World
Top Iranian official calls for Israel to be kicked out of UN women’s rights conference
A top Iranian official on Monday demanded that Israel be expelled from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for its ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking at the commission’s 68th annual gathering, Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Ensieh Khazali criticized Israel for its response to the Oct. 7 massacre, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killed 1,200 civilians, and injured hundreds of others.
Ensieh Khazali, the vice-president for women and family affairs, giving a speech in New York City. (United Nations)
Khazali cited figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry that Israel has killed more than 30,000 people since Oct. 7. She alleged that Israel’s actions constituted a “genocide.”
“On behalf of the powerful women of Iran, and in one voice with the resistant and pacifist women, I urge a revocation of the membership of the terrorist Israeli regime to this commission,” she said.
FEARS MONUT AS IRAN INCHES CLOSER TO POTENTIAL ATOMIC WEAPON CAPABILITIES AMID RISING REGIONAL TENSIONS
Khazali then pivoted to the status of women in Iran. She argued that Iran had made “rapid progress” since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, when the decades-long monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown, leading to the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Among the changes implemented were mandating that women wear the hijab in public.
As evidence of this “progress,” Khazali referenced low infant mortality rates, free healthcare, and the growth of “gender justice.”
Her comments come after the country faced international criticism for its brutal crackdown on protests that ignited in response to the death of Masha Amini in September 2022. The 22-year-old was arrested for failing to comply with Iran’s law requiring women to cover their hair and died while in the custody of the country’s morality police.
Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police last month, in Tehran, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. (AP/Middle East Images, File)
Toby Dershowitz, Managing Director at FDD Action, said the UN ought to rethink who appears on its stage if it wants to be taken seriously as a body “with the power to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.”
IRAN, RUSSIAN AND TALIBAN AMONG GUESTS AT NOMINAL US ALLY QATAR’S WEAPONS EXPO
“At a time when women in the Islamic Republic face harsh punishment for dancing in public, attending sports events at stadiums, or dressing as they wish, providing a platform to Ms. Khazali, who used it to deflect attention from her government’s pervasive women’s rights abuses, makes a mockery of the CSW,” he said.
The grave of Mahsa Amini in her hometown of Saqqez, Iran. Photo obtained by Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
His colleague, FDD Senior Fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu, said the last place the Islamic Republic should be “is a meeting in New York City at the Commission on the Status of Women.”
“Granting a visa for a regime official like Khazali, who promotes regime propaganda on the hijab, the Mahsa Amini protests, and the gender segregation that exists in Iranian law, is an own goal for the United States, particularly as Washington claims to stand with Iranian women, dissidents, and protestors,” he said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.N.’s press office for a response.
Khazali’s appearance sparked an uproar among critics of the Islamic Republic. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has called on the State Department to revoke Khazali’s visa to the U.S.
In a statement, the group alleged that Khazali was a “key enabler of women’s rights abuses in Iran” and a “supporter of child marriage.”
The group cited a report from the U.N. Human Rights Council which had found cases of women and girls in Iran who had been subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence.
World
‘X-Men’ Star Famke Janssen Says Marvel ‘Made a Mistake’ By Not Asking Her to Return as Jean Grey in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Famke Janssen said during a recent conversation with Nerdtropolis at Spacecon 2026 that Marvel “made a mistake” by not bringing her back as Jean Grey for December’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”
“I am so bad at keeping secrets that I always say to everyone I’m the worst actor in the world. It’s all on my face. You right away will read it,” Janssen said. “I think they made a mistake, but hey, who am I? I’m just a little me who thinks that.”
Janssen first appeared as the telepath Jean Grey, aka Phoenix, in 2000’s “X-Men,” and then reprised the role for 2003’s “X2: X-Men United” and 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand.” She also briefly appeared as Grey in 2013’s “The Wolverine” and 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Janssen’s absence from “Doomsday” is notable, considering Marvel is bringing back many of her “X-Men” co-stars for the film. Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique) are all set to return.
In an October 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Janssen said in every interview she does, she’s asked about the future of Jean Grey in the MCU.
“It’s interesting,” Janssen said. “I didn’t realize that was such a big part. Every interview I do, that will come up, and of everything I say, that is going to be the only thing that’s gonna be printed.”
“I should be flattered, I suppose, that this character has resonated with people,” she added. “It’s been so long, but it’s nice that people are still talking about her. I’m sure every single time there’s a new movie that they’re doing, like [is it] ‘Doomsday?’ … it’ll come up again.”
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Authorities are responding after two passenger trains crashed into each other Friday near Bedford, England, killing at least one person and injuring nearly 90 others.
The East of England Ambulance Service said it was called to a collision involving two trains at Elstow, near Bedford, at about 5:15 p.m. local time and quickly declared a “major incident.”
One person died at the scene, 11 people suffered very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and 56 people had minor injuries, officials said.
Bedford is roughly 60 miles north of London.
2 TRAINS COLLIDE IN DENMARK, LEAVING 5 PEOPLE CRITICALLY INJURED
Two passenger trains collided Friday in the United Kingdom. (Fox News)
All the patients with the most serious injuries have been taken from the scene to hospital.
The ambulance service said it sent numerous resources to the scene, including more than 20 ambulances, specialist hazardous area response teams and six air ambulances.
MULTIPLE STABBED IN UK TRAIN ATTACK NEAR CAMBRIDGE AS POLICE ARREST 2 SUSPECTS
Emergency crews were pictured working near the scene. (Fox News)
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected, and we thank all emergency service colleagues for their swift response,” the ambulance service wrote in a statement.
The Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its crews were also responding.
“Please avoid the area,” fire officials wrote in a statement on X.
Sources told The Telegraph the train driver was on the phone with maintenance staff discussing a safety issue at the time of the crash.
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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
As Israel’s war on Lebanon rages, hundreds gather in Rmeileh by Sidon Gate to watch the 2026 World Cup. Organised by influencer Bilal Haddad, the fan zone offers food trucks, shisha and family activities, giving people a rare chance to relax. Al Jazeera’s Justin Salhani went to check it out.
Published On 20 Jun 2026
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