Pro-West parties, nationalists win Ukraine vote
Pro-Western and nationalist parties swept Ukraine's parliamentary election on Sunday, exit polls showed, in a boost for President Petro Poroshenko's anti-corruption reforms and attempts to end a war with pro-Russian rebels.
The results pointed to overwhelming consensus on Ukraine's bid to steer from Russia's orbit on a pro-Western path eventually targeting European Union membership.
The snap election came eight months after a street revolt overthrew Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych, sparking conflict with Russia and a crisis in relations between the Kremlin and Ukraine's Western allies.
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Ottawa shooting was madman's 'last desperate act,' mother says
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, killed by police on Wednesday in the Canadian parliament after cutting down a soldier, was a madman who wanted to be killed, his mother wrote in a lengthy statement to the public.
In her letter to Postmedia News, published in Sunday's edition of the National Post, Susan Bibeau said her estranged son had wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia to study Islam and the Koran, not Syria to join militant fighters as stated by police.
But when his passport application was repeatedly denied, Zehaf-Bibeau felt trapped, his mother wrote. "He was mad and felt trapped so the only way out was death."
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Football: Chelsea denied by Manchester United as Van Persie scores stoppage time equaliser
Robin Van Persie scored a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time to earn Manchester United a deserved 1-1 draw at home to Premier League leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Chelsea were on the brink of going six points clear at the top of the table when defender Branislav Ivanovic was sent-off late on for a second bookable offence.
From the ensuing Angel di Maria free-kick, Marouane Fellaini's header was well-saved by impressive Chelsea goalkeeper Thibault Courtois but van Persie followed up to score.
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Tennis: Karaoke-singing Serena Williams resorts to karaoke-singing to help her win 'Serena-style'
Serena Williams said "Serena-style tennis" helped her turn the tables on Simona Halep after she avenged her big defeat to the Romanian by crushing her to win the WTA Finals in Singapore on Sunday. Part of that "style" included a karaoke machine that she had installed in her hotel room to keep her occupied. "I sung pretty much every night," she said.
The 33-year-old Williams attended the Mariah Carey concert on Friday with her good friend and fellow tennis superstar, Caroline Wozniacki, and the karoake machine also came into play before the show.
"Before the Mariah Carey concert I sung most of her songs just to get ready," Williams said. "I didn't want to disappoint her as I screamed the lyrics to 'Hero'."
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Taiwan stars and rapper pack the house at New York's CMJ Music Marathon
More than 1,300 musicians descended on New York for the annual CMJ Music Marathon, which provides a stage to emerging artists vying for greater recognition in the industry, and some of the biggest audiences turned out for two artistes from Taiwan - songstress A-Lin and rapper Dwagie.
While the number of music festivals has soared in recent years, 33-year-old CMJ - originally named for the College Music Journal - is credited with helping discover artistes who quickly became big including Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire and, much earlier, REM.
Numerous countries - including Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand - seized on CMJ to send emerging artists to New York. In contrast, Taiwan sent stars with already established credentials for a packed show at the Highline Ballroom on Friday headlined by A-Lin and featuring the US debut of Dwagie, a Taiwanese rapper known for his social consciousness.
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