The Falkland Islands are to erect a statue next year of former British premier Margaret Thatcher, who defended the territory against Argentina in 1982, Prime Minister David Cameron announced Thursday.

In his Christmas message to the 3,000 residents of the South Atlantic Ocean archipelago, Cameron revealed the bronze would be unveiled in 2015.

In a small village in western France, in makeshift shelters bared to the elements, a treasure trove of extremely rare cars has been discovered after lying forgotten for almost 50 years.

Under a pile of dusty old car magazines, one of only 37 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spiders ever made valued at up to 12 million euros ($14 million) is among some 60 classic gems discovered by the elite Artcurial auction house.

His new book has not even been released but Michel Houellebecq -- one of France's most provocative and widely translated writers -- is already attracting comment with his latest novel "Submission" in which he imagines a France in 2022 under Muslim rule.

To be published on January 7, "Soumission" is the sixth novel by the author of "The Map and the Territory", which won France's top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, in 2010.

A collection of paintings by Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill was auctioned off on Wednesday in the biggest ever sale of artwork by the statesman and accomplished painter.

The 15 paintings included views from his holidays in France as well as the interiors of his home in Chartwell near London and Blenheim Palace, where the cigar-chomping aristocrat was born.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny says Ireland's voters will be asked to legalize gay marriage, a government-backed measure that reflects rapid social change in the predominantly Catholic nation.

Kenny told lawmakers Tuesday that the government would subject its planned Marriage Equality Bill to a public referendum in May, though a precise date has not been selected. The vote is needed to amend the family section of Ireland's 77-year-old constitution.

An unprecedented Vatican investigation of U.S. women's religious orders that alarmed Roman Catholic sisters when the inquiry began years ago ended Tuesday with a report signaling a softer approach under Pope Francis.

The report praised sisters for their selfless work caring for the poor and promised to value their "feminine genius" more, while gently suggesting ways to serve the church faithfully and survive amid a steep drop in their numbers. There was no direct critique of the nuns, nor any demand for them to change — only requests that they ensure their ministries remain "in harmony with Catholic teaching."

The Church of England is to name its first ever female bishop, ending centuries of male leadership following a historic change to its rules, British media reported on Wednesday.

The Church is set to ordain a female priest as the new Bishop of Stockport, a post that has been vacant since May, newspapers The Telegraph and The Guardian reported.

A Saudi cleric has sparked uproar by appearing on television along with his wife -- whose face was uncovered in an open challenge to strict tradition in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamedi, who has said covering the face is not a must for women under Islam, sat alongside his wife Jawaher bint Ali as she spoke to Dubai-based Saudi MBC television, in a program broadcast at the weekend.

Judy Blume is returning to the grown-up section.

The author's first adult novel since 1998 is coming out in June. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Monday that the novel "In the Unlikely Event" will be set in the early 1950s in Blume's native New Jersey and will tell of a series of mysterious plane crashes.

Travelers looking for something beyond top attractions like the Space Needle in Seattle might consider adding a weird museum or two to their itineraries.

Here are some suggestions from among dozens of unusual museums across the nation, from a funeral museum to an attraction devoted to wet wipes, of all things. They're all worth a stop, but probably shouldn't be your only reason for buying a plane ticket.