While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 21, 2026

A high-level Iranian team arrived in Switzerland on June 20 for peace talks with the US, Iranian state media reported, as US Vice-President J.D. Vance departed Washington for meetings that Pakistan said will begin on June 21.

The Iranian delegation was led by chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as well as senior security, central bank and oil officials, Iranian media said.

Although the US and Iran had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations take place, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on June 20 declared the Strait of Hormuz shut, appearing to raise the stakes ahead of the talks as both sides seek to advance an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed on June 17 by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end their almost four-month war.

Trump in a social media post on June 20 wrote that no toll will be charged for passage through the Strait during or after the 60-day ceasefire – unless the United States imposes one should peace talks fail.

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Qatar-based Al Jazeera said on June 20 that an Israeli strike killed one of its journalists in the Gaza Strip, the latest of a string of people working for the broadcaster killed in the Palestinian territory since Oct 7, 2023.

An Israeli military spokesman told AFP it “confirms it carried out a strike on Ahmed Wishah, who was a Hamas terrorist”.

The spokesman did not immediately provide evidence to support the military’s claim about Wishah, but said “there will be a statement issued with further details”.

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Tensions soared in parts of Bolivia on June 20 as authorities began clearing roadblocks after President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency amid protests that have paralysed the economy over the past 50 days and left at least 14 people dead.

Addressing the nation early morning on June 20, the centrist Paz said anti-government blockades were no longer a social protest but an organised attempt to destabilise Bolivia’s democracy.

“There comes a moment when failing to act ceases to be prudence and becomes irresponsibility. And that moment has arrived,” Paz said, promising the measure, which enables wider military deployment, would protect citizens and ensure the flow of essential goods. He warned that those continuing disruptions would face legal consequences.

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Police in Scotland said on June 20 that counter-terrorism officers were investigating a number of “violent attacks” the previous evening in Edinburgh that injured five men in suspected anti-Muslim incidents.

Police Scotland said a 36-year-old white Scottish man had been arrested and that there was no further threat to the public.

Footage posted online showed a bare-chested man – purportedly the suspect – roaming streets of the Scottish capital with a large weapon.

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An early double from Brian Brobbey, two more in the second half for Cody Gakpo and a late goal from Crysencio Summerville helped the Netherlands cruise to an impressive 5-1 win over Sweden at the World Cup on June 20.

The Dutch delivered the performance coach Ronald Koeman had demanded after conceding near the end of regulation in a disappointing opening 2-2 draw against Japan and underlining the team’s credentials as among the favourites to go far in the tournament.

Koeman said he knew this was an important game but the players performance showed they did not feel the pressure after the opening draw.

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