Pop star Madonna is urging her fans to dig deep to raise money to build a girls’ school in Malawi, the home country of her adopted son David.
The singer posted a message on her website saying the project was “very near and dear to my heart”.
She said she felt it was her mission to help “impoverished girls to reach their full potential”.
Madonna and her estranged husband, Guy Ritchie, adopted three-year-old David in 2006.
The adoption was made official in May 2008, just months before Madonna and Ritchie announced the end of their marriage after nearly eight years.
Speaking of the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls appeal, Madonna said: “There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary school.
“So after spending a lot of time there I realised that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls’ school.”
She added: “Every donation counts towards helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential.”
More than half of the population of Malawi lives below the poverty line, and extreme weather - from drought to floods - puts its food supplies under constant threat.
There is also a high rate of HIV and Aids infection among the 13.9 million-strong population.

From the looks of it, there’s not much clowning around in Britney Spears’ Circus…despite the “Come one, come all!” lettering and primary-color palette.
Here lies the cover of the pop princess’ sixth studio album, which boasts the No. 1 single “Womanizer” as its first track and will almost certainly help the reinvigorated songstress start her 27th year off right when it drops Dec. 2 amid birthday wishes and intense scrutiny.
And with song titles like “Lace and Leather” and “Kill the Lights,” it appears as if the video for “Womanizer” barely scratched the surface of the kind of sexcapades Britney’s all up into now.
Coming on the heels of the record-breaking, chart-topping single—which gave Spears the biggest digital debut of any female artist since Nielsen SoundScan started keeping track—Zomba Label Group has revealed that Circus’ title track will be the next single released to whet your appetite for the main event.
Check out the complete track list and decide whether you’re planning to partake in Brit’s big-top adventure:

1. “Womanizer”
2. “Circus”
3. “Out From Under”
4. “Kill The Lights”
5. “Shattered Glass”
6. “If U Seek Amy”
7. “Unusual You”
8. “Blur”
9. “Mmm Papi”
10. “Mannequin”
11. “Lace and Leather”
12. “My Baby”
Bonus Track:
13. “Radar”

With her new album dropping November 2, will Britney Spears’ carefully orchestrated “comeback” include her hosting Saturday Night Live next month?
The recovering pop singer, whose father, Jamie Spears, was just named permanent conservator of her estate, is rumored to be hosting SNL November 22.
Somehow we don’t see it happening. Too hard for her people to script and control. Her “opening” the VMAs was about as much wiggle room as she gets.
Either way, Britney Spears and her dance crew are really getting down to business! Here’s another photo of her dance rehearsal courtesy of her official site:
Britney Spears works it… knee-high boots and cane style.

Continuing on with her European promotional circuit,  Miley Cyrus took to the stage for a performance in Berlin, Germany on Monday night (October 27).
The “Hannah Montana” starlet showed off her passion as she took the stage at Goya Club, rocking out with her most popular tunes including the instant hit “7 Things”.
Meanwhile, it appears as if Miley’s father Billy Ray is doing his best to make sure that his daughter keeps on the path toward continued success, as he allegedly told a close friend, “I told her in no uncertain terms that her career would be over if something stupid were to happen and she would no longer be a role model for young girls, something she takes very seriously.”
“I think I made an impression on her; at least I hope so. I don’t want to forbid her from dating because that would just make her sneak around. Miley is a really good kid, but she has to watch her step as far as boys are concerned,” he added.

Enrique Iglesias had a hero at 30,000 feet.

The Spanish heartthrob was involved in a midair flight scare Monday when his private plane was forced to make an emergency landing at a London airport.
It’s unclear exactly what went wrong with the aircraft, which was en route to Europe from the U.S. to deliver Iglesias to a string of promotional appearances, but the pilot was forced to shut down one of the plane’s engines and divert the jet to London’s Luton Airport.
A spokesman for Polydor, Iglesias’ record label, told Britain’s Press Association that no injuries resulted from the airborne troubles and heaped praise on the pilots for bringing everyone to safety
“The highly skilled pilots managed to make a safe landing and nobody was hurt,” the 33-year-old’s London-based agent said.
Iglesias is expected to make the European rounds this month to promote the release of his still untitled English-language greatest hits album, due out Nov. 11.

This image is currently making its way around the Internet and alleges to be the cover art for Lindsay Lohan’s next album, Spirit in the Dark, which is reportedly scheduled to drop next month.
Whether or not it is, though, let’s assume for a moment that we are looking at the real deal. Are you digging the discolike glow that surrounds Linds à la Xanadu? And what’s up with that red “Y” bleeding into the “H”? Is that supposed to have some profound meaning, or is it just there to be artsy-fartsy?
Personally, we think she might simply be trying to channel her inner Barbarella in hopes of stealing the title role in the rumored remake away from Rose McGowan.

Pop singer Madonna is yet to reach a settlement in her divorce from film director husband Guy Ritchie, according to her publicist.
Newspaper reports had suggested the pair had reached a deal over how to share their vast fortune and custody of their children.
But in an e-mail to the Associated Press, Liz Rosenberg said a deal had not been finalised.
Guy Ritchie’s representatives declined to comment on the reports.
The couple, who announced the end of their eight-year marriage last Wednesday, is reportedly worth around £300m, with the majority earned by Madonna.
Guy Ritchie is estimated to bring £20m to the total fortune. They own homes in London, Wiltshire, Los Angeles and New York.
Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000 at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands and have two sons - seven-year-old Rocco and three-year-old David Banda, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006.
Madonna also has a daughter, 12-year-old Lourdes, from a previous relationship.

AC/DC’s old-school philosophy doesn’t stop with its bludgeoning, blues-based rock ‘n’ roll. Bucking trends since 1973, the Australian quintet remains a rare holdout in the digital marketplace by refusing to sell any of its music online.
That includes Black Ice, out today. Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club have exclusive retail rights to the CD, priced at $11.88. Ice also is available at the chain websites and at acdc.com.
Guitarist Angus Young has always opposed selling albums piecemeal, likening it to carving a painting into sections to gaze at van Gogh’s sky while missing the farmhouse.
The Wal-Mart deal, he says, “came down to availability. There aren’t as many record stores these days, and Wal-Marts are all over America. New York and Los Angeles and Chicago may be covered, but in the heartland of America, Wal-Mart may be the only gig in town.”
But if fans want to cherry-pick Black Ice for a customized playlist?
“We believe people still like to buy albums,” says singer Brian Johnson. “These songs belong together. It’s about five boys having a damn good time in a studio.”
He’s also concerned about the concentrated power of iTunes. “I get scared when one big monster rules music. Maybe I’m a bit daft and old-fashioned, but I see shades of George Orwell.”
Limiting access to a big-box chain “is kind of a despicable trend,” says Greg Kot, music critic for the Chicago Tribune. “Just in Chicago, AC/DC has sold a ton of records in mom-and-pop stores. To see them ousted out of the equation is disconcerting.”
AC/DC did give indie record stores exclusive vinyl rights to Black Ice. The move followed reports that some indies imported inexpensive Black Ice CDs from South America.
Resisting the digital age hasn’t hurt sales. The band’s catalog sold 1.3 million copies in 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan.