It’s common to see photos of celebrities aged forty and up happily pregnant or pushing a pram. But according to most doctors, a woman’s chances of conceiving drop dramatically after age thirty-eight or so. Of course there are exceptions. Modern medical fertility treatments allowed a sixty-six-year-old Romanian woman to give birth to twins in 2005. But unless we’re willing and able to procure such treatments, which can be financially, emotionally, and physically draining, those who want to wait until their forties to have kids will have to take their chances.

Another protest on the streets of Paris: this one about the difficulties of obtaining a driving permit. The steep price of a permit is currently about 1200 € in France, and candidates must face long waits of several months or more just to take the test. Increasing the number of driving inspectors would help both to lessen these delays and lower costs.

At the Paris Salon du Livre this year, in response to the visit of the Israeli president, six Arab nations decided to exclude themselves from the event. Some attendees were puzzled by the boycott, especially considering that many Israeli writers are known to advocate the creation of a Palestinian state. With all that pressure, no wonder the roof collapsed!

Buddhist monks and other Tibetans protest against Chinese rule while their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, continues his exile in India. The topic of Tibet was a sore point for China as it prepared to host the Summer Olympics.

Chantal Sébire, whose face was disfigured by a large and incurable tumor that caused her excruciating pain and made her blind, had one request: to end her own life. But the French government refused to allow her to obtain a prescription from her doctor for a lethal amount of drugs. One week after this report, Ms. Sébire was found dead in her home.

Choosing a name for a new baby is just one of the tricky tasks parents face. Should you go with a classic, like Jeanne; a trendy name, like Mathéo; or an old-school throwback, like Alphonse? It can be tough to decide, but if all else fails, just use your alphabet blocks!

In part one of "My Father Opposes My Passion," we learn the source of the conflict between a teenage girl, Clara, and her father. She dreams of becoming of dancer, but he is totally opposed to her plans. A chance encounter with a homeless man is about to change her life.

Clara takes her father's refusal to allow her to become a dancer very badly. After he tears up her dance course enrollment form, she storms off and swears never to come back. Desperate, she thinks she has found a way to put an end to her woes.

Clara is desperate and considering the unthinkable. She is about to throw herself into the canal, but someone intervenes. It's the homeless man she met earlier, who cares enough to listen to her and bring a smile back to her face.

Clara is a step closer to her dream of becoming a dancer. Roger, the homeless man she met earlier, knows a dance teacher who is willing to give her free lessons. But first she will need to bring a signed parental authorization...

Clara's father finally catches up with her after she disappears for the afternoon. He sees her talking to the homeless man he saw earlier and is concerned for her safety. She goes home with her father and things quiet down a little, for now....

Clara has been taking dance classes for three months now. She's become friends with the other students, who help her prepare for her baccalaureate exam. Roger, her homeless friend, has also been a great help, and he's more educated than she realized!

Clara and Roger's persistence paid off. She passed her entrance examination to the sports-studies program. But first, she had to confront her father with the truth.

In the wake of a deadly terrorist attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt on New Year’s Day, many Coptic Christians are worried about celebrating Christmas (observed on January 6) as openly as they would like. Here is how a gorgeous Coptic church in Marseille is handling the situation.

Twenty-one thousand letters to Santa Claus were sent this year in Marseille. As if he didn't have enough on his plate, Saint Nick will send a handwritten response to each one, as long as their senders are on his "nice" list (and indicated their return address)!