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World Cup final kicks-off with star-studded opening

The most anticipated moment of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has arrived, as the tournament’s closing ceremony kicked off in spectacular fashion on Sunday at New York New Jersey Stadium, drawing a sellout crowd of more than 80,000 fans, celebrities and global dignitaries ahead of the final match between Spain and Argentina.

The ceremony opened with an energetic performance from popular streaming personality IShowSpeed, who took the center pitch alongside a cohort of drummers and dancers clad in bright, eye-catching tracksuits that set a lively tone for the afternoon. Multi-platinum rapper and singer Post Malone followed up the opening set with a crowd-pleasing performance of his chart-topping hit *Wow.*

Before the final match kicked off, Academy and Grammy Award-winning singer and actor Jennifer Hudson delivered a powerful rendition of the United States national anthem, backed by a full live band that earned a roar of applause from the packed stands. The A-list pre-match entertainment lineup continued with collaborative performances from British pop icon Robbie Williams, Italian superstar Laura Pausini, and former Pussycat Dolls lead Nicole Scherzinger. Following the opening set of performances, Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise took the stage to officially introduce the final match to the global audience.

“From every corner of the globe, we have witnessed greatness, and we have shared in moments of joy,” Cruise told the gathered crowd. “Football is a language spoken without words, a force that unites people.”

In comments ahead of the event, Pausini shared her excitement with the BBC, saying she felt overwhelming pride to share the stage with Williams and Scherzinger. “When Robbie [Williams] invited me to sing with him, I felt goosebumps everywhere because Robbie’s one of my favorite singer, songwriter, and performer,” she explained.

The star power does not end when the first half of the final concludes: an extended half-time show curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin will feature a stacked lineup of global music superstars, including Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Burna Boy and K-pop phenomenon BTS, with a portion of event proceeds going to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative aiming to raise $100 million to support access to education for children across the world. FIFA confirmed the star-studded half-time performance will run 11 minutes as part of an extended 20 to 25 minute half-time break, modeled after the high-production spectacle of the NFL’s Super Bowl half-time show.

Madonna, the best-selling female recording artist of all time, is fresh off the release of her latest studio album *Confessions II*, which debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart earlier this month. For Justin Bieber, the performance marks another high-profile stop on his return to public performance: the pop star canceled his 2022 Justice World Tour due to ongoing health issues, and made his big comeback earlier this year with a standout set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, his largest live show in four years.

Colombian global icon Shakira and Nigerian superstar Burna Boy will take the stage together for their performance, reuniting after opening the 2026 World Cup alongside one another in Mexico City last month. Their collaborative single *Dai Dai* has become a global chart hit throughout the tournament, and been played repeatedly in host stadiums across the competition. For BTS, the World Cup half-time slot comes as the group completes a highly anticipated comeback following a three-year hiatus spent completing mandatory military service in South Korea. The group is currently in the middle of an 85-date global stadium tour, making the World Cup final one of the biggest stops on their itinerary. Other performers featured in the closing ceremony included Swae Lee, who delivered a solo set early in the event.

Among the high-profile guests in attendance at the closing ceremony and final were former U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, who arrived at the stadium via Marine One, which flew over the venue ahead of kick-off to the match.

19 7 月, 2026
New Zealander Fox birdies last hole to win British Open

In a moment of high drama at Royal Birkdale on Sunday, 39-year-old New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox etched his name into golfing history, clinching the 154th British Open with a clutch birdie on the 18th hole to claim his first career major championship at 10 under par.

Ranked 56th in the world entering the tournament, Fox’s road to the Claret Jug was far from straightforward. After opening the first two rounds at level par, he sat in 52nd place and far outside most experts’ predictions of a winner. But a stunning Saturday round saw the Kiwi tie the all-time record for the lowest single-round score in men’s major championships, carding a 62 that catapulted him into contention heading into the final round.

As overnight leader Sam Burns of the U.S. and other top contenders collapsed under the intense pressure of championship Sunday, Fox stayed steady. He notched birdies on holes 13, 14, 16, and the decisive 18th, holding off a late charge from American Cameron Young to secure a one-stroke victory — the biggest win of his professional career by a wide margin.

“I don’t really know what to think at the moment,” Fox told reporters immediately after his win. “I spoke to my kids last night and they said ‘bring back a trophy’. I think this is a pretty cool one to bring back for them.”

Fox makes history as just the third New Zealander ever to win a men’s major championship, following Bob Charles’ 1964 British Open victory and Michael Campbell’s 2005 U.S. Open win. The son of former All Blacks rugby international Grant Fox, Fox’s underdog run capped a day defined by collapsing frontrunners and last-minute twists.

Overnight leader Sam Burns held a two-shot advantage heading into Sunday, but three consecutive bogeys on holes four through six erased his lead early, and he ultimately finished third at eight under par, falling short of his first major title. South Korea’s Kim Si-woo climbed within striking distance of his own first major with nine holes remaining, but imploded on the back nine with a four-over-par finish that knocked him out of contention.

Cameron Young, who began the day seven shots off the lead after a four-over back nine on Saturday, mounted a stunning late charge that nearly stole the title. The world number four shot a 29 on the front nine to climb into contention, carded additional birdies on the par-fives 14 and 17 to reach 10 under par alongside Fox heading into the final hole. But a wayward tee shot landed Young in a sand trap, and his second shot crashed into the bunker face, resulting in a costly bogey that left him one shot short of the playoff spot.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, also mounted a early comeback charge but ultimately fell short, finishing tied for fourth at seven under par. Scheffler cut his six-shot opening deficit in half with three birdies in his first five holes, but bogeys on 13, 15, and 18 kept him from adding a fifth major title to his career in 2026.

Local favorite Tommy Fleetwood joined Scheffler in a tie for fourth, briefly giving British fans hopes of ending the country’s 34-year wait for a homegrown British Open champion. The world number nine climbed to within one shot of the lead after shooting three under par through eight holes, but three consecutive bogeys pushed him back before a late birdie-birdie finish lifted him into the top four.

Former major winner Rory McIlroy never mounted a serious contention for his seventh major title, finishing the tournament at one under par after a final-round 71. “Any time I got a little bit of momentum out there, I seemed to make a bogey,” said the world number two. “Just one of those weeks I couldn’t get it going.” American Bryson DeChambeau, who received a two-shot penalty after his second round on Friday, finished at four under par, with the penalty ultimately not affecting the final championship outcome.

19 7 月, 2026
ICC’s Khan probe ‘reduced to political referendum’, Palestinian rights groups warn

A coalition of leading Palestinian human rights organizations has issued a stark warning about deep procedural flaws and growing political interference in the disciplinary process against suspended International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, just days before the court’s 125-member Assembly of States Parties (ASP) votes on whether to remove him from office. In a joint public statement released Friday by the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) — an umbrella group counting Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and Addameer among its members — the coalition stressed it is not taking sides on the merits of the misconduct allegations against Khan or the prosecutor’s defense. Instead, it is sounding the alarm that systemic failures in the proceeding violate fundamental human rights protections and mark a dangerous departure from the rule of law that threatens the ICC’s core institutional independence.

The coalition argues the disciplinary process has devolved into a political referendum driven by the competing national interests of individual ASP member states. “It is impossible to extricate such national interests from the political impact of the Chief Prosecutor’s decisions made in the various situations currently before the ICC,” the statement reads, noting that this political capture opens the door to widespread overreach that risks eroding the court’s credibility as an impartial arbiter of international justice.

The controversial proceeding stems from unproven allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against Khan in April 2024, a claim Khan has repeatedly and vehemently denied. The ASP’s executive governing body, the Bureau, suspended Khan from his post on June 8 after a majority of its 21 members voted to label his actions “serious misconduct.” PHROC’s criticism centers heavily on the Bureau’s rejection of the findings of an independent three-judge panel the Bureau itself appointed to review a United Nations investigation into the claims. In a unanimous March ruling, the panel concluded the evidence presented did not meet the ICC’s strict “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard to prove misconduct, noting the probe produced only conflicting testimonies and largely hearsay-based evidence. No independent legal body, PHROC emphasizes, has formally found the facts of the investigation amount to serious misconduct or a major breach of the prosecutor’s official duties — yet the Bureau’s contrary finding deliberately side-stepped the panel’s binding legal conclusions.

PHROC also pushes back against the Bureau’s unsubstantiated claim that Khan engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with the complainant, enabled by an asymmetric power dynamic. The coalition notes that neither Khan nor the accuser has ever corroborated this framing, and the Bureau’s ruling failed to establish the non-consensual sexual misconduct that formed the core of the original complaint. “The Bureau, as a political body composed of diplomats, does not have the independence, impartiality or legal expertise to make assessments on the legal characterisation of conduct, nor did it enjoy the same timeframe as the ad hoc Panel to independently examine the two reports and 5,000-pages of evidence,” the statement adds.

Further drawing condemnation is the Bureau’s last-minute rushed change to voting procedures, which PHROC says was designed to lower the bar for Khan’s removal. Previously, the process required a two-thirds majority vote to first confirm serious misconduct, followed by a separate vote requiring 63 member state votes to remove the prosecutor. The Bureau rewrote the rules to combine these steps into a single vote, eliminating the higher two-thirds threshold for a misconduct finding. According to PHROC, this procedural change dismantles critical checks and balances on the Bureau’s political decision-making, clearing a path for removal that would have otherwise been impossible to achieve.

The coalition directly ties the push to oust Khan to a broader, coordinated campaign by the United States, its allies, and Israel to undermine the ICC’s ongoing investigation into war crimes committed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Following Khan’s May 2024 decision to request arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges, the U.S. imposed retaliatory sanctions on the prosecutor, later expanding the measures to target two ICC deputy prosecutors, eight ICC judges, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, and multiple Palestinian rights groups that provided evidence for the Gaza investigation.

PHROC traces this pattern of interference back years, noting that several current Bureau member states challenged the ICC’s jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories in 2020, and the United Kingdom launched a formal legal challenge to Khan’s 2024 arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Most recently, Israel cited leaked details from the misconduct investigation in a November 2025 court filing asking that Khan be disqualified from leading the Gaza war crimes probe.

The coalition warns there is a clear and present danger that Israel and its political allies have already compromised the disciplinary process through political interference in bodies like the Bureau. “There is a very serious risk that State Parties will again prioritise their national interests and support for Israeli impunity over any genuine care or concern for either the interests of the complainant, the Prosecutor, or for the integrity of the Court,” the statement reads. The ongoing process, which launched in late 2024, has failed all parties involved, PHROC concludes, and stands to cause irreversible, far-reaching damage to both the ICC and the global project of international criminal justice. The ASP is scheduled to hold its special vote on Khan’s removal at United Nations headquarters in New York on July 24.

19 7 月, 2026
US completes eighth night of strikes as Iran retaliates across Gulf

On Sunday, the United States concluded its eighth straight night of military strikes targeting Iranian territory across the country’s southern regions, hitting both designated military sites and civilian infrastructure, according to multiple on-the-ground and official reports.

Al Jazeera’s on-the-ground reporting noted that this latest round of airstrikes was marked by lower intensity compared to the three waves of attacks carried out in the preceding three nights. In an official statement, US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed that American military forces successfully engaged multiple key Iranian assets, including coastal military surveillance outposts, air defense installations, maritime operational capabilities, and storage depots holding missiles and drones.

The command added that the strikes also specifically targeted units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US holds responsible for a fatal attack that killed two American service members in Jordan on July 17.

Local Iranian media documented multiple explosions across five locations in two southern provinces: Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, Hajiabad, Sirik in Hormozgan Province, and Shadegan in Khuzestan Province. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that at least six blasts were heard across Qeshm Island before emergency civil defense teams were dispatched to the area to survey damage and respond to any emergencies.

Major-General Ali Abdullahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a stark warning in response to the strikes, emphasizing that any further acts of American aggression will be met with a firm and devastating retaliatory response. Abdullahi accused Washington of seeking to sow internal division within Iran, and pledged that Iran would impose far heavier costs on the United States for its military campaign than it had in previous rounds of conflict.

Alongside its defensive warnings, Iran immediately launched retaliatory actions targeting Gulf states that host US military forces. Iranian officials confirmed that they carried out a large-scale drone assault on what they described as two key US military facilities in Kuwait: an ammunition storage depot at Camp Al Adiri and air defense systems at Ali Al Salem Air Base. In response, Kuwait’s military announced that its air defense units were actively intercepting incoming hostile drones and missiles.

Simultaneously, Bahrain triggered air raid sirens for the sixth time within a multi-hour window, urging all residents to immediately move to designated emergency shelters. In another development, the IRGC announced that its air defense units intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-9 reconnaissance drone over the southwestern city of Ahvaz. Separately, Iraqi Kurdish leadership condemned recent Iranian missile strikes targeting the Kurdistan Region as a clear violation of Iraqi national sovereignty.

Iranian officials confirmed that the ongoing US airstrikes have caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure across southern Iran. Local media reports confirm that critical public assets including bridges, highways, railway lines, road tunnels, and regional airports have been hit by strikes, disrupting civilian travel, commercial freight movement, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to affected areas. Multiple hospitals have been forced to evacuate patients due to damage or safety risks, and scheduled school examinations across affected regions have been postponed indefinitely.

Iranian officials argue that the US campaign aims to cut off Iran’s southern provinces and weaken the IRGC’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint for oil maritime trade. They have reiterated that the IRGC will not cede control of the strategic waterway under any circumstances.

The escalating conflict has also amplified urgent concerns over water security across the entire Gulf region. On Saturday, Kuwait issued its second public accusation against Iran for targeting a major power and desalination plant, a critical piece of infrastructure for the arid nation. Local residents interviewed by AFP confirmed that they have already begun stockpiling bottled water and non-perishable canned food, amid widespread fears that ongoing conflict will disrupt critical supply chains.

The Gulf Cooperation Council region holds approximately 60 percent of the world’s total desalination capacity, making these facilities irreplaceable for maintaining drinking water supplies in one of the most water-scarce regions on the globe. Earlier, Iranian officials reported that previous US strikes destroyed a desalination facility in Hormozgan Province, cutting off drinking water access for roughly 10,000 residents across 20 local villages.

In response to the rapidly escalating tensions across the Middle East, the US Department of State has issued a global advisory urging all American citizens around the world to exercise heightened caution due to the rising risk of spillover conflict.

19 7 月, 2026
US-Iran strikes: latest developments

A wave of reciprocal military strikes between the United States and Iran escalated across the Middle East throughout Sunday, triggering responses from regional allies and urgent calls for de-escalation from global watchdog bodies. The flare-up stems from a deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan last Friday that claimed the lives of two American service members, a strike Washington directly attributes to Iranian-backed militant groups.

On the diplomatic front, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington DC this week. A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Rubio praised Aoun for his administration’s ongoing work to restore full Lebanese government sovereignty across the country, disarm the Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah, dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist networks, and advance cross-border stability with neighboring Israel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ leading nuclear oversight body, stepped in to issue a call for maximum restraint from all parties after Iranian officials confirmed a US strike targeted an under-construction nuclear power plant in Darkhovin, a site in southwestern Iran. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi clarified in a public statement posted to X that no nuclear fuel or radioactive material had yet been placed at the facility, and the attack does not currently create any public radiological hazard for the surrounding region.

Tensions spilled further as Israeli authorities issued a stark warning to Tehran Sunday, following a joint interception operation with Jordanian forces that took down an Iranian missile targeting the Jordanian Red Sea port city of Aqaba. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated that his country would not tolerate unprovoked attacks, stating that any direct Iranian missile strike on Israeli territory would be met with an overwhelming, full-scale military response. While Israeli military confirmed the joint interception of an incoming projectile near the Israeli resort city of Eilat, adjacent to Aqaba, Jordanian military officials later adjusted the account, confirming they had downed three Iranian missiles aimed at Jordanian sovereign territory, though they did not specify exact impact or launch sites.

Two Gulf Arab states have also come forward to accuse Iran of targeted attacks on critical civilian infrastructure over the past 48 hours. Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that an Iranian strike hit a combined power and water treatment plant, sparking a large fire at the facility. This marks the third attack on Kuwaiti energy and water infrastructure in as many days, with officials adding that an oil storage facility was also struck Saturday. Bahrain similarly confirmed that Iranian forces targeted civilian infrastructure within its borders over the weekend.

In a separate development in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had intercepted commercial vessels that attempted to transit the waterway without obtaining prior authorization from Iranian authorities. The Guards confirmed two of the four vessels experienced incidents during the interception and were detained, while the remaining two abandoned their planned transit through the strait, a critical chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies pass.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), the US military command overseeing operations in the Middle East, confirmed that its latest round of strikes against Iranian targets serves two core purposes: first, to deliver punitive action against Tehran for the fatal Jordan base attack that killed two US soldiers and left a third unaccounted for, and second, to weaken Iran’s capacity to disrupt and threaten international commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

19 7 月, 2026
Argentines out in force as New Yorkers bid farewell to World Cup carnival

In the days leading up to one of the most anticipated FIFA World Cup finals in recent hosting history, thousands of boisterous Argentine supporters have turned the heart of New York City back into a vibrant World Cup carnival, breathing new life into flagging local excitement ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster showdown with Spain at MetLife Stadium.

Local enthusiasm for the co-hosted tournament had slumped sharply after the United States men’s national team was eliminated from competition by Belgium on July 6. Compounding that dip in interest were a series of disruptive external challenges: a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, extreme volatile weather including fierce storms, widespread flooding, and poor air quality driven by smoke drifting from Canadian wildfires. Even the structure of the tournament contributed to waning buzz: as nations with large diaspora communities in New York, such as Mexico and Egypt, were knocked out round after round, casual local engagement faded steadily. Many native New Yorkers also left the city for summer weekend getaways ahead of the final, and the historic sky-high ticket prices for the match have put attendance out of reach for most fans. Secondary ticketing platform TickPick reports the average final ticket resells for $11,325, making it the most expensive single sporting event in U.S. history.

Despite these headwinds, the sea of blue and white striped Argentine jerseys that have flooded Manhattan’s tourist hubs, Penn Station, and the city’s unofficial World Cup gathering spot at Times Square have rekindled the global soccer spectacle’s energy in the Big Apple. Even two four-legged fans got in on the action, decked out in Argentina’s iconic national kit. Across midtown, Spanish supporters gathered in their own pockets around Madison Square Garden, one fan clutching a replica World Cup trophy in anticipation of kickoff.

Florencia Luzinin, a 30-year-old Argentine dentist who traveled to be part of the final buildup, summed up the emotion surrounding the match for many fans, noting this is widely expected to be Lionel Messi’s final World Cup appearance. “I’m very nervous because I love Argentina. It’s the final. It’s probably the last of Messi. So maybe it’s our day. I don’t know. We came across a few Spaniards but I don’t look at them,” she said.

Alessandra Pichler, a 27-year-old Spanish supporter, predicted a 3-1 win for her side and praised the U.S. hosting effort. “I think the US has done a great job hosting all the games I’ve been to. I’ve been very impressed,” she added.

Chip Parham, a New York-based film festival organizer who was gearing up to watch the match, said the drop-off in local interest after the U.S. exit followed a familiar pattern for international sporting events held on American soil. “I think that a reaction for people to lose interest in the World Cup when their country is eliminated is the same as any sporting event. In any city there is a decline in interest for any sporting event that doesn’t feature a local team. With the exception of the Super Bowl,” he explained.

Howie Ray, a 42-year-old New Yorker who shifted his support to England after the U.S. elimination, echoed that observation, noting that even with both finalists in place, local engagement remained muted outside of concentrated fan pockets in Midtown. “It’s been slightly overshadowed. I think there was fatigue after all the games of the group stage and then the US getting eliminated. Spain and Argentina also have relatively small immigrant populations in the city,” Ray said. “A lot of my friends have felt disconnected the entire tournament due to the tickets being unaffordable.”

For the thousands of fans who cannot secure or afford tickets to the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a wide range of alternative watch party options have popped up across the city. Global Citizen is hosting an all-star live concert in Central Park that will run simultaneously with the final, while the American Museum of Natural History is offering fans the unique chance to watch Messi’s bid for a fourth Argentine World Cup title alongside the institution’s iconic dinosaur exhibits.

Even with tepid widespread engagement outside of Midtown, the 2026 co-hosted World Cup has left a measurable mark on New York’s sporting landscape. New York City Comptroller Mark Levine confirmed that Gotham FC, the city’s professional women’s soccer team, recently drew the largest crowd ever recorded for a women’s sporting event in New York history, a bump organizers attribute to broader World Cup-fueled interest in soccer. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani also made headlines ahead of the final for watching England’s quarterfinal exit to Argentina with incarcerated people at the city’s Rikers Island jail facility.

Ahead of kickoff, city officials reaffirmed their commitment to making the World Cup accessible to all New Yorkers. “We said from the beginning that the World Cup belongs to New Yorkers. This summer, we proved it,” Mamdani said. As of Saturday, air quality at MetLife Stadium had returned to normal, clearing the final hurdle for Sunday’s historic showdown.

19 7 月, 2026
Health officials identify source of US explosive diarrhoea outbreak

A rapidly expanding foodborne illness outbreak across the United States has taken a new turn, after federal health officials announced an additional sample of iceberg lettuce from major agricultural supplier Taylor Farms has tested positive for the parasite responsible for thousands of infections.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that the contaminated sample, collected during targeted import surveillance as part of the ongoing outbreak investigation, was traced to a production lot not included in the voluntary product removal Taylor Farms announced last Friday. The California-based agriculture firm, which counts major fast-food chain Taco Bell among its high-profile customers, has already committed to sweeping market action: pulling all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from retail and foodservice locations across the country.

Public health experts have stressed a key distinction between the current voluntary withdrawal and a formal mandatory recall: a recall requires companies to actively notify customers and retrieve all affected products from commercial channels, a broader and far more costly regulatory process that carries stricter compliance requirements. Right now, Taylor Farms is working urgently to trace the newly identified positive lot to determine if any of the lettuce remains on store shelves or in consumers’ homes.

As of the latest updates, no fatalities linked to the cyclospora outbreak have been recorded, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that at least 94 people have required hospital care for severe symptoms of infection. The outbreak was first detected in mid-May, and public health officials note that symptoms of the parasitic illness can take up to 14 days to emerge, meaning new cases are still being added to official counts. Infected individuals typically experience prolonged watery diarrhea, unexpected rapid weight loss, and loss of appetite.

The CDC has issued a clear public warning advising consumers in five U.S. states—Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia—to avoid eating any shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations. The fast-food chain has already announced it has completed removing all potentially affected Taylor Farms lettuce from its restaurant locations across the affected regions.

In an official statement released amid the investigation, Taylor Farms said it has “stopped receiving product from the implicated lot, suspended distribution of the iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, notified [its] customers and [is] continuing to work with the FDA, CDC, and state authorities” to contain the outbreak.

The current market withdrawal covers products distributed across 27 U.S. states. Beyond Taco Bell, the affected products include Marketside-branded iceberg lettuce sold at Walmart locations across 15 states, the FDA confirmed.

19 7 月, 2026
Jonas Vingegaard out of Tour de France after crash on Stage 15

The 2024 Tour de France has suffered a stunning upset ahead of its closing stretch, as two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard was forced to abandon the race following a high-profile crash with just 20 kilometers remaining in Sunday’s grueling 15th stage, held at France’s Plateau de Solaizon.

Vingegaard, riding for the Visma–Lease a Bike squad, entered the mountainous 15th stage sitting just behind UAE Team Emirates leader Tadej Pogacar in the general classification, setting up a tense showdown on the stage’s challenging finishing climb. The incident occurred when Vingegaard and a small group of other riders fell close to a roadside curb in the final kilometers of the route.

After the crash, the 29-year-old Danish rider was able to move under his own power but visibly limped to waiting medical staff, leaving the course with his right arm stabilized in a sling before being taken away in an ambulance.

A generational talent in professional road cycling, Vingegaard cemented his legacy as one of the sport’s great all-rounders by claiming back-to-back Tour de France titles in 2022 and 2023. He is also one of only eight male riders in the history of professional cycling to have secured overall victory at all three of the sport’s Grand Tour events: the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España.

His early exit reshapes the dynamic of the 2024 Tour, clearing a major path for Pogacar to secure a fourth overall title, and leaves millions of cycling fans shocked by the abrupt end to Vingegaard’s bid for a third consecutive yellow jersey.

19 7 月, 2026
The World Cup winner will earn $51 million under expanded purse

When the final whistle blows on the 2026 FIFA World Cup final this Sunday, the new champion will not only lift soccer’s most coveted golden trophy and claim eternal glory in their nation’s sports history — they will also take home the largest winner’s payout in the tournament’s history, alongside a first-ever set of championship rings for the squad.

For the 2026 edition, expanded from 32 to 48 competing nations and co-hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA has set an all-time total prize pool of $871 million, marking a $100 million increase from the initial payout plan announced last year. The top-up came in April after European national federations lobbied for additional funding, arguing that the three-host format created extraordinary travel and accommodation costs that would leave most teams out of pocket without deeper tournament runs.

This year’s champion will walk away with $51 million in prize money, a substantial jump from the $42 million awarded to 2022 Qatar World Cup winner Argentina. The runner-up will take home $34 million, while third-place England will earn $30 million and fourth-place France will collect $28 million. Payouts scale down based on tournament progression: quarterfinalists (5th to 8th place) earn $20 million each, Round of 16 exits (9th to 16th) get $16 million, Round of 32 eliminations (17th to 32nd) receive $12 million, and even teams eliminated in the group stage (33rd to 48th) leave with $10 million in prize money.

Every participating federation also receives an additional $2.5 million upfront to cover pre-tournament training and preparation costs, bringing the minimum total payout for any qualifying nation to $12.5 million. This structured upfront payment was adopted to resolve longstanding pre-tournament tensions, where players frequently went public with claims that their national federations had failed to pay promised bonuses ahead of the competition.

The push for increased prize money gained traction after top European federations pointed out the stark gap between World Cup payouts and rewards for elite club competition. French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo had repeatedly raised the issue with FIFA President Gianni Infantino for months, noting that the 2025 Club World Cup winner — a tournament also hosted in the United States — took home $115 million, more than double the 2026 World Cup champion’s payout. To put the disparity in even sharper perspective: the entire $51 million winner’s check is less than the $ reportedly transfer fee English Premier League side Brighton paid last week to sign 19-year-old Croatian defender Luka Vušković, who spent nearly the entire 2026 World Cup on Croatia’s bench.

Beyond prize money, FIFA is required under tournament regulations to cover core logistical costs for all participating delegations. The governing body pays for business-class return flights for each federation, as well as board and lodging for a 50-person delegation starting five nights before the team’s first match and extending one night after elimination. FIFA also covers domestic travel within host countries for the 50-person group, plus provides a dedicated fleet of vehicles that includes an equipment truck. National federations are responsible for covering delegation insurance, extra accommodation for additional staff, and any incidental hotel costs.

Off the field, the iconic gold World Cup trophy remains the ultimate honor for the champion. The original trophy is kept permanently by FIFA, so the winning federation receives a gold-plated full-size replica to keep permanently, alongside the new championship rings being awarded for the first time this edition.

Importantly, all prize money is paid directly to national federations, not individual players, and each federation sets its own policy for distributing the funds. A notable example is the United States Soccer Federation, which approved a landmark equal pay agreement in 2022, making it the first soccer governing body in the world to guarantee equal compensation and equal prize sharing for its men’s and women’s national teams. Under the terms of that deal, USSF retains 20% of any prize money earned by the men’s team, and the remaining 80% is split evenly between the men’s and women’s national programs.

19 7 月, 2026
5.5 magnitude earthquake hits Peru’s Andes region and kills at least 5 people

A destructive 5.5-magnitude earthquake has rocked the Andean highlands of central Peru, leaving at least five people dead and triggering widespread displacement and infrastructure damage, Peruvian national authorities confirmed Sunday. Over 20 residents were treated for quake-related injuries, and roughly 300 people have been forced to leave their damaged or destroyed homes in the aftermath of the disaster.

According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the seismic event hit at 9:24 p.m. local time Saturday. Its epicenter was positioned just 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) west-southwest of Sicaya, a small city in Peru’s Huancayo province, and the quake originated at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) below the Earth’s surface.

In an official update, Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute stated that the full scope of the disaster remains unclear, as the total number of people unaccounted for has not yet been confirmed. Multiple structures across the affected region have either completely collapsed or sustained critical structural damage, among them a historic local church and adjacent convent.

Luis Vásquez, director of the regional civil defense office, explained to reporters that the widespread heavy damage can be partially attributed to common building practices in the Andean region. Many local homes and structures are constructed with traditional rustic adobe, a material that offers far less resistance to seismic shaking than modern engineered building materials, amplifying the disaster’s impact.

Peru sits along the Pacific Ocean’s geologically active “Ring of Fire,” a zone where constant tectonic plate movement makes major and minor earthquakes a frequent hazard for the country’s population. The 2007 Pisco region earthquake, which measured magnitude 7.9, killed close to 600 people and stands as one of the deadliest seismic events to hit the South American nation in recent decades.

Footage aired by local Peruvian media outlets has captured the acute distress of residents in one of the hardest-hit communities, the low-lying agricultural zone of Chongo Bajo. Locals can be seen gathered outside their heavily damaged homes, huddled together under blankets to stay warm after being forced to evacuate, with some livestock also reported trapped under collapsed rubble.

Hermenegilda Guamalato, a displaced resident, shared her experience with local radio after relocating to neighboring Huayucachi province to find emergency shelter. “My home has been destroyed,” she explained, adding that she was now searching for safe, stable accommodation alongside her three children.

Response teams continue to assess the full extent of casualties and damage across the affected region as of Sunday, with emergency shelter and basic supplies being mobilized for displaced residents.

19 7 月, 2026