The American talk show host Oprah Winfrey was the biggest crowd puller at the annual Jaipur Literary Festival, which brings together international writers, critics and more than 50,000 literary fans to the northwestern Indian town.
On Sunday, she delivered a politically inclined address at the festival, saying she's confident that the US President Barack Obama will win another four-year term in this year's election. She praised Obama's handling of the presidency and said his next four years would be even more successful.
Winfrey backed Obama during the 2008 elections in her first-ever political endorsement.
She has been in India for a week filming for her new programme Oprah's Next Chapter.
* Associated Press
Louvre's Leonardo restoration ignites row
Delicate work to restore a Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece, to be unveiled in March, has turned into a headache for the Louvre, after experts accused the Paris museum of putting the precious oil work at risk.
Restoration carried out in the past century left the 1503 painting The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne disfigured by stains, on the Virgin's dress for instance, due to the ageing of a substance in the varnish. In 2010, the museum decided to restore the work once more, but the project was interrupted last year as critics warned that cleaning could damage the masterpiece.
Two experts have since resigned in protest from the advisory committee set up to oversee the work. Both are art-world heavyweights: Segolene Bergeon Langle is a French national heritage curator, while Jean-Pierre Cuzin is the former chief curator of the Louvre's painting department.
At stake was the type of solvent used to dissolve the painting's varnish, which critics fear could remove the actual paint.
* Agence France-Presse
Heidi Klum and Seal confirm separation
After divorce rumours swirled over the weekend, the TV host Heidi Klum and singer Seal confirmed in a statement on Sunday night that they are indeed parting ways.
"While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate," the joint statement read. "We continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart."
Klum and Seal asked for privacy to protect the well-being of their children. They also thanked family and fans for their support.
Neil Young hates modern music
The legendary folk rock musician Neil Young told MTV News on Sunday that he is not a fan of the music being produced these days.
"I'm finding that I have a little bit of trouble with the quality of the sound of music today," he said. "I don't like it. It just makes me angry. Not the quality of the music, but we're in the 21st century and we have the worst sound that we've ever had. Where are our geniuses? What happened?"
YouTube launches film festival
The video-sharing website YouTube launched on Thursday an online film festival in partnership with the Venice Film Festival and the director Ridley Scott's production company.
The Your Film Festival, sponsored by Emirates Airline, is a global competition for aspiring filmmakers, who can submit 15-minute story-driven videos from February 2 to March 31. Scott will select his 50 favourites, then YouTube users will vote to choose 10 finalists, which will be screened at the Venice Film Festival in August. The winner gets a US$500,000 (Dh1.8m) grant to work in Scott's company.
Visit youtube.com/yourfilmfestival.
Jim Carrey's daughter auditions for Idol
On Sunday's episode of American Idol, featuring auditions in San Diego, one of the thousands of hopefuls was Jane Carrey, none other than the actor Jim Carrey's daughter.
The 24-year-old, a waitress, mother and lead singer for the Southern California jazz quartet Jane Carrey Band, sang the Bonnie Raitt rock ballad Something to Talk About. She impressed the judges and made it to Hollywood.
The Idol judge Jennifer Lopez even said she remembers meeting Jane as a kid.
"I kind of grew up in a family of carnies," writes Jane on her band's Facebook page. "I definitely think I inherited that trait."
UK acts complete Sandance line-up
The line-up of artists for the fourth and forthcoming edition of the music festival Sandance is now complete, with the final addition of the 1990s British house act M People and the hip-hop turntablist Duncan Beiny, better known as DJ Yoda.
Sandance takes place on March 9 at Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai. Visit www.sandance.ae.
Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE