British pop icon Sting is set to perform as the guest of honour at the annual Auschwitz peace festival this month.

The Life Festival, which is supported by human rights organisation Amnesty International, will also showcase educational exhibitions on human rights issues.

Sting, real name Gordon Sumner, has previously performed in Tel Aviv and also collaborated on songs for Palestine.

Impressionist Francine Lewis was this week getting over her disappointment at not winning Britain’s Got Talent with the help of a little dusting and hoovering.

Ms Lewis, who was lavishly praised by the judges in last Saturday’s final of the ITV talent show but came second from bottom with only two per cent of the public vote, said that at least she could now get on with her housework.

Trade between Britain and Israel rose by 21.9 per cent year-on-year between the first quarter of 2012 and 2013.

And despite the vociferous boycott campaign, imports from Israel rose by 55.6 per cent in the same period.

The figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics in Israel show a £170 million overall increase in bilateral trade.

Comedian Russell Brand is set to bring his humour to a whole new audience.

The controversial funnyman is going to perform in synagogues in Israel as part of his first world tour, using jokes to “dissect religion” and the lives of religious leaders.

Israeli regulators have been focusing on one of the country’s most protected delicacies – the boureka.

The pastry – often stuffed with cheese, potato, spinach or mushroom – must now comply with strict shape and filling directions stipulated by the Israeli Rabbinate's kashrut regulators.

The so-called “bourekas revolution” was implemented on Tuesday.

The British public is disenchanted with the banking system. Many have accused bankers of being overpaid, inefficient and under-regulated. They accuse banks of relying on government rescue.

But Dr Yossi Bachar, chairman of the Israel Discount Bank (IDB), the third-largest bank in Israel, says the grumbles echoing throughout the UK and Europe, are rarely heard in Israel.

Eccentric comedian Russell Brand will embark on a new comedy tour with a Jewish twist.

The Essex-born star is set to visit an array of synagogues and mosques in the Middle East as part of a new comedy show that will “dissect religion” and the lives of religious leaders.

A 27-year-old mother and part-time charity worker has been elected as the youngest chair of a United Synagogue shul.

Michelle Bauernfreund was voted in unopposed at the 220-member Alei Tzion synagogue in Hendon, north-west London.

She has taken on Stacey Solomon, Katie Price and Cheryl Cole. Now, celebrity impressionist Francine Lewis is hoping to win over the public on the live semi-final of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent show this weekend.