Wednesday: Hili dialogue

Welcome to a Hump Day (“Dies Gibbosus” in Latin): June 17, 2026, and National Apple Strudel Day . Here’s a great snack: an apple strudel and an Einspänner (coffee) at a famous cafe in Vienna . Eaten and photographed in October, 2012. Lots of Schlag here! It’s also the Islamic New Year , National Eat Your Vegetables Day (no, thank you), and World Croc Day . Here’s a giant crocodile I photographed in 2016 at a field station in eastern India. We were not allowed to leave our huts at night because these things roamed the grounds. Readers are welcome to mark notable events, births, or deaths on this day by consulting the June 17 Wikipedia page . Da Nooz: *Footie News . Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in the World Cup , with all three goals scored by perhaps the greatest soccer player ever, Lionel Messi. He also tied the record for goals by an individual in a World Cup: 16. Lionel Messi made history Tuesday night by tying Miroslav Klose’s record for most men’s World Cup goals at 16 after scoring a hat trick to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria . The hat trick was the 11th of Messi’s international career but first at the World Cup. At 38, he became the oldest player to score three goals in a game at the tournament. He came off late in the second half to a rousing ovation from the partisan Argentina crowd at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. “It’s an honor being up there for what it means, being alongside Klose and [Brazil’s] Ronaldo, who is there also. But it doesn’t mean anything,” Messi said after the game. “[Kylian] Mbappé is there, too, he scored twice today . At the end of the day, they are stats and nothing more. “It’s an honor to compete with them, but it doesn’t mean anything. For me, Ronaldo, who I watched and is one of the greats, is not at the top. So, it’s just stats.” When Messi took the field for defending champion Argentina’s first group stage match — his 200th with the national team — he also became the first player to feature in six World Cups. Messi broke the record of five World Cups held by Cristiano Ronaldo ( Portugal ); Antonio Carbajal, Andrés Guardado and Rafael Márquez (all Mexico ); and Lothar Matthäus ( Germany ). (Ronaldo should equal the mark in Portugal’s opener against Congo on Wednesday.) Messi’s comment about Ronaldo is quite uncivil, and I have no idea what he’s on about. Anyway, here are the highlights with Messi’s three goals. At 38, he’s still got it, and he’ll undoubtedly score at least one more goal to set the record. I note, however, that some observers are saying that Messi should have been given a red card and sent out of the game for stomping on an Algerian player’s calf—a foul for which he didn’t even get a yellow card (see photos here ). * The NYT reports that further talks between the U.S. and Iran on their peace deal will begin Friday when the “permanent agreement” is signed . Trump also gave assurances that the preliminary agreement (which none of us have seen) prevents Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon. For more on the memorandum of agreement, which seems to be circulating in various versions, see the next post. Iran said on Tuesday that talks on a permanent peace deal with the United States would begin immediately after the countries signed a preliminary agreement on Friday, as President Trump reiterated his claim that it prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. It says it loud and clear,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday at the Group of 7 summit in France. Under the preliminary agreement, the United States and Iran agreed to a new 60-day cease-fire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But the text has not been publicly released and the thorniest differences between the two sides, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program, have been deferred to the next round of negotiations. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said on Tuesday that he also expected Israeli forces to immediately withdraw from Lebanon and halt their attacks in the country. Israel has said its military would remain in Lebanon, where they have been targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, and it has continued to launch strikes since the U.S.-Iran deal was announced over the weekend. Mr. Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday to “be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” and suggested that Syria would be more effective at dealing with the threat from Hezbollah. There is no indication that Syria is willing to involve itself militarily in that long-running conflict. Mr. Trump has said that the Strait of Hormuz would fully reopen starting Friday. But shipping companies have responded cautiously to the preliminary agreement, and traffic through the waterway, a crucial transit route for oil and gas supplies, remained minimal on Tuesday. Some companies have warned that they would need more details and security guarante