While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, July 19, 2026
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A woman wearing a face mask while riding her bike past the Manhattan skyline, as seen from Brooklyn Bridge Park, on July 17, in New York City.
PHOTO: AFP
Wildfire haze over eastern US... and World Cup final
Heavy, acrid wildfire smoke blanketed much of the eastern United States on July 18, marring preparations for the weekend’s highly awaited World Cup final to be held in an open stadium in New Jersey.
The wildfires burning in Canada have sent the noxious smog billowing across the border, with residents in New York, the US capital Washington and the American Midwest urged to stay indoors due to dangerously low air quality.
At one point on July 18, the smoke made New York the most polluted city in the world, followed closely by Toronto and Washington, according to air tracker IQAir.
The marquee World Cup match, pitting Argentina against Spain, will be played on July 19 in an open-air stadium across the river from Manhattan, where the skyline was obscured by dense smoke and people wore masks outdoors.
Two US troops killed in Iran strikes on Jordan
Iran’s supreme leader vowed to teach the United States “unforgettable lessons” on July 18, as Washington reported its first military deaths since renewing its hostilities with the Islamic republic.
A month after the foes signed a now-abandoned preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, Tehran struck infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for a week of intensifying US attacks, which Iran said had hit an airport, a railway station and bridges.
Iran hit an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave of Iranian attacks.
New York mayor still considering Netanyahu arrest
PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in talks over whether to try to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an upcoming UN summit, he said in an interview published on July 18 – prompting a sharp rebuke from Netanyahu’s camp.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told The New York Times.
“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”
Zelensky mulls army changes amid third day of protests
PHOTOS: AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 18 hinted at potential changes in the army, as rare wartime protests over the removal of a popular defence minister rocked the country for a third day.
Mykhailo Fedorov (above, left), 35, a tech-savvy minister who championed drones and military reform, was sacked earlier this week in a controversial government reshuffle by Zelensky.
The demonstrations came as the president held two days of meetings with top military commanders, amid media speculation he could be looking for a replacement for army chief Oleksandr Syrsky.
Josh Kerr sets new world record in men’s mile
Britain’s Josh Kerr etched his name into the pantheon of milers when he set a new world record in the men’s mile at the London Diamond League on July 18.
The 28-year-old US-based Scot clocked 3min 42.66sec at London Stadium to smash the previous best of 3:43.13 set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999.
Kerr has built his season around going after El Guerrouj’s previous best mark.
