A festival intent on ridding us of the myriad modern-day distractions that stop us from embracing the fullness of the present moment will use unconventional artistic methods to cajole audiences into “mindfulness”.

'It’s so friendly and so open that it’s like a feeling  of Woodstock'

Emergency services evacuated part of The Scotsman Hotel as teams in protective hazardous material suits investigated room following possible suicide

Alice Jones' Arts Diary

The last words of the actor Edmund Kean are alleged to have been “dying is easy, comedy is hard.” He passed away (with relative ease) in 1833, more than a century before the outbreak of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. One can only envy his good fortune and wonder what he’d make of the mayhem that unfolds every August in Scotland’s capital.

Independent columnist Terence Blacker makes his Edinburgh Festival debut this week with a show of storytelling and songs. He reveals the pain and pleasure of creating a work for the stage rather than the page

Inspire: The Olympic Journey BBC One

The row over the presence of giant cruise ships in Venice’s lagoon was reignited this weekend after claims that a huge vessel belonging to the same company as the wrecked Costa Concordia sailed dangerously close to St Mark’s Square.

Ludus Baroque performs Bach's B Minor Mass in Canongate Kirk (canongatekirk.org.uk, 8 Aug), while Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble survey Schubert's symphonies at the Usher Hall (usherhall.co.uk, 14 and 15 Aug).

The two men and a woman have been held on suspicion of murder

The Balinese Kite Festival is a seasonal religious festival, which is intended to send a message to Hindu Gods to create abundant harvests and crops.

Report finds Mahmood al-Zarooni's assistant Charlie Appleby was unaware of what was going on

Keep your cool in the heat of summer with a simple shift dress in this feminine fabric, says Naomi Attwood

Racing was given a real jolt yesterday when Ballydoyle announced the bad news that St Nicholas Abbey, one of the best horses in the world, had suffered an injury so serious that it has not only resulted in his immediate retirement from the track, it has also put his life in jeopardy.