesider's career was helping to lift the FA Cup in 1951, and while he had fallen out of favour temporarily when they recorded a second successive Wembley victory a year later, in 1955 he was selected for their third final in five years, only to cry off through injury. His death leaves Vic Keeble, Newcastle's centre-forward in that game, as the sole survivor of the famous trio of triumphs, which still stand as the Magpies' most recent successes in major domestic competition.
David lister: a false start for the cultural olympiad
Viewers of the BBC News at Ten on Wednesday night will have seen an odd item. Huw Edwards announced at the start that the BBC would "reveal" details of the Cultural Olympiad. Later in the bulletin the corporation's new arts editor Will Gompertz, surrounded by trapeze artists and jugglers, gave his report on the Cultural Olympiad. It contained nothing about trapeze artists or jugglers and revealed absolutely zilch. Ruth Mackenzie, the new director of the Cultural Olympiad, did tell Gompertz that the 12-week festival must be "about getting absolutely fantastic artists to do extraordinary events".
William Wolfe – always publicly known as Billy – was a key figure in the transformation of the Scottish National Party from a small and politically ramshackle movement of "monomaniacs and poets" (as one early commentator put it) to a modern democratic party capable of winning government.
Blanc hopes duo's european run hints at french revival
Laurent Blanc, the coach of Bordeaux, is cautious about proclaiming a revival of French fortunes, but one club from the nation that invented European competition is guaranteed a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time for six years. Yesterday's quarter-final draw pitted Bordeaux, the French champions, against Lyons, the country's most successful club over the last decade, with the winners to face Manchester United or Bayern Munich for a place in the last four.
The rest of us might see the Champions League draw that pits Thierry Henry against Arsenal as an engrossing story of the prodigal son's return – but Arsène Wenger said yesterday that facing his most celebrated former player meant nothing to him.
Little italy: mark hix serves up a feast of bite-sized venetian snacks
I know I wrote about tapas a few weeks ago, but what's really catching on these days is serving small plates of Italian food. These delicious cicchetti, as they are known, are served during the early evening in the bars of Venice – with a glass of wine, naturally.
My world is full of pop paraphernalia. Like many Hornbyesque men of my generation, I have resolutely refused to throw away childish things. However, I have put them away, stuffed them into cupboards, under stairs, and behind wine racks – LPs, cassettes, VHS tapes, posters, flyers, old gig tickets, laminates (Live Aid! U2 at Meadowlands! Hannah Montana at Koko!), and two huge boxes full of the 200 or so seven-inch singles that I couldn't bear to part with. Of course I haven't played them in over a decade, but they sit there, undisturbed, like old holiday snaps, never to be thrown away – "Anarchy in the UK", "Wichita Lineman", "Girl on a Pony" (by Spike Milligan, because none of you knew that), "Do the Standing Still" (by The Table, because none of you knew that either).
Minor british institutions: the marie biscuit
The Marie biscuit was named after the now- forgotten Grand Duchess Maria, or Marie, Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Czar Alexander II of Russia and wife of the second son of Queen Victoria, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. She was a sort of Diana of her day, so much of a sensation that the famous British bakery Peek Frean decided to create a new biscuit to celebrate her marriage into the British royal family in 1874.
Pizzetta with taleggio and red onion
I always use my rye sourdough starter for pizza dough, but you may well not have one knocking around, so I'm giving you a yeast pizza dough alternative. You can use whatever topping you wish but I rather like the simplicity of just one or two ingredients for this light snack.
Roar terror: if you want a good night's sleep in zambia, beware of the lions...
I am, I think it's fair to say, an urban creature. Whole months pass before I see a blade of grass. Animals? Sure, I like them: chargrilled with garlic and vegetables, roasted and slathered with gravy, chopped up and pan-fried with shallots. Not, you might think, an obvious candidate for a safari, or for nights spent deep in the African bush. But how can I explain the feeling that hit me, after a long flight to Harare, and another to Nairobi, and another to Lusaka and another, in a tiny little plane that lurched and hovered like a bird assessing and then pursuing its prey, to a tiny airstrip in the middle of a wilderness which seemed to go on for ever? It's hard. I can only say that, sitting on a 4x4, gazing out at dry, scrubby wood and brown earth and brown dust, in a light that, even though it was only afternoon, seemed strangely pink, I felt that I was falling in love.
Simon calder: accusations flew – some of them in my direction
As a reminder of dismal British travelling experiences from the 1980s, yesterday lunchtime proved perfect. While passengers at Waterloo, Clapham Junction and all stations to Woking waited glumly on the platform for a train that had vanished without trace, one railway announcement did get through: the news that signallers had joined maintenance staff in voting for a strike in a dispute over changes to working practices.
Jerome taylor: this will go down as the year the crisis shook the world
Officials in the Vatican had been hoping 2010 would be the year they finally closed the chapter on the Catholic Church's abuse scandals.
Authors? they're all just jealous, bitchy backbiters
Ever since Ben Jonson's snide suggestion that William Shakespeare could improve his style by writing less, professional disagreements have led authors to wage tempestuous feuds, and even throw the odd punch.
English attack 'bias' at edinburgh university
For generations, English students have flocked north to Edinburgh in search of a world-class education. Charles Darwin, the two-time Prime Minister Lord Palmerston and the novelist Bruce Chatwin were just three of the university's most celebrated Sassenach alumni.
Founder of joseph fashion label dies of cancer
Some of the biggest names in fashion yesterday paid tribute to the founder of the Joseph label, Joseph Ettedgui, who has died from cancer, aged 74.
A 10-year-old boy has undergone pioneering surgery in which his own body worked as a "bioreactor" to help a donated windpipe, seeded with his own stem cells, grow into a fully functioning organ.
Ellie goulding: 'being number one is sweet, though it's not quite sunk in'
A boy wearing skinny jeans is rattling the keys of a synthesiser and a lad with glasses is pounding the skins of a drum. In front of them, a 23-year-old cardigan-clad girl with her hair dyed platinum, raises her arms to the ceiling. The venue is the O2 Academy, the location, Glasgow, and Ellie Goulding is half-way through her sound check. Goulding is belting out the words to her recent single "Starry Eyed" – "Hit me with lightning," she sings, in a quivering, note-perfect voice. Watching from the sidelines are various members of Passion Pit and Little Death, two bands playing on the same bill later that day. One of them breaks into a mocking dance.
Ah, New York in spring. The never-sleeping city-dwellers have endured a heck of a winter this year – frigid temperatures, wicked winds, hefty snowfalls, and enough Seasonal Affective Disorder to wipe out half the pharmacies' supplies of Zoloft. But like the guy hitting his head with a hammer because it feels so good when he stops, New Yorkers know that the days of short skirts and al fresco happy hours are just around the corner.
Click here for the 48 Hours in... Funchal map
Travel challenge: a week in crete
Every week, we invite competing companies to give us their best deal for a specified holiday. Today: a week's holiday in Crete in early May. Prices are for two people and include seven nights' accommodation and flights from Gatwick.
VIDEO: ANCELOTTI has vowed to stick by his flops - tipping them to do the Double
zola will stay strong for week
GIANFRANCO ZOLA knows the clock is ticking as his week of reckoning approaches
SAM ALLARDYE has the secret to beating Chelsea - he is going to copy Jose Mourinho!
WILL CARLING says England need to get stuck into the French like Brian Moore did
JONNY WILKINSON admits England were RIGHT to axe him for tonight's clash
LEWIS MOODY has gone from England scapegoat to skipper in just one week
LIVERPOOL ace Daniel Agger believes Rafa Benitez's men will win the Europa League
Ancelotti says twin glory can save Chelsea's season
Jackson sibling talks about weight issues on Jay Leno
ba strike crisis talks collapse
STRIKE action by British Airways cabin crew will go ahead as crisis talks breakdown
HUSBAND torched house after split from wife and accidentally burnt himself to death
FRANCE'S first lady shows off her shapely derriere in this saucy photo up for sale
rail misery as signallers strike
RAIL workers strike at Easter causing travel chaos for millions as BA flyers suffer too
WOMAN was not informed she lived with sex offender before he raped her daughter