While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 24, 2026
· The Straits TimesTrump, Iran at odds over nuclear inspections, assets
US President Donald Trump said on June 23 that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections into “infinity”, while Tehran said it had made no such concession in negotiations, raising questions about the viability of their fragile peace deal.
The two countries, which held a first round of negotiations in Switzerland that ended on June 22, also offered conflicting accounts about financial incentives for Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s parallel war in Lebanon – all major aspects of the framework deal they signed last week that aims to end the war.
Nevertheless, Trump said negotiations were going smoothly with Iran. “We’re getting along quite well,” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania.
In a sign of easing tensions, the US relaxed travel restrictions on Iran’s World Cup soccer team, allowing the squad to travel from Tijuana, Mexico, to Seattle two days before its next match instead of one.
Few in US say Iran war was worth it: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Just one in four Americans believes President Donald Trump’s war with Iran was worth its costs and a majority worry that a truce with Tehran is unlikely to last, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The five-day poll, which closed on June 22, also showed the war weighing heavily on Trump’s popularity, with his approval rating dropping to 34 per cent, a return to the lowest level of the Republican’s second term that was last touched in an April survey.
Only 23 per cent of Americans - including just half of Republicans - think the US is now in a stronger position with Iran compared with its position before the war, the poll found.
Sri Lanka bans junk food in schools
Sri Lanka began enforcing a ban on fast food and sweets in schools on June 23 to tackle what the government says are rising cases of diabetes and heart disease in children.
Much of Sri Lanka’s population lives below the poverty line, and many children still do not receive enough to eat.
But the island nation increasingly faces the opposite problem, with officials warning that more and more children are becoming overweight or obese.
Airbus to inspect 16 A380s after cracks found
Airbus on June 23 said it would inspect 16 A380 planes, five of them immediately, after cracks were found in a key wing component on aircraft used by the Emirates and Qantas airlines.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has ordered urgent inspections requiring airlines to examine the wing-spar structure on the affected jets after inspectors found cracks during routine maintenance checks.
The cracks appeared in a structural beam that runs along the wing and carries much of the aerodynamic load during flight.
Record-breaker Ronaldo fires Portugal to 5-0 win
Cristiano Ronaldo silenced his critics in spectacular fashion, becoming the first player to score in six World Cups while netting twice in Portugal’s emphatic 5-0 Group K rout of Uzbekistan in Houston on June 23.
After the match the 41-year-old shouted “I’m back, I’m back” into the television cameras - an outpouring after critics had questioned his place in the team following a goal-scoring drought that had extended to 10 matches in major finals.
Allowed time and space in the box, Ronaldo was deadly in punishing an outclassed Uzbekistan as he took his overall World Cup tally to 10 goals, moving past Eusebio as Portugal’s all-time leading marksman at the global finals.