Argentina football star Lionel Messi’s much-anticipated visit to India, as part of what’s billed as his “GOAT (greatest of all time) Tour,” has generated great excitement.

Messi, who just won Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player award for the second season in a row, last visited India in 2011, when Argentina faced Venezuela in an international friendly in Kolkata, India’s footballing heartland.

After kicking off his four-city visit in Kolkata on Saturday, Messi is scheduled to visit the southern city of Hyderabad and Mumbai before concluding the tour in New Delhi on Monday, where the 2022 World Cup winner is to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Among the highlights of his stop in Kolkata, Messi is to inaugurate the world’s largest statue of himself, a towering 70-foot (21.3 meter) behemoth.

He will also be accompanied by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as well as former India cricket captain and current Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly during a three-hour event at Kolkata’s main stadium, which is to include a 7-on-7 celebrity match and coaching clinics for selected young talents.

The 2022 World Cup winner is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on MondayImage: Deepak Salvi/ANI

Football’s deep, although regional roots

While cricket continues to be India’s dominant sport, football also has deep roots in the country, especially in states like West Bengal, where Kolkata clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal command passionate fan bases.

Arjun Sen, a fan who has followed the game for 30 years, has taken leave from work to attend Saturday’s event.

“I have already arranged leave for the day and plan to reach the stadium hours early. This is something we have only dreamed of. But seeing Messi in person is going to be unforgettable for everyone here,” Sen told DW.

Priya Das, an amateur football coach, told DW of the excitement his young players are feeling.

“They are talking nonstop about Messi’s visit and hoping to attend the clinics. It is not every day that football legends come to India, and it makes football feel more alive for us.”

While cricket continues to be India’s dominant sport, football also has deep roots in the country, especially in states like West BengalImage: Satyajit Shaw/DW

Initiating positive change

Satadru Dutta, the architect behind Messi’s visit, said it’s not just a spectacle, it’s about growing the game in the country.

“He is a world champion. If I can get conversations going on reviving football, I think that is a big start. Football will not change with Messi’s coming, but there can be small steps which can be initiated,” Dutta told DW.

Dutta also spoke about another of his ventures, “Edu Soccer,” a grassroots initiative. The project, which is to be launched by Messi, involves taking a group of 10-12 children and giving them professional football training over a period of 15 years.

However, the self-described “businessman, crazy about football” declined to disclose how much money Messi will earn from his Indian sojourn or the amount of revenue expected to be generated through sponsorships, VIP packages, broadcasting rights and merchandise.

“That is classified. Messi is priceless and it will stay that way,” he said.

Challenges holding the game back

India is 142nd in the FIFA men’s rankings — 27th among Asia’s 46 nation. This is despite the fact that it is the world’s most populous nation and possesses a passionate football base in pockets like Kolkata, Kerala and the Northeast region.

The country has never qualified for a World Cup, and its domestic leagues struggle with inconsistent attendance, limited infrastructure and negligible international visibility.

Moreover, the Indian Super League (ISL) faces severe financial and operational challenges, exacerbated by the All-India Football Federation’s (AIFF) recent failure to secure a new commercial rights partner, leading multiple clubs to suspend operations.

Soccer fever in India: Turning young lives around

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Shaji Prabhakaran, a former AIFF general secretary, agrees that while Messi’s visit will not transform Indian football, it can act as a catalyst that forces stakeholders to create lasting value.

“The timing is appropriate because Indian football is facing a difficult phase, and the visit can put Indian football firmly in the spotlight, prompting discussions among politicians, industrialists and football bodies,” Prabhakaran, who is acting as chief adviser for Messi’s GOAT tour, told DW.

“If this trip can heighten national focus on football rather than treating it as a one‑off celebrity appearance, it can help.”

More commercial than transformative?

The tour undeniably carries significant commercial dimensions. Ticket prices range from approximately 4,500 rupees (€43/$50) to 11,800 rupees depending on city and seating category, with Mumbai tickets starting at 8,250 rupees.

Messi cemented his legacy as one of the greatest footballers of all time after winning the Qatar World Cup in 2022Image: Matthias Koch/IMAGO

Premium hospitality packages command substantially higher prices, though exact figures for VIP experiences have not been publicly disclosed.

Bollywood stars are expected to attend the event at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and participate in a philanthropic fashion show alongside Messi, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, who are also to attend.

A senior AIFF official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told DW that the event was “a lucrative pit stop on a branded world tour that will leave Indian football exactly where it was, starstruck but still starving.”

Arup Das of the India Youth Soccer Association (IYSA) wondered aloud whether this moment will translate into anything lasting for Indian football or simply fade like previous high-profile visits.

A jersey and its impact

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“The Messi visit feels like another superstar comet that does a flyby of India especially at a time when Indian football is in a dark uncertainty. The ISL is without a commercial partner and shows no sign of starting anytime soon,” Das told DW.

The IYSA is an NGO established in 2000 supporting children playing football in rural areas where there has been a boom in small academies in the last decade. It says that so far it has reached over 5,000 children and coaches in more than 50 villages and small towns in northern India.

‘Inspiration is not infrastructure’

“Messi is not going to the football-passionate parts of India like Kerala, Goa, and the Northeast, with the exception of Kolkata, but instead to Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai which are no longer centers of football and these events are in cricket stadiums, which just goes to show how neglected our football stadium infrastructure is,” Das added.

Jaydeep Basu, a former director of communication and media at AIFF, hopes football’s administrators will leverage Messi’s visit for investment in sustainable football infrastructure.

“Inspiration matters in sports development. Seeing Messi can ignite passion in young players who might otherwise never pursue football seriously. But inspiration without infrastructure is merely sentiment, not change,” Basu underlined.

Rural India’s rugby girls battle to keep playing

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Edited by: Chuck Penfold

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NEED TO KNOW

• Taylor Swift’s new Disney+ docuseries, The End of an Era, premiered with its first two episodes on Dec. 12
• In the first episode, Swift is filmed on day one of rehearsals in a sweatshirt she may have had to retire
• The Pennsylvania-born pop star sported an oversized grey Philadelphia Eagles crewneck sweatshirt

Taylor Swift has a history of cheering on teams with a Kelce on their roster, even before she started dating Travis Kelce.

Swift recently released her new Disney+ docuseries, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | The End of an Era, which chronicles the six months of developing and rehearsing for the titular tour.

In the first episode, Swift, who will be 36 on Dec. 13, arrives on the first day of rehearsals representing the Philadelphia Eagles. Swift grew up near Reading, Penn., and confirmed she was an Eagles fan after writing a lyric about an Eagles t-shirt in her 2020 song “Gold Rush.”

Taylor Swift in an Eagles sweatshirt.

Disney

Months after the rehearsals, Swift’s allegiance shifted toward the Kansas City Chiefs as her romance with Kelce developed.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift on November 7, 2025 in New York City.

XNY/Star Max/GC Images

The Eras Tour began in March 2023, one month after the Chiefs defeated the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. It was the first Super Bowl in which two brothers, Travis and Eagles center Jason Kelce, faced one another.

In July 2023, Travis attended the Eras Tour stop at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. While the football star traded friendship bracelets with fans inside the venue, he revealed weeks later that he actually tried — and failed — to meet Swift after the show. 

A couple months later, Swift attended the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium, her first time seeing Travis play in person.

The pair have publicly shared their support for one another, but during the first episode of The End of an Era, the couple privately discussed the similarities in their professions. 

“We basically do the same job,” Swift told Travis during a phone call.

“You got teammates, I got teammates,” Kelce said in response.

Swift replied, “You’ve got Coach Reid, I’ve got…my mom,” as they both burst into laughter.

As the conversation winds down, Kelce tells Swift, “Thanks for making my life better.” Swift then responds, “I know, this was like — some people get a vitamin drip. I got this conversation.”

Jason and Travis Kelce on February 06, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Swift shared her gratitude for her fiancé while appearing on the Wednesday, Dec. 10 episode of The Late Show, telling host Stephen Colbert that being engaged to “the love of [her] life” is one thing she’s most grateful for.

Swift and Travis announced that they got engaged on Aug. 26 with a sweet joint Instagram post captioned, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The first two episodes of Swift’s six-part The End of an Era docuseries are now streaming on Disney+; Swift also released The Eras Tour | The Final Show, a Disney+ concert film from her last performance in Vancouver in December 2024, on Dec. 12.

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A California mother preparing for surgery on a gargantuan ovarian tumor found out she was pregnant – and days later gave birth to a full–term baby boy.

Suze Lopez, 41, was set to have a 22–pound benign cyst on her ovary removed at the Cedars–Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles when doctors had her undergo a required pregnancy test.

Stunningly, it turned out that she was expecting a baby.

‘I was used to very irregular periods and some abdominal discomfort,’ she told the hospital’s website. 

‘I could not believe that after 17 years of praying, and trying, for a second child, that I was actually pregnant.’

Three days later, Lopez delivered the news to her husband Andrew while they were at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.

But what should have been a moment of happiness suddenly turned sour.

Lopez’s abdomen began hurting and she was rapidly taken to Cedars–Sinai with dangerously high blood pressure.

Doctors later diagnosed Lopez with an abdominal ectopic pregnancy, which the hospital said was ‘almost unheard of.’

Suze Lopez, 41, was about to have a 22–pound benign ovary cyst removed when she was told that she was pregnant

A ‘nearly full–term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus’ was discovered inside Lopez’s abdomen

‘Suze was pregnant, but her uterus was empty, and a giant benign ovarian cyst weighing over 20 pounds was taking up so much space,’ John Ozimek, the hospital’s medical director of labor and delivery, said.

He said a ‘nearly full–term baby boy in a small space in the abdomen, near the liver, with his butt resting on the uterus’ had been discovered inside Lopez’s abdomen.

The baby was growing behind the ovarian cyst, pushing it forward and making it grow in size.

Ozimek said: ‘It makes sense that she just thought the tumor was getting bigger again, not that she could be pregnant.’

About 30 experts were required for what the hospital called a ‘highly coordinated, complex delivery and surgery’ on Lopez’s extremely rare pregnancy.

The experts involved in the risky delivery included maternal–fetal medicine specialists, gynecological oncologists, nurses, anesthesiologists and surgical technicians.

When the baby was delivered, Lopez immediately began hemorrhaging badly.

Doctors diagnosed Lopez with an ‘almost unheard of’ abdominal ectopic pregnancy, which put her and her baby’s life at risk 

Abdominal ectopic pregnancies are extremely rare and can be fatal. They happen outside of the uterus and in the abdominal cavity

‘We were a specially trained team of obstetric anesthesiologists and well prepared, but it was still intense,’ Michael Sanchez, an anesthesiologist at Cedars–Sinai, said.

Abdominal ectopic pregnancies happen outside of the uterus and in the abdominal cavity.

They are associated with high morbidity and mortality, and it is extremely rare for babies to be born from an abdominal pregnancy.

‘In my entire career, I’ve never even heard of one making it this far into the pregnancy,’ Michael Manuel, a gynecological oncologist, said.

Manuel works at the Providence Cedars–Sinai Tarzana Medical Center but was specifically called in to help remove Lopez’s giant cyst.

He said doctors had to figure out how to deliver the baby while doing ‘everything we could to save mom and this child.’

The surgery was a success – and Ryu Jesse Lopez was born on August 18, SFGATE reported. The newborn weighed eight pounds and had a full head of hair when he was born.

Cedars–Sinai said that about 30 experts, some of which were called from other hospitals, were required to operate on Lopez

Ryu Jesse Lopez was born on August 18. He weighed eight pounds and had a full head of hair at the time of his birth

A press release from Cedars–Sinai celebrated Ryu’s birth as a ‘medical miracle.’ 

Doctors were initially concerned that Ryu’s lungs might not have developed properly, but he was ‘feisty’ shortly after his delivery.

‘The following day we were able to remove the breathing tube,’ Sara Dayanim, a neonatologist with Cedars–Sinai Guerin Children, said. ‘Over the course of his two weeks with us, Ryu quickly reached all of the important benchmarks for surviving well.’

She added: ‘He defied all the odds.’

His father Andrew said that Ryu’s middle name, Jesse, was chosen because it means ‘gift from god.’

‘He is our gift, and Ryu and Suze are my miracles,’ he said. ‘They let me in the operating room, and it was tough to watch what she was going through, and amazing to see Ryu delivered.’

Meanwhile, Lopez deemed her son’s birth and life ‘an example to the world that God exists.’

‘I appreciate every little thing,’ she said. ‘Every day is a gift and I’m never going to waste it.

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This could save you some money ahead of Christmas

Sophie Buchan Money and Lifestyle Writer and Lauren Haughey Lifestyle and Money Reporter

04:14, 13 Dec 2025

Special stickers can be found in selected Asda stores(Image: MMassel/Getty Images)

It’s no secret that Christmas can get expensive. From gifts and decorations to the big roast dinner on the day, these festive costs can quickly add up.

However, a new initiative from Moonpig may just help to soften this financial blow. The firm is now offering Asda shoppers the chance to claim free greeting cards before December 25 – but they’ll need to spot a crucial detail. Although simple, this involves keeping an eye out for Moonpig stickers on items sold in the supermarket’s bakery aisle.

These bright pink labels feature a pig wearing reindeer antlers and can be peeled to reveal details on how to claim the freebie.

Asda shoppers should look out for Moonpig stickers on bakery items(Image: Moonpig)

Currently, the festive offer is available at more than 150 selected Asda stores across the UK, including major cities such as Wolverhampton, Portsmouth and Canterbury. According to a previous Mirror article, others encompassed in this are:

1. Aintree
2. Ashington Lintonville Terrace
3. Ashton
4. Barnsley
5. Beckton
6. Benton
7. Bexley Heath
8. Birmingham Barnes Hill
9. Blackburn
10. Blackpool
11. Bloxwich
12. Blyth
13. Boldon
14. Bolton
15. Boston
16. Bridge of Dee
17. Brighton Hollingbury
18. Brighton Marina
19. Bromborough
20. Burgh Heath
21. Burnley
22. Cannock
23. Canterbury
24. Chadderton
25. Chatham
26. Chelmsley Wood
27. Clydebank
28. Coatbridge
29. Colindale
30. Corby
31. Coventry
32. Crewe
33. Cumbernauld
34. Cwmbran
35. Dagenham
36. Derby
37. Doncaster
38. Donnington Wood
39. Dundee Milton
40. Dunfermline
41. Eastbourne
42. Eastgate
43. Eastlands
44. Eastleigh
45. Edinburgh
46. Elgin
47. Ellesmere Port
48. Falmouth
49. Fareham
50. Farnborough
51. Ferring
52. Fulwood
53. Gateshead
54. Gillingham Pier
55. Glasshoughton
56. Glenrothes
57. Gloucester
58. Govan
59. Grantham
60. Gravesend
61. Great Bridge
62. Grimsby
63. Halifax
64. Hamilton
65. Harrogate
66. Hartlepool
67. Havant
68. High Wycombe
69. Huddersfield
70. Hull Hessle Rd
71. Hulme
72. Hunts Cross
73. Huyton
74. Ipswich
75. Isle of Dogs
76. Keighley
77. Kendal
78. Killingbeck
79. Kingswood
80. Kirkcaldy
81. Lancaster
82. Leigh
83. Leyton
84. Linwood
85. Liscard
86. Livingston
87. Long Eaton
88. Longwell Green
89. Lower Earley
90. Luton
91. Mansfield
92. Milton Keynes
93. Minworth
94. Morley
95. Newton Abbot
96. Norwich
97. Nuneaton
98. Oadby
99. Parkhead
100. Patchway
101. Peterlee
102. Pilsworth
103. Plymouth
104. Poole
105. Portsmouth
106. Pudsey
107. Queensferry
108. Queslett
109. Radcliffe
110. Robroyston
111. Rochdale
112. Rotherham
113. Runcorn
114. Scunthorpe
115. Sheffield
116. Sheffield Drakehouse
117. Shoeburyness
118. Skelmersdale
119. Slough
120. Small Heath
121. St Austell
122. Stafford
123. Stevenage
124. Stockton
125. Strabane
126. Sunderland
127. Sutton in Ashfield
128. Swanley
129. Swindon West
130. Tamworth
131. Taunton
132. Thornaby
133. Thurmaston
134. Tilbury
135. Toryglen
136. Totton
137. Wakefield
138. Wallington
139. Walton
140. Washington
141. Watford
142. Wembley
143. West Bridgford
144. Westbrook
145. Weston Super Mare
146. Widnes
147. Wigan
148. Wolstanton
149. Wolverhampton
150. York

Beyond the new Moonpig freebie, Asda recently revived its ‘Winter Warmer’ scheme across 212 cafes, which will run until the end of February 2026. The deal allows anyone over 60 to enjoy soup, bread and unlimited tea or coffee for just £1 during the colder months.

Customers can select either tomato or chicken soup as part of the seasonal offer. They also have the option to upgrade the meal deal: for an additional 55p, they can add a small latte, cappuccino, or speciality tea, or choose a medium size for £1.10.

In light of the initiative, Jordan Cummings, Buying Manager, Cafes and Concessions at Asda, said previously: “We know winter is set to be incredibly hard for thousands of pensioners as they continue to worry about how to keep themselves warm in the face of rising living costs and on a fixed income. Last year alone we sold over half a million meals showing the vital need for this initiative.”

He also added: “By bringing Winter Warmers back this November, we hope it will continue to be just as impactful across the winter months for those who need it most, as well as offering a relaxed social environment to come and chat to others.”

Asda has been approached for further information on the Moonpig offer.

Christmas can be a very costly festive holiday (stock image)(Image: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images)

When are Asda’s Christmas delivery slots available?

Asda made its festive delivery bookings available to passholders from October 15, with others able to book starting October 21. These deliveries are scheduled between December 21 and 23.

Asda’s online advice reads: “Pre-order your festive centrepieces and let us take the hassle out of your festive food shop. Whether delivered directly to your door or collected from one of our stores, your festive feast will make this a Christmas celebration to remember.

“You can now order from our Food to Order range by booking a Christmas delivery or collection slot between 21st–23rd December.” This year, ASDA’s Christmas range includes more than 500 products, including festive classics and various new items.

Visit Asda’s website for more information.

Get all the hottest shopping deals, cash-saving tips and money news straight to your phone by joining our new WhatsApp Community – The Money Saving Club. Just click this link to join https://crnch.it/eutplxS1

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice here https://crnch.it/jeQqC872

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attacks ‘had no … military purpose whatsoever’.

Russian forces have attacked two Ukrainian ports, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels, including a ship carrying food supplies, according to Ukrainian officials and a shipowner.

Friday’s attacks by Russian forces targeted Chornomorsk and Odesa ports in Ukraine’s southwestern Odesa region on the Black Sea. A Ukrainian navy spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that three Turkish-owned vessels were damaged in total, but did not provide additional details.

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Posting video footage on social media of firefighters tackling a blaze on board what he described as a “civilian vessel” in Chornomorsk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attacks “had no … military purpose whatsoever”.

“This proves once again that Russians not only fail to take the current opportunity for diplomacy seriously enough, but also continue the war precisely to destroy normal life in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

“It is crucial that … the world maintains the proper moral compass: who is dragging out this war and who is working to end it with peace, who is using ballistic missiles against civilian life, and who is striking the targets that influence the functioning of Russia’s war machine,” he said.

Today, the Russian army carried out a missile strike on our Odesa region, and last night there was also a Russian attack on Odesa’s energy infrastructure. At one point we talked about the situation in this city and the people of Odesa with President Trump.

Today’s Russian… pic.twitter.com/gIgXUlc4AJ

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 12, 2025

Zelenskyy did not name the vessel, but it was identified as the Panama-flagged and Turkish-owned Cenk T by Reuters, which matched cranes and buildings to satellite imagery of Chornomorsk port.

The ship’s owners, Cenk Shipping, confirmed it was attacked at about 4pm local time (14:00 GMT). There were no casualties among the crew, and damage to the ship was limited, it added.

An employee of a private company was also injured in a separate attack on Odesa port, where a cargo loader was also damaged, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba confirmed.

He added that Russia had used drones and ballistic missiles in the port strikes, which were “aimed at civilian logistics and commercial shipping”.

Ukraine’s three large Black Sea ports in the Odesa region are a key economic artery for Kyiv.

Late on Friday, Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the vessel had been attacked in Chornomorsk port. It added that there were no reports of injured Turkish citizens.

The ministry said in a statement that the attack “validates our previously stated concerns regarding the spread of the ongoing war in the region to the Black Sea, and its impact on maritime security and freedom of navigation”.

“We reiterate the need for an arrangement whereby, in order to prevent escalation in the Black Sea, attacks targeting navigational safety as well as the parties’ energy and port infrastructure are suspended,” it added.

Hours earlier, in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for calm in the Black Sea and suggested that a limited ceasefire for energy facilities and ports could be beneficial for regional security.

Turkiye, which has the longest Black Sea coastline at approximately 1,329km (826 miles), has grown increasingly alarmed at the escalating attacks in its back yard and has offered to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow.

The attacks come just days after Putin promised retaliation and threatened to cut “Ukraine off from the sea” for Kyiv’s maritime drone attacks on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” – unmarked tankers thought to be used to circumvent oil sanctions – in the Black Sea.

Kyiv says the tankers are Moscow’s main source of funding for its almost four-year-old war. It has also tried to squeeze Russian revenues by expanding attacks to the Caspian Sea, where it struck a major oil rig this week.

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Venezuelan oil exports have reportedly fallen sharply since the US seized a tanker this week and imposed fresh sanctions on shipping companies and vessels doing business with Caracas, according to shipping data, documents and maritime sources.

The US seizure of the Skipper tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday was the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019 and marked a sharp escalation in rising tensions between the Trump administration and the government of Nicolás Maduro.

Since the seizure, only tankers chartered by US oil company Chevron have sailed into international waters carrying Venezuelan crude, the data reviewed by the Reuters news agency showed. Chevron has US government authorisation to operate through joint ventures in the country and export its oil to the US.

Other tankers that have loaded about 11m barrels of oil and fuel are stuck in Venezuelan waters, according to the sources and data seen by Reuters.

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said this week the Skipper was intercepted and retained under a seizure warrant, while Guyana’s maritime authority said it was falsely flying the country’s flag.

The tanker is now reportedly heading to Houston, where it will offload its cargo on to smaller ships. Washington is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Footage shows US forces taking control of oil tanker off Venezuelan coast – video

Venezuela has condemned the tanker seizure as “blatant theft” and “international piracy”, saying it would file complaints with international bodies. At the same time, Venezuelan lawmakers took a step to withdraw the country from the international criminal court, which is currently investigating alleged human rights abuses in the South American country.

After more than 20 US military strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific against alleged drug vessels this year, and a large-scale US military buildup in the southern Caribbean, relations between the US and Venezuela are at their most volatile point in years.

Nearly 90 people have been killed in the US strikes on suspected drug boats, alarming human rights advocates and stirring debate among US lawmakers as to the legality of the actions.

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke by phone with Maduro about “peace” in South America, the Brazilian presidency said on Friday.

Lula, one of Latin America’s most influential leaders, had not spoken to Maduro since Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, the results of which Brazil – along with much of the international community – did not recognise.

The Trump administration does not recognise Maduro, in power since 2013, as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. Washington has signalled more seizures are planned as part of efforts to choke off sanctioned oil flows, and subsequently imposed new sanctions on three nephews of Maduro’s wife and six tankers linked to them.

Trump has also repeatedly floated the possibility of a US military intervention in Venezuela.

Maduro says the US is bent on regime change and wants to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.

After slipping out of the country in secret to collect the Nobel peace prize, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Friday promised Maduro would leave power “whether there is a negotiated changeover or not”. However, she vowed she was focused on a peaceful transition, and thanked Trump for his “decisive support.“

Machado defied a decade-long travel ban and a period in hiding to travel to Oslo on Thursday, noting that she would soon bring the Nobel peace prize back home to Venezuela.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse

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Fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces continued early on Saturday hours after US President Donald Trump said the two countries had agreed to a ceasefire.

Thai prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he told the US president a ceasefire would only be possible after Cambodia had withdrawn all its forces and removed landmines.

“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people. I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” he said on social media.

Shelling continued overnight, as Thai forces push to take a number of vantage points along the border. At least 21 people have died in the renewed fighting and 700,000 have been evacuated on both sides.

Trump had claimed earlier in the week that he could stop the fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces that broke out on Monday just by picking up the phone.

After speaking to both prime ministers on Friday night he wrote on social media that the two countries had agreed to “cease shooting effective this evening” and go back to the agreement they signed in front of the US president in October.

“Both countries are ready for peace,” he wrote.

However, Anutin said he told Trump that Thailand was not the aggressor, and that Cambodia must show that it had withdrawn its forces and removed landmines from the border before a ceasefire was possible. “They must show us first,” he said.

There was no mention of the use of tariffs as leverage to force the two sides to disengage, as happened in July.

Thailand has warned the US not to link the conflict to trade.

On Saturday Cambodia reported that it had been struck by more Thai air strikes.

“On December 13, 2025, the Thai military used two F-16 fighter jets to drop seven bombs” on a number of targets, the Cambodian defence ministry said in an X post.

“Thai military aircraft have not stopped bombing yet,” it said.

The Thai military also confirmed that fighting continued.

The long-standing border dispute escalated on 24 July, as Cambodia launched a barrage of rockets into Thailand, which responded with air strikes.

Both countries have accused each other of initiating the attacks.

After days of intense fighting which left dozens dead, the neighbouring South East Asian countries agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” brokered by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. This was formalised at a ceremony in Malaysia in October presided over by the US president.

However both sides continued to trade accusations of ceasefire violations, with Thailand publishing evidence of Cambodian troops laying landmines, which have caused seven Thai soldiers to lose limbs. Cambodia says the mines are left over from the civil war in the 1980s.

Since then, tensions continued to build.

This week, Thailand launched air strikes inside Cambodia after two of its soldiers were injured in a skirmish last Sunday. Cambodia has responded with rocket barrages. The fighting affected six provinces in north-eastern Thailand and six provinces in Cambodia’s north and north-west.

The two countries have been been contesting their 800km land border for more than a century. The border was drawn by French cartographers in 1907, when France was the colonial ruler in Cambodia.

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Argentina soccer superstar Lionel Messi arrived Saturday in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, as large crowds of jubilant fans gathered at the airport and lined the streets in the city to welcome him.

Indian news agency ANI said the soccer player, considered the greatest of his generation, was escorted out of the airport via an alternative route because an overwhelming number of people turned out at the airport to catch a glimpse of him.

Messi is visiting India as part of what’s billed as his “GOAT (greatest of all time) Tour” and he is set to tour four cities in total: Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Messi visited Kolkata, the former capital of British-ruled India, for the first time in 2011. 

This time, the soccer-mad city built a 70-foot-tall statue to mark his visit. The statue is set to be inaugurated Saturday, and Messi is scheduled to participate in an inauguration ceremony.

Messi in India for less than 72 hours

Messi, who just won Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Player award for the second season in a row after leading Inter Miami to MLS Cup glory, is scheduled to visit Hyderabad and Mumbai before concluding the tour in New Delhi on Monday.

In Delhi, Messi is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 2022 World Cup winner is set to cover India in less than 72 hours.

Messi is accompanied on the tour by his Inter Miami clubmates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar

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Ukraine, US and Europe still seeking common ground in peace talks, French official says

Ukraine, the United States and European powers are still working to find a joint position that would outline the contours of a peace deal, including security guarantees for Kyiv, that could be taken to Russia, a French presidency official said.

“Our goal is to have a common foundation that is solid for negotiation. This common ground must unite Ukrainians, Americans and Europeans,” the official told reporters in a briefing.

“It should allow us, together, to make a negotiating offer, a solid, lasting peace offer that respects international law and Ukraine’s sovereign interests, an offer that American negotiators are willing to bring to the Russians.

“The official said there was no joint document yet, but all sides would carry on negotiations in the coming days through various calls and meetings. He did not say whether Washington had set a deadline.

Arpan Rai13 December 2025 04:15

Kim Jong-Un hails troops returning from Russia mission

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un attended a welcoming ceremony for an army engineering unit that had returned home after carrying out duties in Russia, the North’s KCNA news agency reported this morning.

In a speech carried by KCNA, the North Korean dictator praised officers and soldiers of the 528th Regiment of Engineers of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) for “heroic” conduct and “mass heroism” in fulfilling orders issued by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea during a 120-day overseas deployment.

KCNA said the unit had been dispatched in early August and carried out combat and engineering tasks in the Kursk region of Russia during Moscow’s war with Ukraine.

Last month, Russia’s defence ministry said North Korean troops who helped Russia repel a major Ukrainian incursion into its western Kursk region are now playing an important role in clearing the area of mines.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivering a speech during a welcoming ceremony for the Korean People’s Army’s 528th Regiment of Engineers, which returned from an overseas deployment in Russia’s Kursk region during Moscow’s war with Ukraine (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)

Arpan Rai13 December 2025 03:44

Watch: Vladimir Putin muted for 34 seconds as he gives major speech

Vladimir Putin muted for 34 seconds as he gives major speech

Arpan Rai13 December 2025 03:34

Trump says proposed free economic zone in Donbas would work

Donald Trump has said a US-proposed free economic zone in the Ukraine-controlled parts of the eastern Donbas would work.

The US president did not share further details but his peace proposal to Russia and Ukraine has suggested creating such an economic zone as a compromise.

Arpan Rai13 December 2025 03:24

One dead in Russia’s Saratov region after drone alert

At least one person was killed and infrastructure was damaged in southern Russia’s Saratov region after an air raid alert for drones was issued, regional governor Roman Busargin said in the early hours today.

Busargin gave no details of any strike, but earlier in the evening cited Russia’s defence minister in issuing a warning of impending drone attacks in the region straddling the Volga River.

Arpan Rai13 December 2025 03:13

Trump’s envoy Witkoff to travel to Berlin to meet with Zelensky and European leaders

US envoy Steve Witkoff and president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Berlin this weekend, a US official briefed on the matter said.

Witkoff will also meet with his counterparts from France, Britain and Germany tomorrow and on Monday, the official added.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the meeting.

The choice to send Witkoff, who has led negotiations with Ukraine and Russia regarding a US peace proposal, highlights Washington’s growing urgency to bridge remaining gaps with Kyiv over the plan’s terms.

French president Emmanuel Macron, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and German chancellor Friedrich Merz were also expected to attend, the WSJ said.

On Thursday, the White House said Trump would only send an official to the meeting if he felt there was enough progress to be made in peace talks.

Arpan Rai13 December 2025 02:54

Ukraine to join EU by 2027 under draft peace proposal, according to reports

A peace proposal presented as part of US-mediated discussions on the Russia-Ukraine conflict could see Ukraine slated to join the European Union by 1 January 2027, according to the Financial Times.

The proposal is being negotiated between US and Ukrainian officials with the help of the EU, according to sources briefed with the document’s contents.

Shaheena Uddin13 December 2025 02:00

Watch: Trump says US will attend Ukraine peace talks with Europe

Trump says US will attend Ukraine peace talks with Europe but doesn’t want to ‘waste time’

Shaheena Uddin13 December 2025 01:00

Russian luge team plans to participate in World Cup race next week despite Ukraine’s objections

Six Russian athletes from their nation’s luge team are planning to participate in the World Cup in Lake Placid, New York next week. This move comes despite Ukrainians strongly objecting.

They have told the International Luge Federation that they have obtained their visas to travel to the US.

They hope to qualify for the Milan Cortina Olympics coming up in February.

However, Russia is not racing at this weekend’s World cup luge competition, despite some claims that they would participate.

Russia has not competed in a World cup luge race since the war began nearly four years ago.

Two bobsledders and seven skeleton sliders from Russia have also been cleared by their sports federations to compete soon too in a list that was published on Friday.

Luge Olympics Russian Ban (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Shaheena Uddin13 December 2025 00:00

Russian police and National Guard will remain in Ukraine’s Donbas postwar

A senior Kremlin official has reported on Friday that Russian police and National Guard wil remain in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in order to oversee the industry-rich area, even if a peace settlement ends the nearly four-year long war in Ukraine.

The comments come from Yuri Ushakov and showcase Moscow’s ambition to maintain its presence in Donbas post-war. Ukraine is likely to reject such a stance as U.S.-led negotiations continue.

(National Guard of Ukraine)

Shaheena Uddin12 December 2025 23:00

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NEED TO KNOW

• Carrie Underwood revealed she is back to brunette in a new Instagram post
• Underwood famously has had blonde hair since her time on American Idol
• She previously tried out the hair color in August

Carrie Underwood revealed a dramatic hair transformation in a new Instagram post.

Underwood, 42, shared a selfie wearing a t-shirt in honor of St. Jude’s on Friday, Dec. 12 — and she revealed her new brunette hair.

“Every child deserves hope.  Become a Partner in Hope with @stjude and get your @musicgives shirt at musicgives.org and help kids facing cancer. ❤️,” Underwood wrote in the caption.

The country star, known for her blonde locks throughout her career, made the reveal while wearing a black-and-white t-shirt that read “Music Gives to St. Jude’s Kids.” Fans of the “Before He Cheats” singer were shocked at the hair transformation in the comments.

“Didn’t even look like Carrie,” one Instagram user wrote.

Underwood previously tested out going brunette in August, before ultimately returning to the blonde tresses that she has had since her American Idol days. Underwood shared the Instagram photos on Aug. 5, and explained at the time that she hadn’t been brunette in 30 years.

“Well, the last time I saw my natural hair color, I was probably about 12 years old,” the Grammy winner wrote, “but I thought it might be time to give it a second chance.”

Carrie Underwood’s new hair color.

Carrie Underwood/Instagram

Underwood had an assist from Nashville hairstylist Katelin Megert, who cut, colored and styled her hair into a brown mid-length cut with golden highlighted layers.

“Thanks, @hairbykatelin_ at @parlour3beauty for helping me get back to my roots! #NewOldMe #Bronde,” she added.

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In a 2012 interview with Refinery29, Underwood explained her reasoning for always being blonde. Despite wanting to experiment with her hair color, she felt it was tethered to her music career at the time.

“I’d love to do a little more with hair color. I’ve always been blonde! The problem is, I don’t want to shock people — like if I dyed my hair brown, I don’t want people think I’m turning dark and serious. I wish I had started changing my hair around in the beginning, then it wouldn’t be such a big shock if I did something like that now,” she said.

Underwood will soon join Alan Jackson on tour.

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