International

Bolsonaro’s veto of free feminine hygiene products sparks outcry

AFP

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of misogyny after his veto of a law that intended to make sanitary towels free for millions of women sparked an outcry.

Millions of poor Brazilian women have little or no access to feminine hygiene products during their periods.

The “#LivreParaMenstruar” (free to have my period) hashtag has been circulating for a week on social media while several celebrities have hit out at Bolsonaro’s October 7 veto.

“Bolsonaro has shown all his misogyny with this veto,” added Marilia Arraes, a leftwing legislator who was behind the bill.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“We cannot be silent, we’re talking about the dignity of thousands of women.”

She hopes to have the far-right leader’s veto overturned in parliament.

“What century are we living in? Why do we have to fight for such obvious things? Once again us women have been disrespected. Menstrual poverty has been in our country for years,” singer Preta Gil, the daughter of music icon Gilberto Gil, wrote on Instagram.

On Thursday night, Bolsonaro said on his weekly Facebook speech that he would have to “manage” to find the money for the initiative if his veto is overturned.

The bill aimed to benefit five million women, notably students from poor neighborhoods and prison inmates.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Bolsonaro claims the bill does not specify where the money would come from and that he would be forced to “take funds from the health or education budget” should it be passed.

“I’m not going to increase taxes or create a new one for this,” he said.

According to the Girl Up NGO, created by the United Nations in 2010, a quarter of teenage girls have to miss several days of school a month due to “not being able to have their periods with dignity.”

According to a UNICEF report, 713,000 Brazilian girls do not have toilets or showers in their homes and more than a quarter of a million do not have “access to necessary hygiene at school.”

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.

International

Netanyahu vows to target Iran’s leadership after missile strikes in southern Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to target Iran’s leadership directly, escalating rhetoric amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

Speaking during a visit to the southern city of Arad, which was struck by an Iranian missile a day earlier, Netanyahu said Israel would intensify its response against Tehran.

“We are going after the regime. We are going after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that gang of criminals,” he told reporters while standing among the debris left by the தாக்க.

He added that Israel intends to strike “personally” at Iran’s leadership, as well as its facilities and economic assets.

In addition to Arad, Iranian missiles also hit the city of Dimona on Saturday. The area is widely believed to host Israel’s undeclared nuclear facilities. The strike caused significant damage following a direct impact.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Netanyahu also visited Dimona, where he urged residents to strictly follow military instructions and seek shelter whenever warning sirens are activated.

“The entire nation is a front line, and the home front is also a front line. And when we are on the front line, we follow these instructions,” he said.

International

US panel backs Trump-themed coin amid controversy

The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed to AFP that the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of a new collectible coin featuring Donald Trump, with members of the commission appointed by the current administration.

According to the proposal, the coin will feature an image of Trump standing with clenched fists over a desk on the obverse, while the reverse will display an eagle, a traditional symbol of the United States.

The sale price of the collectible has not yet been disclosed, although the United States Mint typically offers similar items for more than $1,000.

“There is no more iconic portrait for the front of these coins than that of our president Donald Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement sent to AFP. He added that two additional coins — a $1 piece and a one-ounce gold coin — are also under consideration.

However, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), another body responsible for reviewing new coin proposals, declined to discuss the Trump design in late February.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

“Only nations governed by kings or dictators place the image of a sitting leader on their currency,” said Donald Scarinciat the time. “No country in the world has minted coins featuring a democratically elected leader during their term in office,” he added.

When contacted by AFP, the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.