Here's something we didn't know: Kelly Clarkson bought a gold ring once owned by Jane Austen at an action last year. Here's something else we didn't know: The ring is in the UK and the government doesn't want it leaving the country. Permission denied!

The Pew Research Center just released the results of a new survey detailing the acceptance of homosexuality around the globe. The numbers you see above represent the percent of people who believe in acceptance — as polled in 39 countries among 37,653 respondents from March 2 to May 1, 2013.

Meet Isabel Dos Santos. She is 40 years old. Forbes has just named her Africa's first female billionaire. Yes. Billion. Picture a million-dollar home. Now picture one thousand of them. A billion.

The first rule of business? Know your customer. Brazilian sex workers are on it: The Association of Prostitutes is offering free English classes, since the Confederations Cup takes place in Brazil this June and the World Cup takes place in Brazil in June 2014. (Prostitution is legal in Brazil.)

Coverage of Mitt Romney's hilariously bumbling world tour has been better than coverage of the Olympics, and with even more heartbreak, tears, and disastrous dismounts — that's what makes good television. During today's stop at Poland's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Romney's traveling press secretary responded to…

George Clooney led a protest in Washington, DC today, in which he and other demonstrators — including his father, Nick Clooney — called on alleged war criminal Omar-Al Bashir to stop the violence in Sudan and allow humanitarian aid workers to enter the country. Both George and Nick were arrested, as were former…

The New York Times piece, "Bodies Altered In Pursuit Of Beauty," explores the work of photographer Zed Nelson — and how globalization is creating "an eerily homogenized look."

"Supermarket giant Tesco reported that more of its extra-large condoms had been bought in Glasgow than anywhere else in the UK." A stab at tomorrow's headline: "Scotland Flooded With Ladies Interested In Foreign Exchange!" [Daily Express]

Oscar-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda, Secret Life Of Bees) will narrate a "hard-hitting" documentary for the UK's Channel 4, from the people who brought us China's Stolen Children. This time, the subject is children in Nigeria who are tortured for being witches. Expect to hear shocking stories: a…

Sometimes we see a story and we don't know what to think. Today's Telegraph reports that teen girls in the Zulu tribe have been ordered to cover up during traditional dances because European tourists keep taking pictures of their bare bottoms. According to the report, the girls — all virgins — dance to pay homage to…

In Bamian, a "peaceful corner" of Afghanistan, women are driving cars, working in public offices and police stations. There is even a female governor, the first and only one in Afghanistan. But according to the New York Times, this province is unique. Even though the Taliban fell more than six years ago, women in…

Two Gypsy girls drowned at the beach of Torregaveta in southern Italy Saturday. Their bodies were placed under towels to await the arrival of authorities. Photos from the scene show sunbathers going about their day as the corpses lie nearby. "While the lifeless bodies of the girls were still on the sand, there were…

People! Let us be the first to inform you that dudes in Italy have serious problems. According to the Times of London, a customer in a barber shop in Rome put it thusly: "Our women have become independent-minded, they all go out to work, they don't cook so much any more, we have to look after ourselves. We are…