What's Going On Around The World Today

Two new political parties together won about a third of parliamentary seats in Spain’s general election, upending the country’s long-term two-party rule.

The new parties have become major players on the political scene. Podemos, an anti-austerity party (which won 42 seats) and the liberal Ciudadanos party (which won 40 seats).

While Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s ruling Popular Party got the most votes and 123 seats in parliament, they didn’t win enough to form a majority in the country’s 350-seat parliament. (In 2011, the party won 186 seats.)

The next Spanish government could now be a coalition, following the emergence of Podemos and Ciudadanos, who disrupted the country’s establishment and ended three decades of two-party rule by the conservative Popular Party and the Socialists, BuzzFeed News’ Francis Whittaker writes.

By the numbers.

Here’s the breakdown of Spain’s general election according to BBC News:

• The PP: 28.72%

• The Socialists: 22.01%

• Podemos: 20.66%

• Ciudadanos: 13.93%

WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON

The fourth Democratic debate didn’t really change much.

Democratic presidential candidates Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley debated at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday night.

There were some sharp disagreements and some odd moments — like when the action resumed after a commercial break before Clinton was back on stage — but ultimately the debate didn't seem to change the power dynamics of the campaign, BuzzFeed News reports.

Here are some highlights.

• Sanders apologized for his campaign’s accessing of Clinton’s internal voter data, which was said to have happened because of a “Democratic National Committee software glitch.”

• Clinton promised that she would not raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 annually.

• O'Malley attacked Clinton and Sanders on their records regarding gun control — and both fought back vehemently.

• On race and policing, all three candidates appeared to agree on major points — reforming police departments and increasing transparency.

• Clinton and O'Malley also repeatedly called out GOP frontrunner Donald Trump for his comments about banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Clinton said Trump’s rhetoric “fans the flames of radicalization,” and called the Republican candidate “ISIS’s best recruiter.”

Voters have repealed a marriage equality law in Slovenia.

More than 60% of ballots cast this week supported repealing the country’s marriage equality law, which was enacted by parliament in March, giving repeal voters enough ballots to make the vote binding under the country’s election laws, BuzzFeed News’ J. Lester Feder and David Mack write.

For the latest news and stories, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android (in U.S. app stores only).

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?

TV host Steve Harvey announced the wrong Miss Universe winner during last night’s live airing of the contest, and things got really awkward.

Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, was briefly crowned, before the sparkly tiara was unceremoniously removed from her head and given to Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. The confusion arose after Harvey misread the card with the winners’ names, on which Gutierrez was listed as the first runner-up.

Moments later, Harvey corrected himself and called it a “horrible mistake.”

“Please don’t hold it against the ladies,” Harvey said to the booing crowd. “We feel so badly, but it’s still a great night.” People have since taken to Twitter to express their disbelief over the shocking blunder.

Quick things to know:

• Ninety-one people are still missing after a landslide hit 22 buildings at an industrial park in the Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday. (BuzzFeed News)

• Combat roles could soon be open to female British soldiers. Currently, women are allowed to apply for 80% of military jobs. (BuzzFeed News)

• A massive gas leak that has spewed billions of pounds of methane into the air in a northern Los Angeles neighborhood has forced thousands of residents to flee their homes and prompted a state of emergency from local officials. (BuzzFeed News)

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens had a record-setting debut weekend, taking $238 million at the North American box office. (BuzzFeed News)

• An Air France plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Kenya after a fake bomb was found in the bathroom, the airline’s chief said. (BuzzFeed News)

• FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his would-be successor, Michel Platini, have been banned from soccer for eight years over a suspicious $2 million payment. Blatter said he’ll appeal the ban. (BuzzFeed News)

• Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager and pharma CEO who is now facing fraud charges, appears to have had his Twitter account hacked on Sunday. It was an end to a terrible, no good week. (BuzzFeed News)

• Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush allowed himself a “moment of therapy” by calling rival Donald Trump a “jerk” before a crowd at a campaign event. (BuzzFeed News)

• The role of Hermione Granger will be played by a black woman in the new Harry Potter play in London. Noma Dumezweni, 45, got the part in the eighth installment of J.K. Rowling’s famous series. (BuzzFeed News)

THE BEST OF 2015

Here are some of the most moving personal essays of 2015.

In no particular order, here are just a few of the many fantastic personal essays we published across BuzzFeed this year.

• Ramona Emerson moved back into her parents’ house at age 29, and it wasn’t the end of the world.

• The transgender dilemma: Raquel Willis wrote about the trials of looking for love in a world where trans women are taught to feel grateful for any scrap of affection and made to fear for their safety.

• On the verge of ending his own life, Terrell J. Starr chose instead to overcome the stigma surrounding African-Americans and depression, and to find a supportive community on Twitter.

• A childhood spent inside a Chinese restaurant: Susan Cheng wrote about the experience of working in her parents’ restaurant while growing up.

Happy Monday

“Walls of Kindness” are materializing in cities across Iran for people to leave clothing for the poor or homeless. The first such wall popped up in the northeastern city of Mashdad, where hooks were placed on the wall with a sign that read: “If you don’t need it, leave it. If you need it, take it.” With winter temperatures dropping and a stagnant economy, the need for clothing donations is high, BuzzFeed News’ David Mack writes. A little kindness goes a long way.

This letter was edited and brought to you by Claire Moses and Brianne O’Brien. You can always reach us here.