The Wall Street Journal was first to report the purpose of the trip.

President Donald Trump confirmed Ratcliffe’s visit earlier Wednesday in an interview with Glenn Beck, but called the visit “semi-routine.” When asked if it had to do with increased Russian aggression against NATO or the increased Iranian economic pressure, Trump claimed it was none of those reasons.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Ratcliffe was in contact with Russian intelligence agencies but did not meet with Putin.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow earlier this week in part to warn Russia not to attack NATO countries. John Ratcliffe also brought up Iran during the meetings in Moscow, according to the ABC news.

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“July was the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine in over four years, with at least 437 killed and more than 2,600 injured”, Tom fletcher said . In the first half of the year, civilian casualties rose 37 per cent compared to last year.

Undersecretary General Fletcher on Monday briefed the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. In the Briefing, Undersecretary general urge to defend the international humanitarian law with three urgent measures by the UN security council. First, Civilians and civilian objects must never be targeted. Violations must be credibly investigated, perpetrators held accountable. Impunity cannot be normalized and taking concrete measures that protect humanitarian action, including systems for responding to strikes near convoys, for improved humanitarian notification and for temporary ceasefires for evacuations.

Second, help humanitarians prepare for the tough winter ahead. If energy infrastructure continues to be targeted, we face the prospect of a much worse humanitarian crisis. Do not allow the international discourse on this war to be dominated by an arms race. And work strenuously to get peaceful commerce moving again across the Black Sea.

And the third, we need robust debate with the States and companies driving this lethal military innovation. The onus of compliance remains with those who develop, deploy and use these systems.

“Drone warfare is dismantling civilian life” Undersecretary General Fletcher told the Security Council giving first hand witness.

Describing the devastating impact of this war Fletcher told the Security Council, “Technology is now outpacing accountability. Abandon the rules of war and we all face the chilling reality the Ukrainians face right now. And they need this war to end above all.”

Expressing concerns of danger by modern tech, he said, Drone operators appear to feel detached from their victims and from the law. But neither the weapon nor the distance diminishes the unequivocal obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), regardless of the weapon or the party, to protect civilians and civilian objects.

“Drones have a persistent humanitarian impact. Civilians live in constant anxiety, knowing drones are being used to track, observe and strike them with little warning,” Fletcher told.

Humanitarian workers face these same dangers and require the same protection.

Between January and July, ten humanitarian workers were killed in Ukraine and almost 40 injured. At least 20 warehouses have been destroyed, erasing millions of dollars in aid. UN convoys have been struck, evacuation vehicles hit while attempting to save civilians.

While humanitarian operations in Ukraine are better supported than other crises, they remain underfunded“ Fletcher told ‘we need a stronger bridge to long-term recovery.’

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“We need the international community to uphold the law. The law is meant to protect us, meant to protect civilians from all weapons, however sophisticated they are. So we need those investigations. We need accountability,” Fletcher said. And behind it all, this sense we feel of impunity, of a lack of accountability for those who pulled the trigger, those who gave the order, those who supplied the weapon, those who created the environment in which it could be used in that way, he added.

Honoring the memory of friends and colleagues across the global humanitarian effort, he said, “We do grieve today but we recommit to this mission, the mission that they loved and ultimately died for. We recommit to that mission in their memory.”

While staying in Ukraine, Under-Secretary-General said, he has been in Kherson for the last two days, which is a real epicenter at the moment – it’s saturated by use of drones against civilian areas.  

 “I was really struck – I drove the road four times, actually, that Ukrainians call the “Road of Death,” between Mykolaiv and Kherson, and until you see it and experience it, it’s hard to describe driving for miles and miles, kilometres, kilometres along these roads covered in netting to try and keep out as many of the drones as possible. That sense when you’re walking around of the constant threat, the alarms going on everyone’s phone incessantly, and the sense of collective anxiety that these drones create, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher said.

“It’s become one of the places, I’m afraid he said,  where you get to really understand this dystopian reality that lies ahead, potentially, for many of us, but is an existence day to day for people here and in so many of the crisis areas in which we work, from Somalia to Sudan to Gaza to Lebanon.

Referring to the remarks by Stephen Dujarric Fletcher said said, this day was born from tragedy, the Canal Hotel bombing 23 years ago. But those tragedies are now continuing day to day, and we’re seeing them increasingly powered by a chilling alliance between technological ingenuity and modern warfare, and the victims are civilians and they are humanitarians.

While taking about the Ukraine Tom Fletcher also talked on use of modern technology Drone,” we need the companies who are manufacturing and supplying these weapons to understand international humanitarian law, to understand how these weapons are being used and to understand their obligations and responsibilities.” we need States to uphold the law, He said.

Fletcher expressed concerns that Member States is not doing enough.

Fletcher responded to a question ,”we  need a dialogue with the companies involved in supply and distribution of this new deadly technology to make sure they really understand the risks that they are creating and their obligations under international law as well. And then we need to have a strong, robust conversation about international humanitarian law in the 21st century and try to make sure that our enforcement of the rules keeps up with the deadly innovation, in this case that we’re seeing. This shouldn’t be beyond us. The world has had to adapt to modernization of warfare again and again.

Under-Secretary-General Fletcher said, everyone – from the kids I met in shelters, civilians, humanitarians, my colleagues – he said, can tell the difference between the sound of a first-person-view drone and a fibre-optic drone and the medium-range drones or the loitering munitions, which are such a threat to our work. And so these weapons have become part of life and part of the language of people here, and that’s pretty chilling.

“So you see this dystopian reality of these kill zones and kamikaze drones increasingly putting lethal power into the hands of more people, and all of that without the accountability that […].

We have a sense that it’s not just the killer, who’s further from the victim, but that accountability and justice are further from the victim, and that the technology is changing every week as these drones become more sophisticated’” he added.

You know, my family name is Fletcher; he said, ‘we were arrow makers.’ The world adjusted to a world of arrow makers, it adjusted to a world of gunpowder. It created rules to protect people from nuclear weapons, ballistic weapons, and chemical weapons. Those rules apply to these drones, but they are not being applied in the way that they should.

Fletcher said,   this isn’t just a Ukraine story. I’ve seen the way that armed drones are transforming war around the world. I was told in Somalia a few weeks ago by women that they were fleeing not famine or violence, but the drones that are following them round, as people are experimenting with cheaper and cheaper and more available technology. So, from Sudan to Colombia to Gaza to Lebanon, these cheap armed drones are extending the reach of war and allowing people to kill at greater distance. A thousand civilians killed in Sudan in the first five months of the year.

World need to ensure that if the global economy is being put, as it is, on a war footing, that we are also training these weapons in the right way, he said, and that we’re also ensuring that technology does not outpace humanity and that technology does not outpace accountability.

When asked, Under-Secretary-General of the UN for humanitarian affairs underscored the needs of resources to provide those to all our partners in the field to face challenges about how we protect ourselves, particularly from drones, in the future, and how we adapt protection of our colleagues.

Firstly,as humanitarians, you know, we’re here to help survivors, he added.

Responding to a  question on Gaza, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher said,  it’s been a very, very rough few years for our work, of course, in Gaza, Lebanon, elsewhere. But it’s been much rougher for the civilians that we serve, and you know, but I wouldn’t characterize it as the dismantlement of the UN humanitarian system. We’re still here, and we’re still doing our work in Gaza and elsewhere. We’ve made real inroads, as, in handling the hunger levels in Gaza, for example, with over a million hot meals a day. You know, over that last year, since the 20-Point Plan, since the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting, we’ve got a lot more food in, and we are turning the corner on the hunger situation.

Of course, we’ve got much, much further to go. We’ve got to get shelter materials in for the winter. We’ve got to get all the crossings open. We’ve got to get the full range of our NGO partners operating in the way that we need them to operate. We’ve got to get the protections for civilians in place from airstrikes he said.

Fletcher said, In Gaza, across the West Bank, in Lebanon, but globally, the UN humanitarian system has taken the shocks to it and continues to operate. And we’re out there right now, looking to reach 87 million people this year with life-saving support, as you’ve heard me describe, and we’re not retreating from that challenge, either because of these weapons being used against us, or because of the scale of the challenges in places like Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and beyond, where our work is under such threat.

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Now that the bill has cleared the upper chamber, it’s up to lawmakers in the House to determine its fate when they return in September. President Donald Trump has already signaled he would sign the bill if it lands on his desk.

The bill, which championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and cosponsors including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have worked to advance for more than a year, would issue mandatory sanctions not only on Russia’s leadership and energy sector, but also on abetters of Russia’s defense industry and so-called shadow fleet in an effort to curb the flow of cash to Moscow’s war chest.

Ukraine’s supporters on the Hill and officials in Kyiv have been urging its passage, arguing that it would deal a timely blow to Russia’s war efforts as Kyiv seeks to capitalize on a series of recent favorable turns in the war to end it altogether.

In comments on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and vocal backer of the bill Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) stressed the “urgency” of the moment.

“The momentum is on Ukraine’s side,” Shaheen said. “Now is the time to put more pressure on Putin.” She added that the situation on the ground could turn back in Moscow’s favor within months — especially with assistance from foreign foes like China.

It has already been a long road for the sanctions measure, which Graham and Blumenthal first introduced in April 2025. The lawmakers negotiated for months with the White House, which wanted more control over what entities it could sanction, and by how much. In July, Graham announced — from Kyiv — that the White House had agreed to a revised version of the bill.

Following a last-minute demand from Trump, lawmakers also added language to the bill to extend certain sanctions on Iran.

Graham’s sudden death just days after winning Trump’s green light spurred his fellow senators to support the legislation, which cleared a procedural hurdle at the end of the month by a wide margin.

But a provision in the bill that would grant the White House authority to issue 100 percent tariffs on top buyers of Russian oil, and countries facilitating sanctions evasion, nearly derailed the measure’s passage in the upper chamber before lawmakers left town for August recess.

An amendment pushed by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would have stripped the tariff language from the bill entirely failed in a 64 to 32 floor vote Friday.

Still, nearly one-third of the upper chamber voted in favor of striking the tariff language, highlighting Democrats’ worries about handing more tariff powers to a White House already eager to use that tool against Washington’s global allies and enemies. That Democratic discontent is likely a foreshadowing of a similar sticking point for lawmakers on the House side when they return from recess in September.

As Senate leadership tried to reach an agreement to fast-track consideration of the bill before the chamber adjourned for the summer, lawmakers opposed to the tariff provisions threatened to derail that effort over squabbles about what amendments should get a floor vote.

One of those amendments was an effort from Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), to add language curbing the tariff powers afforded to Trump in the bill. Warnock — who voted to advance the bill in July — had threatened to thwart Senate leadership’s effort to fast-track consideration of the legislation this week if his amendment didn’t get a floor vote.

But Warnock pulled the amendment at the eleventh hour Thursday evening after securing the Trump administration’s commitment to enact a clear off-ramp for countries hit with tariffs, according to a person familiar with the senator’s plans granted anonymity to speak about internal conversations.

That move may not go far enough to quell the concerns of Democrats in the House — some of whom have already expressed frustration over the provision.

House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) issued a joint statement following the Senate vote slamming the current bill text as “unacceptable” and citing the broad waiver authority and tariff powers granted to the White House.

But the lawmakers vowed to “continue to seek a path forward that remedies this bill’s flaws.”

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President Trump said that “hundreds of thousands” of people are taking advantage of birth tourism. However, his own Solicitor General John Sauer had a very different response to that question in April, when Supreme Court Justice John Roberts pressed him about the practice during oral arguments around Trump’s Day 1 executive order, saying that “No one knows for sure.”

The first order aims to exclude babies born to members of foreign terrorist groups or employees working for foreign governments, such as ambassadors.

The second order removes automatic citizenship for babies whose parents engaged in “birth tourism.” This is an issue that Trump has raised for years, and the term refers to when pregnant foreigners visit the U.S. in order to give birth, so that their newborn can obtain American citizenship.

Trump again criticized the Supreme Court’s June decision to uphold birthright citizenship, saying Thursday’s actions are “adjustments” because of the high court’s refusal to greenlight his executive order.

“We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright. It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” Trump said.

The birthright citizenship, a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court just five weeks ago.

Asked what makes him confident this will hold up to constitutional law, Trump deferred to White House Secretary Will Scharf, but said, “I think it will.”

The orders come as an attempt by Trump to do away with birthright citizenship altogether in an executive order he signed on the first day of his second term last year.

Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller was at the Oval Office when the executive orders were announced, calling the crackdown on the practice one of the most important actions that Trump has taken when it comes to immigration.

“It ends what has been one of the gravest and most egregious abuses of the American system, and it keeps American citizenship sacred,” he said.

Asked how the government would distinguish between a “a tourist and a birth tourist,” Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said, “The Immigration and Nationality Act gives the president this authority, citing section 215(a) of the law which, in part, makes it unlawful for any noncitizen to enter or leave the U.S. “except under such reasonable rules, regulations, and order. … The President may prescribe.”

“If you’re telling a consular officer you’re here as a tourist, but your true purpose and intent is to go to a baby mill, give birth and try to mint an American citizen while you’re here and you’re committing a fraud against the American government,” Miller said.

“So that practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned. And what that means is that no one in the world is any more allowed to obtain a visa for this fraudulent purpose,” Miller said.

Sauer cited “media reports” that said estimates are more than 1.1 million, “or 1.5 million from the People’s Republic of China alone.”

“The congressional report that we cite in our brief talks about certain hotspots, like Russian elites coming to Miami through these birth tourism companies,” Sauer said.

In the other order, Miller said people who would be ineligible to obtain citizenship by birthright, would include “alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.”

“This is a situation where you would hope that the Supreme Court would step in very quickly to enforce its prior decision,” he said.

The Center for Immigration Studies — a group that supports restricting immigration — estimates that temporary visitors gave birth to about 70,000 babies in 2023.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2024, fewer than 10,000 babies were born in the U.S. to foreign residents.

Both estimates suggest that tourist births make up a small fraction of the 3.6 million babies born in the U.S. every year.

Over the years, there have been some crackdowns on covert, lucrative businesses coaching travelers on how to conceal their pregnancies from immigration authorities. But the actual scale of the practice is unclear.

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 Choe’s visit to Moscow came shortly after North Korea and China exchanged high-level visits, with North Korean Cabinet premier, Pak Thae Song, Kim’s top economic official, meeting Xi in Beijing and Wang Huning, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, visiting Kim in Pyongyang this month.

North Korean state media said Choe departed for Russia on Saturday at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov but has yet to comment on the purpose of her visit.

The visit by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui comes without an obvious occasion, such as a multilateral diplomatic event or state anniversary, and has raised speculation that she may be coordinating a possible visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Russia’s Tass news agency said Putin during his meeting with Choe at the Kremlin on Sunday praised the countries’ bilateral relations and reiterated his “gratitude to the North Korean leadership and people” for supporting his military operations against Ukraine. Choe told Putin that Kim remains committed to the “comprehensive development” of relations with Russia, Tass said.

Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East for summits with Putin in 2019 and 2023. Putin invited Kim to visit Russia again during their summit in Pyongyang in June 2024, where the leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement pledging mutual aid if either country faces aggression.

Kim in recent years has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and huge supplies of weapons to support Putin’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for economic aid and technology transfers that some experts say are helping advance North Korea’s military capabilities.

Kim has suspended all meaningful dialogue with the United States and South Korea since the collapse of his nuclear diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019. He has used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the advancement of his nuclear weapons and missile program, while demanding that Washington abandon its calls for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.

Yoon Min Ho, spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles affairs related to North Korea, said Monday that Seoul was closely monitoring the meetings but declined to assess whether Moscow and Pyongyang were discussing another summit between their leaders.

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On Monday, Burnham made the was invited by the king to form a new government shortly before the outgoing Prime Minister Starmer traveled to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation to King Charles III.  

The new prime minister said his government would be “a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years.”

Returning from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street, where he delivered his first remarks as prime minister, “I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living,” Burnham said.

Standing outside Downing Street, Burnham said he will announce measures to help with the cost of living on Tuesday, promising immediate support for households while setting out plans for longer-term change.

“I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country.” Burnham also said he would unveil a 10-year plan for Britain later this year.

Burnham said, “It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game.” He said politicians are “acknowledging that many voters have grown frustrated with politics.”

“I want to be honest with you: We have not been good enough, and we need to be better,” Burnham said. “We will be.”

Speaking outside the prime minister’s official residence — 10 Downing Street — on Monday morning, Starmer said, “Today I am here to offer my resignation and close the book on my time as prime minister. My work is done.”

“I thank the British people for the opportunity to serve. I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved. Thank you very much,” Starmer added.

Andy Burnham, a Member of Parliament for Makerfield, England, ran unopposed to succeed Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation in June, setting Burnham on course to become the United Kingdom’s new prime minister.

Burnham becomes the U.K.’s seventh prime minister in a little over a decade since Britons voted in June 2016 to leave the European Union. That decision ultimately shrank the British economy, triggered anger at the governing class and contributed to a revolving door of prime ministers. Burnham is likely to face some of the same challenges that stymied Starmer: rising costs of living, slow growth and a volatile

Keir Starmer delivered his final speech outside No. 10 Downing St. earlier on Monday before heading to Buckingham Palace to formally resign as prime minister, declaring: “My work is done.”

“In 6 1/2 years, I took our party from a historic defeat in 2019, changed it so it was fit to face the country, and won a landslide general election victory in 2024,” Starmer said. He described serving as prime minister as “the privilege of my life” and said he was leaving office confident Britain was “stronger and fairer” than it was two years ago.

Of his successor, the outgoing prime minister said, “I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success. He has my full support.”

Closing his final address outside Downing Street, Starmer said, “I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything we have achieved.”

Starmer led the U.K.’s center-left Labour Party to a landslide victory two years ago. But his personal approval ratings sank. Polls show voters believe he failed to deliver palpable change. He was also criticized for appointing Peter Mandelson, a close friend of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as British ambassador to Washington. Starmer later fired Mandelson.

After Labour lost seats to a populist anti-immigration party in May’s local elections, more of Starmer’s own lawmakers joined calls for his removal.

Starmer resigned as Labour leader on June 22, and Burnham assumed that role on Friday. Under Britain’s parliamentary system, the ruling party can replace its leader — and therefore the prime minister — without a general election. The next election is not expected for another three years.

Andy Burnham previously served as a member of Parliament for 16 years, holding several Cabinet roles in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He ran twice for the Labour leadership, receiving a nomination from Starmer during the 2015 contest, before leaving Parliament to become mayor of Greater Manchester.

As mayor, Burnham championed investment and devolution in the post-industrial region and has pledged to bring a similar approach to the U.K. nationally. He returned to Parliament in a special election last month.

Born and raised in the grittier north of England, the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham 56, has cultivated a working-class hero vibe, often wearing T-shirts rather than suits and advocating for blue-collar workers. He moonlights as a DJ on Manchester’s indie music scene. His social media videos have been compared to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s.

In terms of policy, Burnham has said he’ll scrap plans for digital ID cards, reverse the privatization of public transit and utilities and devolve power away from London toward municipal and regional authorities.

In recent days, there have been reports that Burnham might ease a ban on new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea — which won him immediate praise from President Trump on social media on Sunday. Trump wrote that with North Sea drilling, Burnham would transform the U.K. from “a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World!”

Andy Burnham spoke with Trump

Andy Burnham spoke with Trump soon after taking office on Monday afternoon, a statement from his office said.

The new prime minister “underlined his commitment to defense and security and said ensuring the security of the U.K. and its Allies was at the top of his agenda,” the statement said. The two leaders talked about the Middle East, and Burnham outlined Britain’s “commitment to securing the movement of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to support global supply chains and drive down costs for businesses and families across the country.”

Burnham also spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he invited to visit the U.K., a Downing Street statement said. Burnham expressed “resolute commitment to the people of Ukraine and underscored that there would be absolutely no change in the U.K.’s approach, including when it came to bearing down on Russia,” according to the statement.

In a conversation with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, Burnham also vowed an “ironclad” commitment to Ukraine, according to another statement from his office.

Congratulations from European leaders

European leaders congratulated Burnham on becoming the U.K.’s new prime minister, with an invitation for his first foreign trip arriving from Berlin.

Through the rest of Monday, Burnham is expected to begin appointing cabinet ministers from Number 10.

The incoming prime minister said he would also make British politics “less toxic, adding, “I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it.”

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Ferran Torres scored the winning goal in the 106th minute. It was his first goal of the 2026 tournament and third World Cup goal overall. Argentina superstar Lionel Messi was completely nonexistence all through the game except once he received the ball and tried to move.

Spain is the most dominant defensive team to win a World Cup; no champion before them had ever conceded only one goal en route to a title. And this Spain team did so with an extra game, as the new, expanded format of the tournament required its champion to play eight matches, a record.

Spain dominated possession all through the championship final and its defense shut out Argentina almost completely — Argentina recorded zero shots and only two touches in Spain’s box through halftime of extra time.  Leonardo messi Yet for the 90 minutes of regulation, Argentina’s defense held firm, with Spain’s crosses and attempts broken up by an Argentine shin or cleat or head, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez seemingly always in position to stop any shots that got through. (Martínez finished the game with 11 saves, the most ever recorded in a men’s World Cup final.)

Then, in stoppage time came the pivotal moment, when a tackle by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández on Spain’s young star Pau Cubarsí flipped the young defender into the air and hard onto the ground. That earned Fernández his second yellow card of the game, after he received his first for dissent when he publicly disagreed with the referee.

The two yellows combined for a red card, sending Fernández off the field and forcing Argentina to play the 30 minutes of extra time with only ten men.

After recording nearly a dozen shots on target, Spain finally broke through when forward Nico Williams took a cross into the box off his head, sending it back into the empty space in front of his teammate Ferran Torres, who knocked it in for the game’s only goal.

On Sunday, Argentina’s magic ran out as it attempted to become just the third country to win back-to-back men’s World Cup titles. “It really hurts in our soul not being able to take the trophy with us,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the match.

Spain’s run to the title came through a wall of top-ten opponents: first a 1-0 win over No. 5 Portugal, then a 2-1 quarterfinal win over No. 9 Belgium, then a 2-0 win in the semifinal over No. 3 France, whose attack had looked unstoppable until then. Argentina had been the world’s No. 1 team; with the win, Spain has moved into the top spot.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi’s performance in this World Cup had been nothing short of unbelievable: His eight goals and four assists — including assists on both crucial late-game goals in the heart-stopping semifinal against England — was second only to France’s Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot award. (Mbappé scored twice in Saturday’s bronze medal loss to England and finished the World Cup with 10 goals. He is now the all-time World Cup scoring leader with 22 goals)

With the victory, Spain’s football program extended its global dominance. The Spanish women are ranked number 1 and are the defending Women’s World Cup champions. This is the first time a country has held both titles simultaneously.

At MetLife Stadium, where the get-in price for the game had reached five figures in the days leading up to the final, a crowd of 80,663 piled into the stands to watch the final. And they were treated to a World Cup first: a halftime show that lasted around 12 minutes, featuring Shakira, Burna Boy, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna.

The halftime show was a nod to American audiences and halftime spectacles like the Super Bowl, but it was controversial to many soccer fans: traditionally, halftime is 15 minutes. This one — between setup and music performances — lasted around 25 minutes. Sports fans have complained that it slows down the natural rhythm of the game; the more severe traditionalists say it’s part of the trend to Americanize the game (along with hydration breaks, which effectively create four quarters, similarly to an NFL or NBA game.)

The final day of a summer of World Cup fever in North America, the last of 104 matches in total, was a hot and sunny July day in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River in Manhattan. On Sunday morning, fans — some in Messi jerseys and others draped in Spain flags — stood in line for bagels, sang on the subway and trains to the stadium, and packed into bars and watch parties, including a crowd of about 50,000 in Central Park.

Sunday in Met life stadium in New Jersey, it was only the winning side crowned on the final day of the month-long competition, but there were several other awards that were given out. Spain had a solid day, nearly sweeping the individual trophies along with their second World Cup title.

Golden Boot (most goals in the tournament)

For the first time in men’s or women’s World Cup history, there is a back-to-back Golden Boot winner.

Kylian Mbappé, France –  helped along by a two-goal performance in the third-place game against England on Saturday, July 18, was able to edge out Argentina’s Lionel Messi and win the honor of the World Cup’s leading goal scorer, netting 10 goals to Messi’s eight.

The two were neck-and-neck in both goals and assists at eight and four, respectively, heading into the weekend, but an offensive exhibition between England and France that ended in a 6-4 win for England ultimately proved to be the difference.

The Spain goalkeeper won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper at the 2026 World Cup on Sunday, July 19, capping a tournament during which he allowed one goal in eight matches and set records that had stood for decades.

La Roja won a World Cup title, its second in team history, $50 million, and championship rings. It also cleaned up in the individual awards, including the FIFA Young Player Award.

To be eligible for this year’s award, a player must have been less than 21 years old at the start of 2026. That made Spain’s Pau Cubarsí (19 years old) the perfect candidate to win. Cubarsi appeared in 8 matches for Spain.

The award is relatively innovative. It was first awarded in 2006 when Germany’s Lukas Podolski won the prize. Podolski was followed by some of the best players in his generation, Thomas Müller, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe and Enzo Fernández.

Spain’s World Cup champions head home for a royal welcome and a parade through Madrid

Spain’s World Cupwinning soccer team is set to return home on Monday, where the 26-man squad will be greeted by Spanish royalty and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez before boarding an open-top bus for a parade through central Madrid.

Throngs of fans will greet them as they travel from near Moncloa Palace, the prime minister’s official residence, to Cibeles Square.

A ceremony with the players will then be held at the square, where previous Spanish national teams and their supporters have traditionally gathered to celebrate.

Spain walked off with the trophy at Sunday’s final after defeating now-dethroned champion Argentina 1-0 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was only the second time — after a 2010 victory in South Africa — that Spain won the title.

The Spanish capital erupted into celebrations after the final whistle, with thousands of supporters pouring into the streets from bars and restaurants, many draped in Spanish flags or wearing the team’s colors.

Crowds packed Madrid’s Puerta de Sol and other major squares — singing, dancing and setting off flares while car horns blared throughout the capital.

Many celebrated Sunday’s victory long into the wee hours of Monday morning.

The World Cup title, combined with the Women’s World Cup won by Spain in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men’s and women’s titles simultaneously.

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“Spain is a wasted cause,” Trump said at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, during an official greeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte. “We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore. By the way, I’d like you to cut it up. Scan, Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate, they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits.”

Spain, the only member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that has not committed to defense spending equal to 5% of its GDP by 2030 Trump commented.

“I don’t want to do any more trade with them. All right, take it immediately,” Trump said on Wednesday. “Don’t even talk to them, they’re hopeless, bad people, because you know they have everybody else going and paying and working in Spain, in particular Spain, there are a couple of others, but in particular Spain, they’re open about it, they’re hostile about it, and let’s see how hostile they remain when they call up, and they ‘please, please, we want to trade with you, sir, we want to trade with you, sir.’ They make so much money with us, and we’re going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them.”

After Trump’s comments, sources at Moncloa Palace, the Spanish prime minister’s office, told Madrid’s El Dario newspaper that Spain “maintains an excellent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the U.S., and it is not our intention for that to change.”

Trump on Wednesday said “nobody,” aside from the “small countries” wanted to help the U.S. in its war with Iran.

“There was calls made a few weeks ago,” Trump said, claiming he spoke with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, among others. “Nobody wanted to help. Some of the very small countries wanted to help, because they’re the most vulnerable. I mean, that’s the only reason they wanted to help.”

Trump has previously threatened to end trade with Spain, including in March, when the Spanish foreign minister said at the time that they wouldn’t allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain for any strikes not covered by the U.N.’s charter.

The U.S., because of its outsized military spending, indirectly contributes more to the NATO than any other country, Trump said last week. The U.S. is responsible for about 15% of NATO’s direct funding, according to the bloc.

At last year’s NATO summit at The Hague, allies agreed at Trump’s prompting to target defense spending equal to 5% of each NATO member countries’ GDP, up from the previous 2%. Spain was alone among the 32 member states in saying it wouldn’t commit to the target.

.The leaders of the U.K., France and Germany did not immediately respond to Trump’s statement on Wednesday. Each has repeatedly declined to involve their countries directly in the war, although each also has said Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Trump spoke about his displeasure with NATO allies at large, saying that the U.S. has paid for allies to be protected against Russia but that safety has “nothing to do” with the U.S.

“They weren’t there for us, and we’ve been there for them, ” he said. “We spent over a trillion dollars over the last short period, trillion in order to protect these countries from Russia, and has nothing to do with us. We have a notion, but it’s been a long-term thing, and they haven’t treated us right.”

Trump on Wednesday shook hands with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, a day after the president renewed his calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory under Denmark.

Frederiksen pledged earlier in the summit to defend Greenland, saying, “Our position is clear as it has been all through. Greenland is, of course, not for sale.”

NATO leader  Rutte later celebrated Trump’s ability to get allies to pay a greater share for defense. Rutte appeared to remind the U.S. president that Spain was a part of the coalition that upped their spending.

“And you mentioned Spain, even you got Spain to pay 2% they spent, they made a huge step in last year, so there are still issues we have to solve, but hey, also, even Spain, I would say they got to the 2%,” Rutte said.

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“It’s a decision we’re going to make,” Trump said as he met Turkish President Recep Erdogan at Erdogan’s presidential compound.

Trump said during the first day of the NATO Summit in Ankara on Tuesday,

“We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey’s been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal.”

 “So, it’s something, certainly, we would consider. It’s a great plane, it’s the best, currently the best plane by far, and it’s certainly something we will consider,” Trump said.

Turkey seeks to join a U.S. F-35 program but is prohibited from doing so under U.S. law as long as it possesses Russian-made air defenses.

Trump again questioned the alliance as he singled out nations he said declined to assist the U.S. on Iran, saying he was “testing people.”

“Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down and France turned us down. And it’s OK, but why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars and they’re not there for us? We’ve always been there for them,” the president said.

“They’ve been extraordinary in many ways with respect to our relationship, including trying to end the war with Iran, or whatever you call it, it’s not even a war, it’s a military operation, it’s a denuclearization, that’s really what it is, of Iran, because I don’t think he wants to see them have a nuclear weapon either. I’m pretty sure that. In fact, I’m totally sure of that,” Trump said.

Trump suggested that he didn’t have a problem with the fact that Turkey was also using Russian air defense systems, telling reporters: “I have no concerns at all about anything.”

Trump told reporters that his administration is working to lift sanctions on Turkey, saying “it’s time.” Trump’s first administration sanctioned Turkey in 2020 for acquiring the Russian defense systems.

“I can tell you we’re going to take the sanctions off,” Trump said, answering a Turkish question that appeared to be directed at Erdogan. “I don’t want him to waste his time answering that question.”

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Hegseth were working on it. 

“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off. It’s time to do that, OK?” he said.

Vice President JD Vance, during an Oval Office meeting with Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week, said Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department were reviewing the Turkish purchase of American F-35 fighters, and Trump during that meeting teased a “gift” for Turkey, suggesting the sale.

Trump later said the U.S. had an “obligation” to maintain the engines of planes Turkey has bought because Turkey, he said, has been “more helpful” on Iran than other NATO countries.

Trump again lashed out at other NATO allies for their reluctance to join U.S. military operations in reopening and patrolling of the critical Strait of Hormuz.

“I was very disappointed with NATO,” Trump said. “And frankly, if it weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended.”

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