French far-right fails to win a single region in elections
France's far-right National Front (FN) failed to win a single region in elections on Sunday (Dec 13) despite record results in the first round, as voters flocked to traditional parties to keep them out of power, according to early estimates.
The leader of the anti-immigration FN, Marine Le Pen, lost out to the right-wing opposition in the northern Nord-Pas-de-Calais Picardie region after the ruling Socialists pulled out of the race before the second round.
Her 26-year-old niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen was also defeated by the right-wing grouping in the southern region that includes the glitzy resorts of the Cote d'Azur, despite dominating the first round last week.
Children return to school in Libya's war-torn Benghazi
Schools in the war-torn Libyan city of Benghazi reopened on Sunday (Dec 13) for the first time in a year and a half, although international peace efforts have yet to quell the fighting.
"I'm so happy to be back at school," a 13-year-old girl said before going into class at Beshayer school.
Its classrooms stand just 500 metres away from the scene of some of the fiercest clashes between government forces and armed groups including jihadists over the past 18 months.
Hollywood's Eva Longoria gets engaged in the Dubai desert
Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria announced her engagement on Sunday (Dec 13) to boyfriend Jose Antonio Baston.
The 40-year-old actress announced her engagement in a photo to Twitter shortly after Baston proposed to her in Dubai, where the couple were attending the the 2015 Dubai International Film Festival.
"Ummmm so this happened....#Engaged #Dubai #Happiness," she wrote.
American Horror Story: Freak Show actress Rose Siggins dies at age 43
American Horror Story actress Rose Siggins, known as the "woman with a half a body" who lost her legs to a rare genetic disorder early in life, has died at age 43, her agent said on Sunday (Dec 13).
James Mullen said in an email the actress died in Denver on Saturday and that he had no more details to release about the circumstances of her death.
Siggins played the character Legless Suzi on American Horror Story: Freak Show, a programme on the FX network and was featured in The Woman with Half a Body, a 2005 documentary about her life.
Football: Arsenal on top as Tottenham and Liverpool drop points
Silky Arsenal eased to a comfortable 2-0 win at Aston Villa to soar to the Premier League summit and leave their hapless opponents rooted to the bottom while Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool dropped points on Sunday (Dec 13).
What manager Arsene Wenger described as a "great week" for Arsenal had the perfect conclusion when rivals Spurs stalled in pursuit, their long unbeaten run ending in a 2-1 defeat by Newcastle United with a last-gasp Ayoze Perez goal.
Liverpool's challenge under Juergen Klopp also stuttered before they escaped with a 2-2 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion thanks to a deflected stoppage time Divock Origi effort and the players went to celebrate in front of the Anfield Kop.
