On the eve of the 2025 AFCON, football’s governing body in Africa create new four-year cycle and form a Nations League.

Published On 20 Dec 202520 Dec 2025

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African football is getting a major shake-up with the creation of the African Nations League and conversion of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations to a four-year cycle.

Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football, announced the changes Saturday during his news conference before the 2025 Africa Cup hosted by Morocco.

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Motsepe said that the 2027 Africa Cup, to be hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, will go ahead as planned and that the following edition – originally scheduled for 2029 – will be moved forward to take place in 2028. The next Africa Cup after that will be in 2032.

This would allow the first African Nations League to take place in 2029. Motsepe said it would involve each of the continent’s 54 members, divided into four geographical zones, with games in September and October before the finals are held in November.

“What is new is that … in Africa there’s going to be a competition every year where the best African players who play in Europe and worldwide will be with us on the continent,” Motsepe said.

CAF officials did not immediately specify if the African Nations League will be held on a biennial or annual basis.

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German engineer Michaela Benthaus on Saturday became the first person with paraplegia to travel to space.

The brief suborbital trip was carried out by US billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space tourism company Blue Origin.

The Saturday expedition was the 16th crewed flight for the firm.

Also on board were former space engineer Hans Königsmann of Germany and four US entrepreneurs.

The New Shepard NS-37 launched off from a Bezos property in West Texas at 8:15 a.m. local time (1415 UTC) for a flight that lasted around 11 minutes.

The vessel reached an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers (around 62 miles).

The passengers experienced a brief moment of weightlessness as part of the trip.

Dozens of people have traveled to space with Blue Origin, including pop singer Katy Perry and former Star Trek actor William Shatner. The firm aims to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The Blue Origin capsule landed in a desert area of West Texas in the southwestern United StatesImage: Blue Origin/AP Photo/picture alliance

‘It was the coolest experience ever’

Benthaus, who is 33, was exuberant about her experience in space in comments made after her return to Earth.

“It was the coolest experience ever, honestly,” the engineer, who works at the European Space Agency (ESA), said.

“I think you should never give up on your dreams. There’s also sometimes just a low probability that it comes true,” she said.

Benthaus sustained a spinal injury during a mountain bike accident at the age of 26 and now uses a wheelchair.

She called for the world to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

“After my accident … I really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is,” she said, saying that facilities for disabled people are required in order to form an “inclusive society.”

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to brief Donald Trump on the possibility of fresh air strikes against Iran, according to a report.

Israeli officials fear that Iran is already rebuilding the nuclear enrichment sites that the US bombed in June and are weighing options to attack it again, NBC News said, citing anonymous US officials briefed on the plans and one person with direct knowledge.

The Israeli prime minister is set to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at the end of this month for talks on the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

During the summit, Netanyahu is expected to make the case that Iran’s ballistic missile programme warrants a “swift’ response, the outlet reported.

The United States could be invited to join in bilateral action against Iran, with Netanyahu poised to argue that Iranian militarisation represents a threat to American interests in the region, the sources said.

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Smoke billows over Tehran during the strikes in June (via REUTERS)

The comments came just days after the head of Mossad insisted that Israel has a “responsibility” to stop Iran from producing a nuclear bomb.

David Barnea said on Tuesday: “The idea of continuing to develop a nuclear bomb still beats in their hearts.

“We bear responsibility to ensure that the nuclear project, which has been gravely damaged, in close cooperation with the Americans, will never be activated.”

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. However, in the aftermath of the June strikes, Tehran barred the UN’s atomic watchdog from its facilities.

Trump asserted in an address to the nation on Wednesday that he had already “destroyed the Iran nuclear threat” and brought peace to the region for the “first time in 3,000 years”.

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Israel’s Iron Dome works to intercept incoming Iranian missiles in response (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

An early Pentagon assessment concluded that the strikes in June on the facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had likely only set Iran’s nuclear programme back by a matter of months.

Israel had led with unilateral strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities, launch sites and top brass before the US vowed to sink entrenched nuclear sites with 30,000lb bunker-buster bombs.

Israel had claimed its initial offensive was the culmination of years of research and planning by Israel’s military and the Mossad intelligence agency.

Netanyahu warned at the time that Iran “could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time” if not stopped, potentially “within months”.

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Before and after shots of the site at Fordow (Maxar Technologies)

Fears of a wider regional war took shape as Iran’s Houthi allies joined in unprecedented retaliatory strikes against Israel.

Depleted Iran proxy Hezbollah sat out of the conflict, keeping to a delicate ceasefire agreement agreed in November.

Israel is itself widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though neither nation confirms or denies this.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Donald Trump spoke about wife Melania Trump’s underwear during a lengthy tangent at a North Carolina rally
• “They’re, like, so perfect,” the president said of his wife’s undergarments during the Dec. 19 event
• Donald mentioned Melania’s underwear as he reflected on the FBI raid of his Palm Beach, Fla., resort Mar-a-Lago in 2022

Donald Trump went on a lengthy tangent about wife Melania Trump’s underwear during his latest rally.

Making an appearance in Rocky Mount, N.C., on Friday, Dec. 19, the president, 79, discussed inflation and efforts to lower drug prices ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, but also spoke about Melania’s undergarments when reflecting on the FBI raid of his Palm Beach, Fla., resort Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

“They went into my wife’s closet … they looked at her drawers,” Donald said, referring to Melania, 55, whom he married in 2005.

Explaining that his wife is “a very meticulous person,” Donald continued, “Her undergarments, sometimes referred to as panties, are folded perfect, wrapped. They’re, like, so perfect.”

“I think that she steams them,” Donald added.

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Donald Trump (left) and Melania Trump (right) in December 2025.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

The FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, as part of a criminal investigation that began after the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) revealed that February that officials had removed 15 boxes of documents from the property that should have been handed over at the end of the Trump presidency.

Days after the search was conducted, the warrant and property receipt were made public, revealing that the FBI was looking to gather anything that might show Donald had removed or destroyed records, obstructed justice or violated the Espionage Act. Among the many materials retrieved during the search were 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked “top secret” that are only meant to be viewed at secure government facilities.

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Donald was later indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2023 for his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, making him the first U.S. president to face federal criminal charges.

He was arrested and arraigned in the U.S. District Court of South Florida, but pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. Later, an updated version of the indictment added additional counts, but the case was ultimately dismissed in July 2024.

Donald Trump during his North Carolina rally on Dec. 19.

Cornell Watson/Bloomberg via Getty

Donald has faced numerous legal controversies over the past decade alone, including lawsuits and investigations at both the state and federal level.

Some legal issues that he has faced include an investigation into an alleged hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels while he was a presidential candidate in 2016, and those related to his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, as well as when he and 18 of his allies faced legal trouble over attempts to overturn 2020 election results.

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One day historians will look back and try to pinpoint the moment the seeds of MAGA’s demise were sown.

By then, the extraordinary force founded by Donald Trump will have ended, as all iconoclastic political movements inevitably do, having run its rollercoaster course.

How long that will take is anyone’s guess but Trump’s enemies are increasingly claiming it will be sooner rather than later. And they point to April 2, the day he announced sweeping global tariffs, as the moment things began to unravel.

Less than a year into his second term, the president has hit a new polling low. The coalition he assembled to win the 2024 election is fracturing and he is bleeding support, particularly among young and minority voters.

A key MAGA ally, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has accused him of abandoning his America First base, voters of all hues are complaining about grocery prices, conservative influencers are raising uncomfortable questions, and the midterm elections next year threaten to be brutal for Trump-aligned candidates.

And looming beyond that is the biggest question of all for MAGA – can a new leader replicate Trump’s success when the maestro himself leaves the stage shortly after the 2028 election.

Vice President J.D. Vance is favorite to succeed President Donald Trump

According to Gallup, Trump’s approval rating has slipped to a second-term low of 36 percent with 60 percent disapproval.

That rating of -24 points is the second lowest at this stage of a second term, after Richard Nixon who was mired in Watergate. By comparison, Ronald Reagan was at +41 points.

The 2024 election result had shown a historic shift in the electorate and the current White House hoped it would prove to be a new permanent MAGA coalition that cut across ethnicity and age.

But less than a year later Trump’s approval rating among black voters has fallen from 24 percent to 13 percent. and from 40 percent to 34 among Hispanic voters.

According to the Pew Research Center 70 percent of Hispanic voters disapprove of Trump’s performance, and 78 percent have a negative view of the economy.

That raises troubling long-term questions over the future of Texas, where one quarter of the electorate is Hispanic, as a Republican stronghold.

Meanwhile, one study of politically independent young men showed Trump’s popularity plummeting from 50 percent in February to 31 percent by October.

Pollsters are united in what is going wrong – the economy.

‘Biden had an eight month honeymoon that ended in Afghanistan. Trump’s honeymoon ended when he announced tariffs,’ one pollster told the Daily Mail. ‘His numbers went down pretty quickly after the tariffs were announced. And of course, that’s mostly related to economic policy and impact.

‘Young men were pragmatic and cut him a fair amount of slack. But they’re asking themselves, has Trump and his policies made it easier for me to provide for myself and the people I care about, and the answer is no.’

The president called Marjorie Taylor Greene, formerly one of his most outspoken supporters, a ‘traitor’ after she turned on him

Pollsters suggest Trump’s announcement of global tariffs in April lost him support 

If MAGA is to thrive long term Trump himself will have to rescue the situation.

‘I’ve always believed that it was more about the persona, Trump’s persona, than any any policies,’ a pollster said. ‘He made people feel a certain way, gives them certain kind of energies. But you can’t just loan that out or pass that down.

‘Trump is Trump, he’s got that persona where (podcaster) Theo Von would want to talk to him and it’s unclear to me whether that also translates.’

Another pollster said: ‘It’s not that Trump’s played the game better, he’s changed the game, he’s changed the world and we’ve never had anyone like him.

But there was that small group (in 2024) that took him from about 45 percent up to 50 percent and a lot of those people have left him,. These are the people who voted for Trump because they hated vice president Harris.’

In particular, they have been alienated by the ‘affordability crisis.’

‘Very present and prevalent is the concern about affordability, and that underlies everything that’s happening right now,’ a pollster said. ‘How can I afford housing and health care, food and fuel? And that will determine whether or not Trump is ultimately a success. And if he fails on affordability, he’ll be punished for it.’

Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist added on X: ‘Stop listening to social media pundits! It’s the economy stupid!

Skeptics question whether anyone apart from Trump has the charisma required to lead MAGA

However, MAGA-linked figures believe many of the changes introduced in Trump’s whirlwind first year have already permanently changed the country, and defended the tariffs policy.

‘He has changed the way Americans view so many different things, how we relate to our allies and our enemies all around the globe,’ one said.

‘With tariffs he is rebalancing trade in the world. I think that Americans want fair trade, free trade is a nice idea, it’s really not what it seems because it’s not really free. Rebalancing the way America does business around the world is going to have a long term impact on so many different industries and consumers at the end of the day.’

Meanwhile, several organizations are already planning for the long-term future of MAGA behind the scenes.

The America First Policy Institute, which set out numerous policy proposals during the 2024 campaign, has ramped up its efforts in recent months and moved into a building on Pennsylvania Avenue, close to the White House.

It aims to both produce and promote America First policies for post-2028 and help grow future political talent.

A senior executive there was recently quoted as saying: ‘This is about thinking not even five years down the road, this is about thinking 100 years down the road.’

J.D. Vance has widespread support and several organizations are working behind the scenes to propel him to the presidency 

President Donald Trump, performs his “Trump Dance” after delivering remarks to Sailors and Marines in the hangar bay of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington moored pier-side at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, October 28, 2025 in Yokosuka, Japan

Meanwhile, another little-known organization focused on the long-term future of MAGA is already becoming hugely influential.

The Rockbridge Network grew out of meeting in Rockbridge, Ohio in 2019 and was co-founded by J.D. Vance.

Others at the meeting included Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, Republican megadonor Rebekah Mercer, and Tucker Carlson.

Rockbridge now operates at the intersection of MAGA, Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

It has around 200 members and the cost of membership ranges from $100,000 to $1 million.

The network aims to ‘replace the current Republican ecosystem of think tanks, media organizations and activist groups that have contributed to the party’s decline.’

Out of it has emerged 1789 Capital, an investment firm which backs anti-woke companies.

In the 2024 election Rockbridge’s super PAC, Turnout for America, spent $34.5 million and that is expected to grow.

MAGA fans roll into DC on January 17 2024 ahead of Trump ‘s second inauguration

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s political split with Trump sent shockwaves through Washington 

In addition, the network oversees five political groups focused on financing right-wing investigative reporting, underwriting polls, turning out voters in battleground states and spurring churchgoers into political activism.

The Faithful in Action group aims to recruit churchgoers into political activism.

Vance spoke to Rockbridge’s members and donors gathered at a bi-annual retreat in April and other senior administration figures have attended summits

They include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

When the time comes the network’s resources are expected to be a powerful tool for Vance as he seeks to defeat any non-MAGA Republican primary challenger, and to extend the movement for at least another 12 years.

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The infamous area is known for its wild and wacky conspiracy theories

The Bermuda Triangle is the focal point of a lot of conspiracies

Scientists have discovered a large mineral structure under the sea in the Bermuda Triangle, reigniting conspiracy theories about the notorious stretch of water.

Covering the area between Bermuda, Florida, and Puetro Rico, the Bermuda Triangle is noted for having an above average number of ships and aircraft go missing, though this is often exaggerated. Over the years such is the reputation of the triangle that it’s become the focus point of several popular conspiracy theories.

So it’s not hard to imagine why the discovery of a large underwater structure in the triangle has sent the internet into a frenzy of speculation over what it might mean. The theories extend from the more casual conspiracy theories up to the truly wild.

READ MORE: Neighbours homewrecker is ‘White Rabbit’ conspiracist who vowed to ‘go down fighting’READ MORE: Kim Kardashian believes bizarre conspiracy theory fans will never guessThe location of the Bermuda Triangle(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Atlantis features high on the list, with some speculating that this is the rediscovery of the lost city itself. “Are we finally gonna stop pretending the city of Atlantis vanished ‘without a trace’?” one person wrote on social media.

Others also went for the theory of an ancient civilisation, with one person writing on X: “What if a highly advanced civilization that is many millions of years old built an underground centre of the earth lair to live and survive and they are still there? It explains them poaching people that enter the Bermuda triangle as well.”

Some theories are little different, as one person commented: “It’s a portal to hell, protected by demonic principalities, witches and wizards. There are cities beneath the oceans run by evil demons.”

Scientists have found a 12.4-mile-thick layer of rock beneath Bermuda

But what have scientists actually found there? Well, it’s not an ancient city, but it is an important geological discovery which could shed light on how the area is structured.

Using seismic studies, the scientists found a rock some 12.4 miles thick under the oceanic crust beneath Bermuda. That thickness has not been recorded in a similar geological layer anywhere else in the world.

William Frazer is a seismologist at Carnegie Science in Washington D.C. and the lead author on a new study. He told LiveScience: “Typically, you have the bottom of the oceanic crust and then it would be expected to be the mantle, but in Bermuda, there is this other layer that is emplaced beneath the crust, within the tectonic plate that Bermuda sits on.”

A map of earthquakes along the coasts of North and South America

Scientists still don’t know quite how the rock came to be there, but it could explain why Bermuda sits on what’s called an ‘oceanic swell’, where the sea bed is higher than the surrounding areas. Normally this is the result of volcanic activity depositing material on the sea floor, but there is not that level of activity in the Bermuda Triangle, making the origin of the swell a mystery.

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Former Pakistan prime minister and cricketer Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have been jailed for 17 years for buying state gifts at a knock-down price.

Luxury watches and jewellery were gifted to Khan while he was prime minister by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during official visits.

Under Pakistani law, if government officials and politicians wish to keep gifts received from foreign dignitaries, they must buy them from the state at the market value – and declare any proceeds earned from selling them.

But prosecutors said Khan, 73, and ‌his wife paid a heavily ⁠discounted fee for the gifts – violating Pakistani rules.

The couple pleaded not guilty when they were indicted last year.

Prosecutors argued he and his wife declared the value of the gifts at little over $10,000 (£7,500), far below their actual market value of $285,500 (£213,000), allowing them to purchase the items at a reduced price.

Image:
Khan’s sons told Yalda Hakim they fear they might never see their father again.

They were handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal ‌breach of trust, and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency announced.

The latest conviction adds to a series of legal setbacks for Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a separate corruption case.

He faces dozens of cases filed since he was ousted from office in 2022, ranging from corruption ‍to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges.

Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.

In a recent interview with Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, Khan’s sons said they fear they might never see their father again.

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The former prime minister has been in prison since his arrest in August 2023.

They also claimed he was being “psychologically tortured” in a “death cell”.

Khan is one of the country’s most celebrated cricketers, who captained his country to World Cup victory in 1992.

Khan’s jail term from Saturday’s ruling would begin after he has served the 14 years from the separate land graft case, information minister Attaullah Tarar said.

Read more from Sky News:
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Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesperson for Khan, said the verdict “ignores basic principles of justice” and turns the process into “a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan has reportedly told ‌his legal team to appeal the decision at the Islamabad High Court.

Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, remains one of Pakistan’s most polarising figures.

His Pakistan ‍Tehreek-e-Insaf party – which was founded in 1996 – remains sidelined from power.

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Published On 20 Dec 202520 Dec 2025

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A trove of documents related to the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was has been released by the US justice department. Comprised of thousands of files, the cache shows photographs of the late financier and his accomplice, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, alongside some of the most significant figures from the last century.

The images help illustrate the relationships Epstein and Maxwell forged with royalty, politicians, musicians and actors.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year jail sentence for child sex trafficking and Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. He was convicted of child sex offences in a separate case in 2008.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

There are several pictures of Mounbatten-Windsor in the cache of files released on Friday, appearing to show how he gave Epstein and Maxwell access to British high society.

One undated picture shows the former prince, now 65, reclining across the legs of five women, with Maxwell smiling down at him. Sky News said on Saturday it believed the picture was taken at Sandringham, the royal estate in Norfolk where King Charles and his family will this week spend Christmas. The broadcaster said it had cross-referenced the image with other pictures taken there.

Sky News has reported that it believes the picture was taken at Sandringham, the royal estate. Photograph: Department of Justice/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Another photograph, believed to have been taken in June 2000, shows the trio in the royal box at Ascot. A third image appears to show them hunting at Balmoral, the Scottish home of the royal family, but it is unclear when it was taken.

Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor and Maxwell in the royal box at Ascot. Photograph: Department of Justice/PA

Bill Clinton

Clinton, who served as president of the US between 1993 and 2001, is pictured in several of the images released on Friday. The 79-year-old is shown relaxing in a hot tub and swimming in a pool. In other photos, he poses with Maxwell, the musicians Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Mick Jagger and the actor Kevin Spacey. Like many of the images in the cache of documents, they are not dated.

Clinton socialised with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before his first arrest. Photograph: Department of Justice/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Clinton socialised with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before the financier’s first arrest. Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing by any survivors of Epstein’s abuse and has always denied knowledge of the late financier’s child sex offending.

Angel Ureña, Clinton’s spokesperson, said the photographs were more than 20 years old and that the politician had ended his friendship with Epstein when his crimes emerged.

“There are two types of people here,” Ureña said. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”

Peter Mandelson

Mandelson, who was recently sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US after details about his friendship with Epstein emerged, is pictured looking on as Epstein blows out candles on a large birthday cake. Although the image was part of the cache of documents released on Friday, it has been published before.

Mandelson described Epstein in a 50th birthday message as ‘my best pal’. Photograph: Department of Justice

The Labour peer, 72, is understood to have been close to Epstein since the early 2000s, describing him in a 50th birthday message as “my best pal”. Epstein was introduced to the then British prime minister, Tony Blair, in May 2002 in a meeting understood to have been facilitated by Mandelson, a former MP and cabinet minister.

Mandelson chose to continue his friendship with Epstein after the financier’s conviction for child sex offences in 2008, encouraging him to “fight for early release”. In September, shortly before he was forced out as ambassador, Mandelson said: “I regret very, very deeply indeed carrying on that association with him for far longer than I should have done.”

Michael Jackson

The singer is pictured posing with Epstein next to a large painting in an image released on Friday. In a separate picture published as part of the cache of documents, he appears next to Clinton and fellow singer Diana Ross.

The cache of documents was released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of Justice/Reuters

The pictures of Jackson have not been dated by the justice department and it is unclear where they were taken. There is no suggestion Jackson was aware of, or involved in, any of Epstein’s crimes.

Mick Jagger

The 82-year-old lead singer of the Rolling Stones is pictured with Clinton and an unidentified woman. The woman’s face has been redacted, but the trio appear to be in cocktail attire. The US justice department did not reveal where or when the photograph is supposed to have been taken.

Jagger and Clinton with an unidentified woman. Photograph: Department of Justice/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

Jagger has not yet responded to the release, but there is no suggestion he was involved with, or aware of, Epstein’s crimes.

Kevin Spacey

The actor is pictured in a group with Maxwell and Clinton in Winston Churchill’s war rooms, the secret underground meeting place for the British cabinet during the second world war. This image is understood to have been taken in 2002, when Clinton travelled to the UK to address the Labour party conference.

Spacey, 2nd right, with Clinton, right, Maxwell, centre, and others. Photograph: Department of Justice/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

There is no information to suggest Spacey, 66, was involved with, or aware of, Maxwell and Epstein’s crimes and he has not yet made any comment on the documents.

Separately, Spacey was acquitted of nine sexual offences during a criminal case in 2023.

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A court in Pakistan on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after being found guilty of corruption.

The court’s decision is the latest setback for Khan, who has been accused in multiple cases since he was ousted in 2022.

Khan, who is 73, has been in prison since 2023. He denies the charges, accusing Pakistani authorities of politically persecuting him.

Khan, a former cricket star, is a popular figure in Pakistan [FILE: December 22, 2024]Image: Themba Hadebe/AP/picture alliane

What was the case against Khan and his wife?

Khan and Bibi were found guilty of retaining, selling and underpricing state gifts while the former prime minister was in office.

The gifts they were accused of selling at vastly reduced prices included jewelry from the Saudi Arabian government.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presented a jewellery set made by the Italian luxury brand Bulgari to Khan and his wife in May 2021.

Prosecutors said Khan and his wife had said the value of the gifts was just over $10,000, well short of their real market value of $285,521 (€243,780).

According to Pakistani law, government officials and politicians are allowed to keep gifts received from foreign dignitaries if they are under a certain value. To keep the gifts, they must purchase them at market value and declare the proceeds from any sale.

Khan and Bibi were sentenced to 10 years for criminal breach of trust and seven years for corruption.

Saturday’s sentencing is separate from an earlier case against the couple. In that case, Khan and his wife were sentenced to 14 and seven years, respectively.

Khan’s supporters recently called for his release amid concerns over his health [FILE: December 2, 2025]Image: Salahuddin/REUTERS

What has been the reaction to Khan’s sentencing?

Khan’s lawyer, Salman Safdar, has said the couple will appeal the ruling.

A spokesperson for Khan, Zulfiquar Bukhari, slammed the sentence, which he said “raises serious questions about the fairness and impartiality of the process, turning justice into a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan’s party, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), also condemned the ruling.

In a statement, it called the decision “a black chapter in history.”

In a post on X, the party said Khan’s family had been barred from the court when the verdict was announced at the Adiala prison in Rawalpindi.

“A closed-door jail trial is neither free nor fair. It is, in fact, a military trial,” PTI said.

While Khan’s supporters and party roundly condemned the verdict, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the court had “delivered a fair decision.”

Khan was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. His PTI party is in opposition in parliament.

Despite the multiple corruption convictions, Khan — a former cricket star who captained the national team — remains a popular figure in Pakistan.

Pakistan hands army chief vast powers and lifetime immunity

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Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko

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