'Memories are made when travelling, not when you're chained to a desk'

They once had to lie awake listening for the sound of Santa shuffling down the chimney. Now, to find out precisely when their gifts are going to arrive, children can track his progress from computers.

Why go in 2013? A world of wild wonders

A French investigating judge is examining evidence that the Rio-Paris airbus crash might have been prevented if the pilots had been briefed on a terrifying incident the previous year.

Pope Benedict XVI has celebrated an open-air Mass for a million followers, capping three days of activities in Milan, Italy, aimed at showing support for the family.

Travelling gracelessly with A A Gill

Six years ago their kind was feared extinct, but 18 newborn ducklings from the world's most endangered duck species – the Madagascar pochard – met the public for the first time yesterday.

Welcome to Hancock's half-minute (and other utter failures)

A cape created from golden silk spun by more than a million spiders is going on display this week.

"Belt-tightening" and "austerity measures" are hardly buzzwords for Hollywood and those involved in movies that cost more than $100 million to make.

From jazz waltzes and groovesome modal vamps to the devotional operatic mash-up of "Agnus Dei" and an incredible version of "The Creator Has A Masterplan" recorded in Madagascar in 1969, this survey of the neglected French composer/pianist Gilson hits you like a bolt from the blue.

New British embassies are to be opened in El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Somalia and Southern Sudan as part of a radical redrawing of Britain's international diplomatic map.