Since October 7, 2023, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has surpassed 1,050.
According to recent data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA):
Total Fatalities: At least 1,054 Palestinians have been killed between October 7, 2023, and early February 2026.
Child Casualties: This figure includes at least 230 children.
Settler Violence: A significant portion of these deaths—approximately 33 in late 2025 alone—involved Israeli settlers, sometimes acting alongside military forces.
Detention Deaths: At least 28 of the total fatalities from the West Bank occurred while individuals were in Israeli detention.
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has expressed "serious concerns" over the spike in violence, noting that the lethality of recent military operations in the northern West Bank (such as in Jenin and Tulkarm) has reached levels not seen since the Second Intifada.
Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly is the counterpart of parliaments in parliamentary systems and the US Congress in the American system.
There are no Baháʼí representatives in Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly (the Majlis).
Under the current Iranian legal and political system:
Reserved Seats: The Iranian Constitution only recognizes Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians as protected religious minorities. These groups are allocated a total of five reserved seats in the 290-member parliament:
Two seats for Armenian Christians
One seat for Assyrian and Chaldean Christians
One seat for Jews
One seat for Zoroastrians
Non-Recognition: The Baháʼí Faith is not recognized by the Iranian government, which often characterizes the community as a "political movement" or "espionage cell" rather than a religion. Consequently, Baháʼís are excluded from the reserved seat system.
Election Barriers: All candidates for parliament must be approved by the Guardian Council, which requires candidates to demonstrate commitment to Islam or one of the recognized minority faiths. This effectively bars Baháʼís from running for any office.
In the 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, there are exactly five representatives from the recognized religious minorities.
The breakdown of these seats is as follows:
Christians: 3 representatives
2 seats for Armenian Christians (one for the North and one for the South).
1 seat for Assyrian and Chaldean Christians.
Jews: 1 representative.
Zoroastrians: 1 representative.
For the current (12th) Parliament, some of these specific representatives include:
Behshid Barkhodar (Zoroastrian) — notably the first female representative for religious minorities in the assembly.
Homayoun Sameh (Jewish).
Ara Shaverdian (Northern Armenian Christian).
Geghard Mansourian (Southern Armenian Christian).
Shaarli Anouyeh Tekyeh (Assyrian and Chaldean Christian).
John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer, author, and journalist best known as the first U.S. government official to publicly confirm the CIA’s use of waterboarding.
Key Background & CIA Career
Role: He served as an intelligence analyst and operations officer (1990–2004), notably as Chief of Counterterrorist Operations in Pakistan after 9/11.
Major Achievement: He led the 2002 raid that captured Abu Zubaydah, then believed to be a top al-Qaeda leader.
Whistleblowing: In a 2007 ABC News interview, he confirmed that waterboarding was official U.S. policy approved by the White House, though he later admitted he had been misled about how many times it was used on Zubaydah.
Prosecution and Imprisonment
Charges: In 2012, he was charged under the Espionage Act—the sixth such whistleblower under the Obama administration.
Conviction: He pleaded guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for disclosing a covert officer's name to a reporter.
Sentence: He served 23 months in federal prison (2013–2015). He remains the only individual to serve prison time related to the CIA’s torture program, despite being the one who exposed it rather than performing it.
Life After Prison & Controversies
Advocacy: Since his release, he has been a vocal advocate for prison reform and an critic of the "National Security State."
Media Work: He has hosted programs on Sputnik News (a Russian state-funded outlet), which he stated was the only place willing to hire him as a felon.
Pardon Quest: He reportedly discussed a $2 million pardon deal with associates of Rudy Giuliani in 2020, which he declined.
Authorship: He has written several books, including
He has received numerous honors for his actions, including theJoe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage, thePEN Center USA First Amendment Award, and theSam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence
Yes, a real couple got legally married during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show on February 8, 2026.
About five minutes into the 13-minute performance at Levi's Stadium, a wedding ceremony was shown on stage. The unnamed couple, dressed in all white, exchanged vows and shared a kiss as a licensed officiant declared them married in front of the live audience and millions of viewers.
Key Details of the Wedding
Origin: The couple had originally sent a wedding invitation to Bad Bunny. Instead of attending their planned ceremony, the artist invited them to get married during his halftime performance.
Legal Status: A representative for Bad Bunny and reports from the Associated Press confirmed the marriage was 100% real and legally binding.
Witness: Bad Bunny served as an official witness and signed the couple’s marriage certificate.
Performance Integration: As the couple finished their ceremony, they parted to reveal a surprise appearance by Lady Gaga, who performed a salsa-inspired version of "Die With a Smile" while the newlyweds celebrated nearby with a real wedding cake.
While this was the first time a wedding occurredduringthe halftime show itself, it follows a similar headline fromSuper Bowl LVIII (2024), when headlinerUsherand his longtime partnerJennifer Goicoecheaobtained a marriage license in Las Vegas just days before the game and wed in an intimate ceremony immediately following his performance.
The couple originally had no intention of getting married on a global stage; they simply sent a wedding invitation to Bad Bunny as fans. Because the artist was busy preparing for his Super Bowl LX performance, he couldn't attend their ceremony and instead offered them the "ultimate wedding gift": the chance to tie the knot live during his show.
The couple's motivation for accepting this once-in-a-lifetime offer included:
A "Time of Joy": According to their wedding dress designer, the bride saw it as a moment to celebrate love and joy amidst a tense political climate.
The Ultimate Guest List: By moving their wedding to the halftime show, they exchanged vows in front of 80,000 live spectators and millions of TV viewers.
Star-Studded Witnesses: Beyond having Bad Bunny sign their official marriage certificate as a witness, the couple was serenaded by a surprise appearance from Lady Gaga.
A Historic "Glow-up": Fans on social media noted the couple essentially upgraded their original plan to the "ultimate proposal glow-up," featuring a reception on the field with a real tiered cake and a global audience.
The ceremony was a central part of Bad Bunny's theme that "the only thing more powerful than hate is love," which was displayed on stadium screens as the couple celebrated.
