We've all been there: you've just poured yourself a fresh mimosa and are waiting to tuck into some eggs Benedict when the table gets a little quiet. You and your squad have already covered all of the usual topics: your very real Poshmark addiction, the text you got after that second date, the statement made by the family of Hae Min Lee as Adnan Syed (and Serial's Sarah Koenig) head back to court. You've already been over tips for an upcoming job interview while you had your first cup of coffee and covered the latest craziness in the presidential race over the second. What's next? If you're looking to expand your brunch-chat horizons instead of rehashing the same tired topics over sweet potato hash, Refinery29's World News team has you covered. We know it's hard to keep up with so much going on across the globe — and we're always trying to make it easier to stay informed about the most important and interesting news out there. So each week, we'll aim to round up the must-know stories from around the globe that are sure to generate some discussion among over brunch — or wherever you find yourself over the weekend.
Read on to ensure you're armed with knowledge that's sure to make you the smartest, most interesting woman at that café, cocktail bar, or house party. Let us know in the comments which stories you're watching this week. And be sure to follow R29 News & Politics on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the news in real time.
Who Runs The Household? (Women)
Women in India are finally getting a long-deserved title boost. A court in Delhi has ruled that women can serve as the family’s Karta, a.k.a. the legal head of the household. The ruling came down last year, but was just recently publicly released, The World Post reported.
The ruling puts major decisions surrounding things like inheritances and property management in the hands of a family’s most senior female member. Unfortunately, not all women are impacted by the decision — it applies only to women Hindu Undivided Families, which, as The World Post notes, covers “an extended family living in the same household.”
Seeking Love In A Hopeless Place
Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani is lonely. But finding love isn’t easy given his current situation: He’s one of just 15 high-value detainees left at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay. Like many of us, he turned to online dating, specifically Match.com, for help finding that human connection.
But his account was shut down, he says, after Fox News inquired about the profile. Al-Afghani discusses that development and other hot topics, including his views on Caitlyn Jenner and Donald Trump, in letters to his lawyer, a public defender based in Ohio. Read the full story on the letters and al-Afghani’s detention, here.
Looking For A Date
Speaking of dating problems, some young people are finding themselves scrambling — and sometimes spending big — to find a plus-one for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations. As Mashable has reported, prospective partners for rent are advertising their services on the Chinese social network QQ for 1,000 yuan ($152) a day.
"Whenever Chinese New Year comes round, all these nosey relatives have questions about why I don't have a boyfriend. I don't feel like celebrating Chinese New Year,” a Weibo posting cited by Mashable read.
As we’ve reported before, many young people in China feel serious pressure to pair up. Unmarried ladies who reach their late 20s are even referred to by the derogatory nickname "shengnu," or "leftover women." And some families have gone as far as frequenting so-called “marriage markets” to find spouses for their adult children. The next Lunar New Year, the Year of the Monkey, starts Monday, by the way.
Meet Your New Unplugged Idol
Feeling overwhelmed and over-connected after a busy week? Meet a woman who REALLY knows how to unplug. Agafya Lykova has lived deep in the Siberian forest, with almost no contact with the outside world or modern technology, for her entire life.
The now-71-year-old has survived on the homestead solo, aside from the occasional visitor, for decades. Read her amazing story, here. You might even be inspired to give yourself a much-needed technology break this weekend.
A Gross Gift
The escalating tensions between North Korea and South Korea have taken a filthy turn. South Korea has been blasting pop music and propaganda messages toward the border ever since Pyongyang declared that it had conducted yet another nuclear test.
Now, South Korea claims that North Korea has responded by sending balloons carrying cigarette butts its way, The New York Times reports. The balloons also reportedly carry pamphlets deriding South Korean leader Park Geun-hye as a “filthy president.”
While officials in South Korea say this is the first time they’ve received cigarette butts via air, the concept of the propaganda balloons isn’t new. As The Times notes, propaganda balloons have been a mainstay of the fraught relations between the two countries since the Cold War.
A Practice That Needs To End NOW
Here’s a shockingly sad statistic: An estimated 125 million girls and women living today have suffered some sort of female genital mutilation. The horrifying practice obviously causes extreme emotional and physical scarring — and the effects are long lasting: one survivor recently shared with Refinery29 the issues she faced with conceiving and having a child.
The practice is deeply ingrained in some communities and cultures (it’s most common in certain ethnic communities in parts of Africa and the Middle East), making it really hard to bring it to an end. But women and men around the world will commit to do just that this weekend, when they take a stand as part of the United Nations’ International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
The long-term goal of the #EndFGM campaign, the U.N. says, is to completely eliminate FGM by 2030. If you’re interested in learning more about FGM — and how to help fight the practice — check out this story from the woman who helped convince an entire nation to ban FGM.
A Pause On Peace Talks
Remember hearing about the Syria peace talks happening in Geneva this week? Well, they were extremely short-lived. Negotiations aimed at ending the conflict that’s raged for nearly five years — fueling the worst refugee crisis the world has ever seen — broke down after just days.
"There's more work to be done," United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura told the BBC, in what might be one of the biggest understatements of the year.
Still, de Mistura and other observers remain hopeful that progress can be made. "It is not the end and it is not the failure of the talks," he said. "They came and they stayed. Both sides insisted on the fact that they are interested in having a political process started."
Brush up on the complex conflict — and what some of the world's most powerful leaders think should be done to solve it — here.
Pope Francis' Call For Peace
Could a higher power bring peace to another troubled part of the world? Pope Francis is urging an end to violence and corruption in Mexico ahead of his five-day visit to the country.
"The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our Mother wants,” the pontiff, who is scheduled to touch down in the country on February 12, reportedly said in a video released this week.
"Of course, I don't want to cover up any of that, on the contrary, I exhort you to fight every day against corruption, against trafficking, against war, against division, against organized crime, against human smuggling."
During his visit, the pope is expected to lead mass for an indigenous community in the poor state of Chiapas and the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Reuters reports.
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