Find today's news in pics from India and around the world for July 18, 2026
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US President Donald Trump and FIFA head Gianni Infantino held an exclusive reception at Trump Tower in Manhattan on July 17, 2026, ahead of the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. Standing by the iconic trophy, both leaders traded high praise of the tournament. Infantino lauded the event's success, calling it "the American dream" that "united the world". He thanked Trump, noting the event wouldn't have reached such heights without his backing. Trump called the tourney "one of the greatest sporting events in history". The gathering highlighted deep ties between football's governing body and Trump, and the pair have stood steadfastly by one another amid controversies before and during the tournament, also co-hosted by Canada and Mexico. It's also worth noting that FIFA recently leased permanent office space inside Trump Tower. The event concluded with Trump wishing both teams the best of luck ahead of his historic role presenting the trophy to the winning captain this Sunday.
The media room at New York's Fanatics Fest was electric ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina. Instead of traditional media, sports legends like Tom Brady, Novak Djokovic, and Kevin Durant took the stage to interview the teams. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni and Spain's Luis de la Fuente discussed handling the immense pressure of the looming title showdown. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez expressed his desire to bring back-to-back titles to his country. The spotlight inevitably turned to the viral photo of Lionel Messi with a baby Lamine Yamal. Messi smiled, calling it a crazy picture, while promising that his team will give their all. Spain captain Rodri wrapped things up with a fighter's mindset. While labelling Messi the greatest player of all time, Rodri insisted his team must stay focused to lift the trophy. See the best photos from the ESP vs ARG final news conference.
The iconic Rockefeller Center transformed into a star-studded pitch for the FIFA Legends Cup, held ahead of the World Cup 2026 final between Argentina and Spain. This photo feature highlights the tournament's most memorable moments, featuring crossover tennis icon Novak Djokovic alongside Brazilian maestro Kaka and Italian goalscorer Alessandro del Piero, among many others. Goalkeeping greats Iker Casillas and Cabo Verde's Vozinha guarded the action at both ends of the field. Closing out the celebration, FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the champion's trophy to Argentine icon Javier Zanetti. See the best photos from the FIFA Legends Cup 2026.
Delhi Police shifted activist Sonam Wangchuk to a Delhi hospital from the Jantar Mantar protest site, citing his deteriorating health and a Delhi High Court order
Swiss rider Mauro Schmid edged Colombian Harold Tejada in a two-way sprint to win the 13th stage of the Tour de France, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar safely kept his overall lead on Friday. With several riders closing in behind them, Schmid made the decisive move with 200 meters left and held off Tejada before lifting his front wheel at the line in celebration. Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock finished just behind in third. Pogacar’s yellow jersey group cruised in a few minutes later as the high temperatures of recent heat waves finally dropped. Four-time Tour champion Pogacar remains 3 minutes, 36 seconds ahead of two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard in the overall standings, and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel in third place. Pidcock climbed up to fourth at 4:15 behind Pogacar.
Belgian rider Tim Merlier earned another stage win at the Tour de France while several riders fell as they sprinted to the line Thursday. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar avoided the crash and kept his significant overall lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard after 12 stages. It was Merlier’s third stage win on this year’s Tour and sixth of his career. Dutch rider Olav Kooij finished second and Jasper Philipsen of Belgium was third. With riders fighting for position on the home straight, Colombian Fernando Gaviria went down after clipping the wheel of another cyclist and fell to his left, bringing Norwegian rider Soeren Waerenskjold — Wednesday’s stage winner — down with him. Just behind them, four other riders had no room to swerve around them and flew over their
Find today's news in pics from India and around the world for July 17, 2026
Norwegian rider Soeren Waerenskjold attacked late and powered to victory in the fastest ever stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday while Tadej Pogačar protected his overall lead on the 11th day of racing. Waerenskjold finished just ahead of Olav Kooij, Jasper Philipsen and a host of other riders in a sprint finish that seemed inevitable on the relatively short and flat 161.3-kilometer (100.2-mile) route from Vichy to Nevers in central France. Pogačar, who stretched his lead to more than 3½ minutes with his third stage win of this Tour on Tuesday, finished among a bunch of riders with his main challenger Jonas Vingegaard to maintain his advantage.
Four-time champion Tadej Pogačar dealt his rivals another crushing blow by winning the 10th stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday to extend his already commanding overall lead. “You never know how long it lasts,” said Pogačar, who is on course to equal the record for Tour wins. Only Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault have five Tour victories to their names. “We just need to be grateful for this moment to be riding in the biggest race of the world,” the 27-year-old Pogačar said. Pogačar, who had already sapped his rivals’ morale with victory on the iconic Col du Tourmalet on Thursday, again stamped his authority with a break just over 900 meters from the summit of the Col de Pertus, the penultimate climb on Tuesday’s hilly stage.
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