Violet Affleck, the 19-year-old daughter of actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, addressed the United Nations on Tuesday, calling for the immediate reinstatement of universal mask mandates and declaring filtered indoor air a global human right. Speaking at the U.N. event Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action, the Yale freshman appeared masked and wearing goggles, warning attendees that the world had abandoned protective measures against COVID-19 too quickly.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, amid a wave of legal challenges that include a 27-year prison sentence for "crimes against democracy."
A West African al-Qaeda affiliate, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), claimed responsibility for one of Burkina Faso’s deadliest terror attacks in recent history. On Sunday, militants stormed the northern town of Djibo, killing what the group alleges was 200 soldiers in a multi-front assault that overwhelmed military and police installations. Local witnesses confirmed scenes of widespread carnage, with bodies of both civilians and soldiers reportedly left in the streets.
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has criticized the UN for its lack of resolutions condemning Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization governing the Gaza Strip.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi insurgents announced Sunday they will limit attacks on civilian ships in the Red Sea to Israeli vessels, citing the Gaza ceasefire agreement. However, they warned that broader assaults could resume if the ceasefire fails to hold.
As states and Congress work to protect women’s sports, the second day of the NCAA Convention in Nashville features a demonstration hosted by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF). The group is advocating for the NCAA to revoke its Transgender Student-Athlete Participation Policy and implement rules prohibiting male athletes from competing in women’s collegiate sports.
France’s birthrate fell to its lowest level since the end of World War I, with only 663,000 babies born in 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). This marks a 2.2% decline from the previous year and the lowest recorded births since 1946. The fertility rate also dropped to 1.62 children per woman, well below the 2.1 replacement level needed to maintain population stability.
