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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: that office romance all of your friends think is a bad idea, the text one of you got after a second date, H&M's swoon-worthy new bridal collection. 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'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 meaty discussion over brunch — or wherever you find yourself this weekend.
Read on to ensure you're 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.
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Why Millions Of People Are Flooding The Streets Of Brazil
With less than five months until the Rio Olympics kick off, political unrest is rocking the streets of Brazil.
More than 1 million Brazilians gathered to protest the country's leadership last weekend. Many of the protesters want President Dilma Rousseff out of office. (For her part, Rousseff has stated that she has no intention of resigning, BBC News reports.)
The reason for the outrage? The country is dealing with a widespread government corruption scandal. While Rousseff hasn't been implicated directly, former President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva was detained and questioned by Brazilian police, The Guardian reports. During investigations into the scandal, the former head of South America's largest construction company was sentenced to 19 years in prison for bribery and money laundering. The company's contractors have been accused of using company money to pay politicians from Rousseff's Workers' party, but the party has denied the claims.
As BBC News explains, some Brazilians believe Rousseff was involved in the scandal because she was in charge of the company's board when many of the alleged indiscretions took place. She has denied having any knowledge of the crimes. The protests could further the likelihood of an impeachment, as some political scientists believe Rousseff may be losing support from Brazil's Congress.
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Indiana Jones Belongs In The…Theater — Again!
Great news for lovers of Dr. Jones.
Disney announced Tuesday that Steven Spielberg will direct Harrison Ford in the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will be released on July 19, 2019.
The Hollywood Reporter also notes that the fifth installment will be the first one in which George Lucas won't participate in its production. Details about the movie's storyline haven't been revealed. There's also no word on whether Shia LaBeouf, who co-starred with Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, will be in the new film. But the news does put to rest the rumor that Bradley Cooper might replace Ford as Indy.
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Saint Teresa's Big Day
You probably already heard that Mother Teresa is set to become a saint this year. The late nun's path to sainthood got even clearer this week, when Pope Francis announced that the official declaration will be done on September 4. Four other Catholic saints will also be canonized that day.
Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. The Catholic Church has credited her with several miracles, including healing a Brazilian man with a brain infection and helping a sterile man conceive two children. During her time on Earth, Mother Teresa helped the poor in Kolkata, India, and founded the Missionaries of Charity, a sisterhood that now includes thousands of nuns.
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And In Scientific News…
Someone call Ross Geller — this week was huge for dinosaur paleontologists. Scientists discovered the fossils of a pregnant T-Rex, and researchers developed new insights into how the king of dinosaurs evolved to be so large.
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences found a 68-million-year-old fossil that contained a special tissue, known as medullary bone, that is only found in females that are either carrying eggs or have recently laid eggs, explains The Washington Post. The find is super important for scientists, since it's difficult to determine the sex of fossils. The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, could also provide insight into the evolution of modern birds, which evolved from theropod dinosaurs.
The other finding, meanwhile, came when paleontologists discovered a smaller ancestor to the T-rex. The fossils, discovered in Uzbekistan, showed that the T-Rex's ancestor developed an evolved brain before it grew physically larger. That 90-million-year-old dinosaur, named Timurlengia, lived during the middle of the Cretaceous period and was roughly the size of a horse, BBC News reports. The evolved brain could be a big reason the species was so successful at becoming predators.
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Why Are So Many White Dudes Mansplaining Politics?
If you've noticed that most of the guests on Sunday morning politics shows are white men, you're right.
Media Matters has released its annual report analyzing the makeup of guests on five popular Sunday shows, and the results are pretty depressing.
On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, CBS' Face the Nation with John Dickerson, Fox's Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, NBC's Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, and CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper, white men represented the majority of guests in 2015.
On both Face the Nation and Fox News Sunday, 63% of guests were white males, as were 60% of guests on This Week, 53% of guests on Meet the Press, and 56% of guests on State of the Union. The report shows little progress from Media Matters' findings about Sunday shows in 2013 and 2014.
Refinery29 reached out to the networks for comment, but none responded on the record.
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HONY Founder Shares His Views
One of the internet's most beloved blogs got political this week. Brandon Stanton, the man behind Humans of New York, posted an open letter about the GOP frontrunner on the franchise's Facebook page Monday. In his letter, Stanton wrote that "there is no correct time to oppose violence and prejudice."
"I am a journalist, Mr. Trump," Stanton wrote. "And over the last two years, I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan. I've also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm — the hateful one is you."
Stanton's letter garnered more than one million Facebook shares and many Likes, including one from Hillary Clinton.
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Hillary Clinton's Controversial Fundraiser
In other race-to-the-White House news, an upcoming fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's campaign is raising some eyebrows. The supporter making headlines is Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of the embattled blood-testing start-up Theranos. The company and its CEO made a big splash in the press after its launch, but its technology has since come under scrutiny, according to The Wall Street Journal. The fundraiser in Palo Alto, at the Theranos headquarters, will feature a discussion between Holmes and Chelsea Clinton. Donation levels for entry to the event start at $100, ReCode reports.
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Russia Is Withdrawing Its Troops From Syria
As the bloody and complicated war in Syria entered a sixth year, one major world player in the conflict announced a significant shift in strategy.
Russia began withdrawing its forces from Syria on Tuesday, in a move coordinated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria's government, CNN reports. In press statements, Putin said that the majority of the Kremlin's goals for Syria were completed, Reuters reports. While Russia claimed it was joining the fight against the Islamic State terror group, many believed the country was more interested in helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad quash his opposition.
Syrian peace talks in Geneva resumed this week, in an effort to mend the conflict between Assad's regime and the opposition. The talks are stalled, however, since Syria's government has refused to negotiate directly with opposition leaders, BBC News reports.
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Myanmar's New President
After decades of military rule, Myanmar will be ruled by a civilian president. The country's parliament elected Htin Kyaw on Tuesday, but he deflected the attention to Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader who'd been confined to house arrest. Kyaw will officially assume the office of president on April 1, The Associated Press reports.
Kyaw was one of Suu Kyi's supporters and aides. As Time explains, Suu Kyi herself couldn’t be elected president, thanks to a stipulation that residents with close family members who are foreigners can’t serve as heads of state in Myanmar. However, Suu Kyi told ChannelNewsAsia that she will control Kyaw's decisions as president, and that his title is only because of the constitutional requirements.
"This is a victory for the people of this country,"Kyaw told reporters on Tuesday. The United States also praised the news and Myanmar's move toward a more democratic government.
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