What's Going On Around The World Today

Republican U.S. presidential candidates faced off in their third debate.

Overall, the questions largely focused on economic policy and some perceived financial failures of the candidates.

Unlike the first two, last night’s two-hour, televised debate was mostly dominated by the so-called “establishment” candidates, rather than political outsiders such as the field’s two frontrunners, billionaire businessman Donald Trump and former surgeon Ben Carson.

Anti-establishment candidates have been gaining popularity in this election cycle. “It’s too early to tell whether the frontrunners’ debate performances will affect them, and the safe bet is that they won’t — yet,” BuzzFeed News’ Rosie Gray writes.

Trump (who spoke for a total of nine minutes and 26 seconds) and Carson (who spoke for only seven minutes and two seconds) were “basically a non-factor,” Gray writes.

If you need a reminder of who’s running, these are the candidates who debated last night besides Trump and Carson: Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (and the only woman running on the Republican side), Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Rand Paul from Kentucky, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

So, who won?

It’s easier to determine who didn’t win: Jeb Bush. The former Florida governor was once expected to become a frontrunner, but his campaign has now entered a “death spiral,” after pressure from Bush’s donors caused him to downsize campaign spending.

“Bush’s beleaguered presidential campaign was dealt another blow” when an attack on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, once considered a protégé by Bush, about his record on skipped Senate votes backfired, BuzzFeed News’ McKay Coppins writes.

Critics have also deemed CNBC, the network on which the debate aired, one of last night’s losers. “Criticism of the news media was a recurring theme on stage, and that sentiment extended into Twitter and blogs after the debate,” the New York Times writes.

And here are some other noteworthy moments from last night: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said President Barack Obama doesn’t support law enforcement officers, Ted Cruz attacked the media, and Donald Trump said he carries around a gun in New York city on occasion, because he likes to be “unpredictable.”

Presidential debates are scheduled to keep happening until well into 2016. You can find a full schedule for the Republican ones here and for the Democratic ones here.

If you want the latest news and alerts on the 2016 U.S. presidential race, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android.

WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON

Women refugees are “running for their lives” in Central America.

As a refugee and migration crisis continues across Europe, another one is spreading in Central America and Mexico where a surge of women are escaping escalating violence and rape by fleeing to neighboring countries, according to a new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), BuzzFeed News’ Rossalyn Warren writes.

“Violence against women is rife in Central America, where rates of sexual abuse and femicide – the deliberate and violent killing of a woman – are some of the highest in the world,” Warren writes.

UNHCR António Guterres called the report an “early warning to raise awareness of the challenge refugee women face and a call to action to respond regionally to a looming refugee crisis.”

What’s next?

A migration crisis is still ongoing in Europe. Winter is making the crossing from Turkey to Greece — a route many refugees and migrants are taking as they flee civil war in Syria — more dangerous. Yesterday, at least 11 people drowned after a wooden refugee boat capsized and swamped smaller boats near the Greek Island of Lesbos, The Independent writes.

Incoming winter weather, however, hasn’t really slowed down the influx of people to Europe. More than 700,000 refugees and migrants have made the journey to Europe by boat in 2015, the United Nations estimates.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?

Nepal just elected its first female president.

Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the country’s new head of state. Even though the position is seen mostly as a ceremonial post, Bhandari and her party “have a major responsibility to lift Nepal out of a political crisis as it struggles to recover from the giant earthquake earlier this year,” BuzzFeed News’ Anup Kaphle writes. The position of president was introduced after the country abolished its centuries-old monarchy in 2008.

The 54-year-old leader was pushed into the forefront of Nepali politics after her husband, who’s considered one of the country’s most charismatic politicians, died in a mysterious car crash in 1993. She has held multiple positions as a minister and most recently served as the country’s defense minister in 2009.

Although Bhandari is one of the leading women in the country, she made some recent remarks criticizing feminists.

“Whether we agree with it or not, in Eastern culture and tradition, a woman is entirely devoted to a man,” she said according to the report. “This may be a discriminatory system, but our society has always functioned this way.”

Quick things to know:

• China has ended its one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children for the first time in more than three decades. (BuzzFeed News)

• Iran accepted an American invitation to join talks about the ongoing civil war in Syria. It’s the first time the U.S. has formally invited Iran to take part in discussions about the conflict. (New York Times)

• Ben Fields, the South Carolina school resource officer who was fired after dragging and throwing a black female high school student, said through his attorney that his actions were lawful and justified. (BuzzFeed News)

• More in U.S. politics: A two-year budget deal was approved and will be sent to the U.S. Senate for approval. The deal signals a breakthrough for Republican leaders and President Barack Obama’s White House. (CNN) Republicans nominated Paul Ryan to become the next House Speaker. (New York Times) And Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says it’s time to remove the federal prohibitions on marijuana to help improve the lives of black people in America. (BuzzFeed News)

• The Nigerian military says it rescued more than 300 people — mostly women and children — who were being held by Boko Haram. The information, however, is difficult to verify and officials in the nearest city were unable to confirm it. (New York Times)

• The Obama administration filed a legal brief in an appeals court that supports a transgender student who was barred by his school from using the restroom that correspondents with his gender identity. (BuzzFeed News)

• After heavy criticism, Urban Outfitters ends on-call scheduling in the U.S. Call-in shifts usually appear alongside usual shifts on store workers’ schedules, but require them to call in before start-time — sometimes as little as two hours before — to find out whether or not they’re working. If not, they don’t get paid. (BuzzFeed News)

• IBM is buying the owner of The Weather Channel. But not The Weather Channel itself. It’s complicated. (BuzzFeed News)

• After breaking free, a U.S. Army blip crashed in rural Pennsylvania. And it caused a frenzy. (BuzzFeed News)

• Prince Harry and Michelle Obama hung out together in Virginia at a wheelchair basketball game, which was being played as part of at the Invictus Games for injured veterans. (BuzzFeed News)

Happy Thursday

Office jobs that require employees to sit behind a computer for many hours at a time could become much more comfortable. How? With the invention of the Altwork chair. It kind of looks like a combination between an astronaut’s and a dentist’s chair and has a computer attached. It’s “a vaguely intimidating mass of cushioned fabric, motors, and metal arms,” BuzzFeed News’ Brendan Klinkenberg writes. Who knows if you really ~need~ something as heavy-duty as the Altwork chair to be productive, but it sure feels better than any normal chair, according to Klinkenberg. Though the big question remains, who’s going to buy it?

This letter was edited and brought to you by Claire Moses and Millie Tran. You can always reach us here.