Beyoncé Knowles with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter.
Beyoncé Knowles with her daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

Today in entertainment: Beyoncé and Jay-Z unveil pictures of Blue Ivy



Beyoncé and Jay-Z unveiled pictures of their baby daughter Blue Ivy Carter on Friday, opting to post the intimate shots on microblogging site Tumblr rather than via lucrative magazine deals.

"We welcome you to share in our joy. Thank you for respecting our privacy during this beautiful time in our lives," the family posted on HelloBlueIvyCarter.tumblr.com.

Five photos of the newborn show her already sporting long black hair and being cuddled by her musician parents.

* Reuters

Lady Gaga launches social network site

Lady Gaga is capitalising on her 19 million Twitter followers by launching her own social networking site, LittleMonsters.com.

According to CNN, the website is designed like Pinterest, the mobile app that lets users "pin" locations and items they like.

The site is not yet operational and is currently in invite-only beta testing, but fans are already encouraged to submit their names and email addresses. Doing so would generate this email response: "Your invitation request has been received! We're excited to share the world of LittleMonsters with you very shortly, keep an eye out for an official invite sometime soon."

Madonna: not happy about MIA

MIA has apologised to Madonna for making an obscene gesture during the Super Bowl halftime show. Madonna said in radio interviews on Friday that she had no idea MIA would extend her middle finger during the performance in front of 114 million people. The singer didn't find out about it until after the show.

"I wasn't happy about it," Madonna told Ryan Seacrest in one interview. "I understand it's kind of punk rock and everything, but to me there was such a feeling of love and good energy and positivity, it seemed negative."

Madonna forgave her and thought MIA just got caught up in the moment. She also said she remains a fan of the rapper.

* Associated Press

Top music names to perform at Grammys

The Beach Boys are set to be the main act for tomorrow's star-studded Grammys. The surviving members of the band - Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks - will reunite on stage after two decades, reported Entertainment Weekly. In a curious bit of casting, the legendary musicians will be performing with the bands Maroon 5 and Foster the People. They are the last set of musicians added to the show's line-up.

Also included on the performance roster are Adele, Foo Fighters, Chris Brown, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift.

The awards ceremony will also feature unlikely duets from Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood, Coldplay and Rihanna, Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, as well as Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt paying homage to the late Etta James.

Fox confirms delayed Baftas telecast

The film awards season continues with the Bafta Awards tonight, the ceremony acting as a bell-weather for the forthcoming Oscars on February 26.

It would be interesting to see if the judges take a more parochial route by awarding cinematic British affairs, including Gary Oldman's turn in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Meryl Streep's bravura performance in The Iron Lady. Another trend to follow is if The Artist will out-pip The Descendants in the race to best film.

Fox Movies will screen a delayed telecast of the awards on Wednesday at 5pm.

Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE

Du Football Champions

The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Specs

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Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
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THE SPECS – Honda CR-V Touring AWD

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Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km

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Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Date: Sunday, November 25

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Mission: Promote world peace

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