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.

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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.