US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

• A joint study by UNESCO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reveals that the region will have 38.3 million fewer school-age children by 2050. • The report highlights a significant demographic shift and recommends integrating data on births, migration, enrollment, and location to better manage educational resources.

• The United States has resumed exchanging military strikes with Iran, marking a sudden escalation in tensions. • This development follows a Tuesday interview with Fox News where President Trump appeared to hesitate over the humanitarian costs of targeting Iranian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges.

• Pakistan has gained international recognition for its recent diplomatic efforts, specifically for facilitating pauses in the conflict between the United States and Iran. • Simultaneously, China has transitioned from a manufacturer of low-cost imitation goods to a global leader in high-tech innovation, particularly in AI and robotics.

Lawmakers question delays in medical care, casualty figures and Pentagon’s handling of drone attack in KuwaitUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration is facing growing demands to explain why wounded US soldiers went more than a week without adequate hospital care after a March drone strike in Kuwait, just days into the US-Israel war on Iran.In a letter to the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, congressional Democrats urged the Pentagon to answer their questions – which include why the Pentagon’s public casualty count for the war with Iran briefly changed – by 12 August. Continue reading...

First US pope praises principles of freedom and opportunity in implicit critique of Donald Trump’s policiesPope Leo, the first US pontiff, has expressed “great love” for his home country and its core principles of freedom, opportunity and welcoming immigrants, but qualified that he “just happens to be American”.In an interview with the US broadcaster NBC on the sidelines of a prayer event in Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat close to Rome, Leo, who has condemned the immigration policies of Donald Trump’s administration, spoke about his own family history in describing his relationship with the US. Continue reading...

Trump’s overall approval rating slumps to 34%, according to new CNN poll, as midterms testing Republican power loomThree-quarters of Americans believe Donald Trump is not paying enough attention to the country’s most important problems, and two-thirds think he places himself above the needs of the US, according to a new poll.The CNN survey, conducted by market research company SSRS, comes less than 100 days before November’s midterm elections in which the president’s Republican party is widely expected to lose control of one or both chambers of Congress. Continue reading...

Father of 10-year-old rescued in a dramatic scene captured on video says lifeguard saved his son‘Super proud’: father of teen lifeguard recounts dramatic ocean rescueThe father of a 10-year-old rescued from pounding surf off the California coast in a dramatic scene captured on video says he is beyond grateful to the teenage lifeguard who saved his son.“He ran into that water despite those conditions that are deadly,” Sumit Rai told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “You have 10ft waves; you have riptides and currents coming in. Continue reading...

US judge says case involved a property crime, not a hate crime, and orders mental health treatmentSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA New Jersey man who rammed his car into a Brooklyn, New York, synagogue earlier this year has been sentenced to time served plus seven days.Dan Sohail, 36, of Carteret, New Jersey, was sentenced on Wednesday by US district judge Eric Vitaliano in federal court in Brooklyn, according to court records. Sohail had pleaded guilty in May to damaging religious property and has already spent around six months in custody. Continue reading...

Officials raided homes and businesses and seized laptops, phones and paperwork in clampdown on nuisance firmsLaptops, mobile phones and documents have been seized after officials carried out search warrants in a crackdown on claims companies plaguing people with spam text messages about the car finance mis-selling scandal.On Wednesday the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) executed warrants at homes and businesses linked to five companies in London, Liverpool, Bolton, Burnley and Swansea. Continue reading...

Democrat Kaohly Her, Minnesota’s city’s first female mayor, allegedly sent inappropriate messages to employeesThe first female mayor of St Paul, Kaohly Her, is reportedly under investigation for sexual harassment following a complaint filed by the Minnesota city’s police chief.City leaders have contracted an outside law firm to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations that Her, a Democrat who was elected in November, sent inappropriate messages to employees, including several members of the police department, the New York Times and NBC News said. Continue reading...

Consumer spending remained resilient even as policymakers kept interest rates on holdThe US economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. But consumer spending rose. And the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation grew more slowly last month, but remained above the central bank’s 2% target.The commerce department reported on Thursday that growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) – the nation’s output of goods and services – decelerated from 2.1% in the first three months of 2026 and came in below economists’ expectations. Continue reading...