HERE ARE THE TOP STORIES
Greece’s former leader Alexis Tsipras was re-elected and his leftist party will form a coalition government again.
Tsipras resigned as prime minister last month, after making a bailout agreement with foreign creditors that half his party objected, causing Syriza to split. (Tsipras and his leftist Syriza party came into power earlier this year by promising to end harsh bailout measures.)
The early election, prompted by the resignation, was an effort by Tsipras to consolidate power after 25 Syriza members officially broke away and started a new party. In yesterday’s national elections — the fifth in six years — voters decided to re-elect Tsipras.
The Syriza party’s victory, which was stronger than expected, “will be read as a popular endorsement of the country’s latest million bailout deal,” Politico Europe writes. Which in turn, puts other European leaders at ease.
“Tsipras described the results as a victory for the working class and a mandate for his Syriza party. With 75% of ballots counted, official figures showed the party had received 35% of the vote,” BuzzFeed News’ Claudia Koerner writes.
And a little extra.
Greece has had quite the year. In July, Tsipras successfully urged voters to reject a tough bailout deal that European officials had offered, only to eventually reach an even stricter bailout package worth €85 million (or roughly $97 million) about a month later, Koerner reports. It’s the country’s third bailout in five years.
Over the summer, the parliament approved cuts to pensions and higher taxes in order to qualify for €8 billion ($9 billion) in emergency funding to keep the country’s banks open.
Viola Davis made history last night as the first black woman to win an Emmy for lead actress in a drama series.
Davis received the prize for her portrayal of morally ambiguous law professor Annalise Keating on the debut season of ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity,” Davis said as she accepted her award, “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
Here are the other big winners of the evening: After losing out for seven seasons of AMC’s Mad Men and 16 overall nominations, Jon Hamm finally won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Don Draper. HBO’s Game of Thrones won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and 11 other awards, beating The West Wing's record 8 wins in 2000. And HBO’s Veep took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series, breaking ABC’s Modern Family’s five-year winning streak.
Here is a list of all of last night’s winners and what they wore. Some of the stars played flip cup on the red carpet and it was awesome. If you’re in need of a good cry, Orange Is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba’s acceptance speech will do the trick. Lastly, if you didn’t catch the show, here are 18 important moments.
WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON
Pope Francis met with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana yesterday and they had a very polite chat.
Vatican officials described the meeting as “familiar and informal” and said that the men spoke about “protecting the environment and the great problems of the contemporary world,” BuzzFeed News’ Salvador Hernandez and David Mack write.
The pope steered clear from talking about Cuban politics. “Francis refrained from any direct criticisms of the Cuban government but made the sort of oblique asides that could be interpreted as disapproval — or explained away as anything but,” the New York Times writes.
Besides some polite banter, gifts were exchanged as well. Castro received books and CDs and the pope will take home a copy of Fidel and Religion, a 1985 book by a Brazilian priest. Earlier in the day, the pope attended an outdoor mass, which was attended by Cuban President Raúl Castro.
What’s next?
The pope is headed to the U.S. tomorrow. On Wednesday morning, he’ll be greeted by a welcome ceremony on the White House South Lawn in Washington, D.C. He will also travel to New York — where he’ll address the U.N. General Assembly on Friday — and Philadelphia, where his six-day visit will conclude.
It’s a busy — and social — week for President Barack Obama. He is also hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday followed by a White House state dinner with hundreds of guests on Friday. Afterward, the president will head over to New York to mingle with world leaders at the General Assembly.
And White House social secretary Deesha Dyer is in charge of making it all run smoothly and on time. "We've never had anything like this before," a spokeswoman for the State Department's chief of protocol told the New York Times. "It's the Super Bowl of Super Bowls."
The U.S. will accept up to 100,000 refugees in the 2017 fiscal year — 30,000 more than the current cap of 70,000 people.
“The need is enormous, but we are determined to answer the call,” Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Sunday. He added that the decision was “in keeping with America’s best tradition as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope.”
“As with the current program, migrants would be referred to the U.S. for resettlement by the United Nations’ refugee agency and then face extensive security vetting before being granted a refugee visa,” BuzzFeed News’ David Mack writes.
The expansion of the program is expected to cost an extra $200 million, funding that Congress will have to approve.
What’s next?
Meanwhile in Europe, divided leaders are getting ready for Wednesday’s emergency summit to discuss the continent’s worst migration crisis since World War II. German chancellor Angela Merkel has urged her fellow heads of state to work together, The Guardian writes. This year, Germany is expected to take in 800,000 people, which is more than any other country.
“Germany is willing to help. But it is not just a German challenge, but one for all of Europe,” Merkel said. “Europe must act together and take on responsibility. Germany can’t shoulder this task alone.”
If you want the latest news and stories, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?
The U.S. and Russia held direct talks for the first time in more than a year as a result of American worries about Russian military escalation in Syria.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu talked on the phone for 50 minutes on Friday. Russia has been increasing its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country is in a four-and-a-half-year civil war that has killed more than 200,000 people.
“While Russia says the escalation of its longtime military support aims to help the Syrian army battle the Islamic State” — a goal America shares — “administration officials fear that the recent deployment of Russian troops and hardware is meant to bolster Assad’s fragile position,” the Washington Post reports.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said America is still focused on destroying ISIS as well as “a political settlement with respect to Syria, which we believe cannot be achieved with the long-term presence of Assad.”
The U.S. wants Assad's government removed, so Russia's recent moves don't exactly help the countries' already-tense relationship. The U.S. has been at odds with Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea during unrest in Ukraine. “The military buildup by Russia … adds a new layer of complexity to the crisis in Syria, a foreign policy challenge President Obama has struggled to address for more than four years,” the Post writes.
Quick things to know:
Two Americans were released after six months of captivity in Yemen. The men were captured amid fighting between Huthi rebels and government forces. (BuzzFeed News)
German carmaker Volkswagen says it’s “deeply sorry” after U.S. regulators accused it of using software installed in certain cars to cheat clean air laws. The company was ordered to recall 500,000 diesel cars on Friday. (BuzzFeed News)
Apple’s App Store has been hit by a malware attack in China –– which is thought to be the first large-scale attack on the tech giant’s App Store. (BBC News)
U.S. soldiers were told to ignore Afghan allies’ abuse of boys. (New York Times)
A man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly injuring three people, including a pastor and a baby, in a shooting at a church in Selma, Alabama. (BuzzFeed News)
Wildfires in Northern California have killed six people and destroyed nearly 1,500 homes. (BuzzFeed News)
An ongoing study shows that 87 out of 91 deceased NFL players whose bodies were donated to the study tested positive for CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated concussions. (BuzzFeed News)
In a televised interview yesterday, Republican U.S. presidential candidate Ben Carson said he wouldn’t be comfortable with a Muslim president. (BuzzFeed News) And Twitter reacted hilariously. (BuzzFeed News)
A New Zealand zoo does not plan to euthanize the tiger that killed one of its veteran zookeepers on Sunday. (BuzzFeed News)
Novelist Jackie Collins has died from breast cancer at the age of 77. (BuzzFeed News)
The $2 trillion United Nations idea you’ve never heard could mean that by 2030, the world would be pretty much perfect. (BuzzFeed News)
And today in animals: Giraffes apparently like to hum, but it’s a sound that’s too low for people to hear. (Wired) And this is why humans are just like giant pandas. (BBC News)
Happy Monday
After her mom got into an argument with her dad, 6-year-old Tiana pleaded for her parents to be friends and to be kind to one another. Tiana’s mom, a Canadian woman named Sherry who says she is a divorced single mom, uploaded the staircase speech which has been touching hearts worldwide: “I just want all of us to be friends, and if I can be nice I think all of us can be nice too. I’m not trying to be mean but I’m trying to do my best in my heart, nothing else than that … For you and my dad, mom, I think you can do it. I think you can settle your mean heights down a little to short heights.”
This letter was edited and brought to you by Claire Moses and Millie Tran. You can always reach us here.
Want a news roundup like this in your inbox every weekday? Enter your email address to sign up now!
For the latest updates, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS now!
