Mariah Carey is going to add some American pop-star pedigree to the opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The local organizing committee announced on Monday that the 56-year-old Carey — the “All I Want for Christmas is You” singer — is the first international star named to perform in the Feb 6 ceremony at Milan’s San Siro soccer stadium.
“Ci vediamo a Milano” — ‘See you in Milan’ — Carey said on Instagram.
Carey sang the U.S. national anthem at the 2002 Super Bowl but has never performed at the game’s halftime show. She has won six Grammy awards.
Carey has recorded 19 No. 1 hits, according to Billboard, which lists her as the fourth-greatest recording artist of all time, trailing the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elton John.
A crowd of 60,000 spectators is slated for the opening ceremony, with millions more expected to watch on television.
“Mariah Carey fully represents the emotional atmosphere that accompanies the run-up to the Games,” the committee said. “Music is a universal language that attracts different stories and sensibilities, and intertwines with the opening ceremony’s theme of harmony.”
The only other detail announced for the ceremony so far is that there will be a tribute to the late fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died at his home in Milan in September at the age of 91.
The Games will be spread over northern Italy, and simultaneous but smaller opening ceremonies are to be held in three mountain clusters as well.
The main ceremony will put a spotlight on the San Siro, which is home to the Inter Milan and AC Milan soccer clubs. It is set to be torn down and replaced by a new stadium after the Games.
Internationally acclaimed ballet star Roberto Bolle will headline the closing ceremony, which is slated for Verona’s ancient Roman Arena on Feb 22. (JapanToday)
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has condoled with his Bayelsa State counterpart, Senator Douye Diri, over the death of his deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, describing it as a monumental loss.
Fubara, in a statement he personally signed and released on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, said Ewhrudjakpo’s demise is not only a loss to Bayelsa but also to Rivers State.
He described the late deputy governor as a man of rare calibre whose life in the public service was exemplary, adding that he combined intellect with humility.
The statement partly reads, “On behalf of the Government and the people of Rivers State, I extend our deepest condolences to you, my brother Governor Douye Diri and all the people of Bayelsa State over the news of the sudden passing of your Deputy Governor, His Excellency, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
The sad news resonates across our borders, leaving us in a state of collective mourning alongside our brothers and sisters in Bayelsa State.
“Senator Ewhrudjakpo was a man of exceptional calibre whose life was a masterclass in public service. Throughout his distinguished career, he navigated the complexities of governance with a rare blend of intellectual depth and profound humility. Ewhrudjakpo was not merely a political figure; he was a steadfast anchor for your administration and a beacon of hope for his constituents.
“His transition represents a monumental loss that echoes far beyond the walls of the Government House. To his family, he was a devoted pillar; to the state, he was a tireless advocate for progress. The vacuum left by his departure is a testament to the magnitude of the space he occupied in the hearts of those who knew him and the lives he touched through his dedication to duty.
“May you, my brother Governor, find the inner resolve to lead your people through this dark hour. Our prayers remain with the bereaved family and the entire people of Bayelsa State. We pray that the soul of the departed finds eternal repose in the bosom of the Lord, and that those he left behind are granted the fortitude and grace to carry forward his noble legacy.”
Ewhrudjakpo died on Thursday, after he collapsed at the Government House in Yenagoa.
The Peoples Democratic Party, in a statement on Thursday night, by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, announced his death.
The statement read, “The National Working Committee, led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, and indeed the entire membership of our great party, especially our faithful members in Bayelsa State, are in profound grief.” (Punch)_
Egypt beat Nigeria 2–1 in a pre-Africa Cup of Nations friendly at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday as both sides completed their final preparations for the tournament, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The hosts took the lead in the 28th minute through Ahmed Saber after neat work down the right by Zizo, whose low cross found the midfielder unmarked for a close-range finish. Nigeria responded with increased urgency and went close before the break, Paul Onuachu forcing a fine save from Mohamed El-Shenawy with a glancing header from Frank Onyeka’s long throw.
The Super Eagles were rewarded in first-half stoppage time when Chidozie Awaziem equalised. Zaidu Sanusi’s delayed free-kick from the right caused confusion between El-Shenawy and his near post, allowing Awaziem to nod into an empty net to draw Nigeria level at the interval.
Egypt restored their advantage eight minutes after the restart as Mostafa Mohamed capitalised on a poorly coordinated Nigerian offside trap, continuing his run before rifling past Amas Obasogie. (Punch)
The France forward Ousmane Dembélé and the Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí were crowned the Fifa Best men’s and women’s players of 2025 respectively at the world governing body’s awards ceremony in Doha.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Dembélé won the trophy for the first time after his club’s maiden Champions League triumph, while Barcelona’s Bonmatí won for the third consecutive year, after her club reached a Champions League final and Spain were Euro 2025 runners-up.
The best women’s coach prize was awarded to Sarina Wiegman for the fifth time, in recognition of England’s successful defence of their European title, while PSG’s Luis Enrique received the men’s coach honour.
Wiegman, in a pre-recorded acceptance speech, said: “Thank you to the FA for their continued support for me and the team. This award is actually for players and staff. We’ve shown so much conviction, belief and togetherness that led us to our second Euro win. Moving into 2026, let’s keep pushing the women’s game forward together.”
Four Lionesses – Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Alessia Russo – were named in a best women’s XI that was otherwise made up of Spain internationals: the Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey and six Barcelona players.
The men’s best XI included England’s Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer – who starred at the Club World Cup – in a team otherwise dominated by PSG and Barcelona players. Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma was named as the goalkeeper but the timeframe for these awards took into account performances between 11 August 2024 and 2 August 2025, when Donnarumma was playing for PSG. There was no place for Harry Kane, but the 18‑year‑old Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal was included.
Hampton was named the 2025 Fifa Best women’s goalkeeper, completing a global goalkeeper award double after she received the Ballon d’Or prize for keepers in September. Wiegman, Luis Enrique, Bonmatí, Dembélé and Donnarumma were also Ballon d’Or winners.
Hampton saved two penalties in the European Championship final shootout and helped Chelsea to win a domestic treble last season. She is also on the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, which will be announced on Thursday.
Hampton is the sixth winner of Fifa’s Best women’s goalkeeper award since its inception in 2019, after Sari van Veenendaal, Sarah Bouhaddi in 2020, Christiane Endler in 2021, the two-time winner Mary Earps and the winner last year, Alyssa Naeher of the US.Votes are collected from national team coaches and captains, specialist journalists and fans, each making up 25% of the poll. Hampton thanked those who had voted for her, before namechecking her coaches: “To Sarina [Wiegman] and to Sonia [Bompastor] for the belief in me this year. Both at club and country, we’ve achieved so much and there’s still so much set out for us to go and get.”
Donnarumma took the men’s prize after lifting the Champions League for the first time at the end of a campaign in which PSG won a domestic treble. “It was an incredible year, one that will live long in my memory, and it’s touching to be recognised for my role in the success achieved over that period,” Donnarumma said.
Lizbeth Ovalle won the Marta award, for the most popular goal scored in women’s football in 2025, named after the Brazil legend Marta, who was also nominated. Ovalle took the prize for her remarkable and unusual flicked goal scored for Tigres against Guadalajara in Liga MX Femenil action on 3 March. She later signed for the American club Orlando Pride for $1.5m.
The Puskas award for the best men’s goal went to Santiago Montiel, who scored with a breathtaking overhead kick for the Argentinian side Independiente against Independiente Rivadavia. His cousin Gonzalo Montiel scored Argentina’s decisive penalty kick in the 2022 World Cup final against France. (Guardian)
Four days after Governor Ademola Adeleke emerged as the governorship candidate of the Accord Party, another faction of the party held its own governorship primary, where a different candidate was produced.
Mr Clement Bamigbola emerged as the faction’s governorship candidate for the August 8, 2026, Osun State election.
Recall that the party, under the leadership of Mr Maxwell Mgbudem, on Wednesday held a similar exercise which produced Governor Adeleke as the party’s candidate.
However, a faction of the party rejected him, stating that Maxwell Mgbudem is not a legally backed National Chairman of the party.
In a fresh twist, on Sunday, 300 delegates of the Accord Party across Osun State elected Bamigbola as the factional party candidate during the exercise held at Regina Suite, Osogbo.
He emerged after a voice vote by the delegates and the electoral committee.
Olufemi Ogundare was pronounced elected as the candidate of the party for the 2026 poll. Meanwhile, Pelumi Olajengbesi, convener of the Imole Grassroots Mobilisation Network and a hopeful for the Obokun/Oriade federal constituency seat, has endorsed Governor Adeleke for a second term in the 2026 Osun governorship election, describing the incumbent as having no formidable opposition.
Speaking on Saturday, the Abuja-based lawyer said Adeleke’s chances of winning the August 8 poll remain intact despite his recent defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Accord Party.
Olajengbesi attributed Adeleke’s electoral strength to his longstanding connection with the people of Osun, which he traced back to the governor’s tenure as senator and his current position.
“As far as I am concerned, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election in the August 8, 2026 governorship poll is a walkover, as there is no serious contender in the race who can compete favourably with Adeleke let alone defeat the incumbent governor,” Olajengbesi said. (Guardian)
Captain Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool “are absolutely united and go forward as one” after Mohamed Salah returned to the squad for Saturday’s win over Brighton.
Salah came off the bench for his first Liverpool appearance since claiming after last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds that he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club.
The 33-year-old was left out of the squad for the midweek Champions League win at Inter Milan, but returned for the Brighton game following talks with manager Arne Slot – and claimed an assist in the 2-0 win.
Salah joins up with the Egypt national team for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on Monday and could miss up to eight Liverpool games if his country go all the way to the final on 18 January.
“We showed this week that we are absolutely united. We go forward as one,” said Van Dijk, who made his 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool on Saturday.
“Mo is going to Afcon and we all hope that he’ll be successful there and he’ll come back and be important for us for the rest of the season.
“The other side of it is that we all know football and we have no idea what is going to happen. I hope that he stays because he is one of my leaders and still very important for the football club. But there’s more parties to this situation.”
Van Dijk also praised Slot for how he handled the events of recent days, with Liverpool now unbeaten in five games since losing to PSV at Anfield in the Champions League.
“I think he has handled the situation very well – calm in his own way and it’s a very tricky situation,” said the Netherlands defender.
“There’s a lot of noise and pressure from the outside world and rightly so because we’ve not been up to the standard we’ve shown in the last few seasons.
“We’ve just got to keep going. He’s at a club which is very together and that’s how it has been before our time at the club, and that’s something we have to keep going.
“We go through the good times together, as a team, as a club and as a fanbase, but sometimes when the difficult moments arise we also have to stick together. This moment of time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds.” (BBC)
As Disney has gone into business with OpenAI, the Mouse House is accusing Google of copyright infringement on a “massive scale” using AI models and services to “commercially exploit and distribute” infringing images and videos.
On Wednesday evening, attorneys for Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, demanding that Google stop the alleged infringement in its AI systems.
“Google is infringing Disney’s copyrights on a massive scale, by copying a large corpus of Disney’s copyrighted works without authorization to train and develop generative artificial intelligence (‘AI’) models and services, and by using AI models and services to commercially exploit and distribute copies of its protected works to consumers in violation of Disney’s copyrights,” reads the letter to Google’s general counsel from law firm Jenner & Block on behalf of Disney.
The letter continued, “Google operates as a virtual vending machine, capable of reproducing, rendering, and distributing copies of Disney’s valuable library of copyrighted characters and other works on a mass scale. And compounding Google’s blatant infringement, many of the infringing images generated by Google’s AI Services are branded with Google’s Gemini logo, falsely implying that Google’s exploitation of Disney’s intellectual property is authorized and endorsed by Disney.”
According to the letter, which Variety has reviewed, Disney alleges that Google’s AI systems and services infringe Disney characters including those from “Frozen,” “The Lion King,” “Moana,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Deadpool,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Toy Story,” “Brave,” “Ratatouille,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Lilo & Stich,” “Inside Out” and franchises such as Star Wars, the Simpsons, and Marvel’s Avengers and Spider-Man. In its letter, Disney included examples of images it claims were generated by text prompts in Google’s AI apps, including of Darth Vader
The allegations against Google follows cease-and-desist letters that Disney sent earlier to Meta and Character.AI, as well as litigation Disney filed together with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery against AI companies Midjourney and Minimax alleging copyright infringement.
Asked for comment, a Google spokesperson said, “We have a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney, and will continue to engage with them. More generally, we use public data from the open web to build our AI and have built additional innovative copyright controls like Google-extended and Content ID for YouTube, which give sites and copyright holders control over their content.”
According to Disney, the company has been raising its concerns with Google for months — but says Google hasn’t done anything in response, and that i anything, Google’s infringement has only increased during that time.
Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, in an interview with CNBC Thursday, said, “Well, we’ve been aggressive at protecting our IP, and we’ve gone after other companies that have not honored our IP, not respected our IP, not valued it. And this is another example of us doing just that.”
Iger said Disney had been in discussions with Google “basically expressing our concerns” about its AI systems’ alleged infringement. “And ultimately, because we didn’t really make any progress, the conversations didn’t bear fruit, we felt we had no choice but to send them a cease-and-desist [letter].”
Disney’s letter to Google demands that Google “immediately cease further copying, publicly displaying, publicly performing, distributing, and creating derivative works of Disney’s copyrighted characters” in “outputs of Google’s AI Services, including through YouTube’s mobile app, YouTube Shorts and YouTube.” (Variety)
Manchester City and Aston Villa kept the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal with wins on Sunday.
Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory against Tottenham and Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby after an own-goal from Nick Woltemade.
Arsenal had extended its lead at the top of the standings to five points with a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. But a day later its closest rivals both responded with victories – second-place City winning 3-0 at Crystal Palace and Villa, in third, twice coming back to beat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium.
City is two points behind Arsenal and Villa is a point further back.
Beaten by Palace in the FA Cup final last season, City exacted some revenge to take all three points at Selhurst Park.
“They are so strong. Every time we play against them it’s so difficult,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Still, we are not top, but we are learning and after what happened we will be closer in the future.”
Erling Haaland scored his 101st Premier League goal to put City in front late in the first half and he got his second of the match with an 89th-minute penalty. The Norwegian has 36 goals in 27 appearances for club and country in another remarkable scoring season. He is the league’s leading scorer with 17 goals.
Phil Foden got City’s other goal in between Haaland’s double.
Morgan Rogers scored twice in the second half to extend Aston Villa’s winning run to nine-straight games in all competitions and keep Unai Emery’s team on the heels of Arsenal and City.
Villa has lost just one of its last 13 games in the league and won 10 of its last 11, but twice had to come from behind at relegation fighting West Ham.
“We feel unstoppable, but we are making it difficult for ourselves,” Rogers said. “The battle and resilience we have means we know we can get back into it against a good team.
“We want to keep this going, it’s about being confident and I’m feeling good.”
Mateus Fernandes scored the fastest goal in England’s top flight this season when putting the home team 1-0 up after just 29 seconds. But Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal leveled the game eight minutes later.
Jarrod Bowen then gave West Ham the lead at halftime with his second goal in as many games in the 24th.
Rogers leveled the game again five minutes after the break and struck the winner in the 79th.
The pressure is mounting on Tottenham coach Thomas Frank, who was left infuriated after a latest loss.
Spurs have won just one of their last seven games in the league and face defending champion Liverpool at home next week. (JapanToday)
Tourists from dozens of countries including the UK could be asked to provide a five-year social media history as a condition of entry to the United States, under a new proposal unveiled by American officials.
The new condition would affect people from dozens of countries who are eligible to visit the US for 90 days without a visa, as long as they have filled out an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has moved to toughen US borders more generally – citing national security as a reason.
Analysts say the new plan could pose an obstacle to potential visitors, or harm their digital rights.
Asked whether the proposal could lead to a steep drop-off in tourism to the US, Trump said he was not concerned.
“No. We’re doing so well,” the president said on Wednesday.
“We just want people to come over here, and safe. We want safety. We want security.
“We want to make sure we’re not letting the wrong people come enter our country.”
The US expects a major influx of foreign tourists next year, as it hosts the men’s football World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, and for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The proposal document was filed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its component agency Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
It was published in the Federal Register, the official journal of the US government.
The proposal says “the data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last 5 years”, without giving further details of which specific information will be required.
The existing ESTA requires a comparatively limited amount of information from travellers, as well as a one-off payment of $40 (£30). It is accessible to citizens of about 40 countries – including the UK, Ireland, France, Australia and Japan – and allows them to visit the US multiple times during a two-year period.
As well as the collection of social media information, the new document proposes the gathering of an applicant’s telephone numbers and email addresses used over the last five and 10 years respectively, and more information about their family members.
The text cites an executive order from Trump in January, titled “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats”.
The new proposal regarding ESTA data collection for tourists invites views from the public for 60 days.
“Nothing has changed on this front for those coming to the United States,” a spokesperson for CBP said in a statement.
“This is not a final rule, it is simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe.”
Sophia Cope, of digital rights organisation the Electronic Frontier Foundation, criticised the plan, telling the New York Times it could “exacerbate civil liberties harms”.
Meanwhile, immigration law practice Fragomen suggested there could be practical impacts as applicants could face longer waits for ESTA approvals. (BBC)
A teaser trailer has been released for the new “Street Fighter” live-action film, featuring Chun-Li, Ken, Ryu and more characters from the highly popular video game franchise.
The trailer debuted during the 2025 Game Awards, where the film’s cast took the stage to introduce the first look at the movie.
The new “Street Fighter” movie is set in 1993, and, according to an official synopsis: “Estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s game over!”
In addition to Koji, Centineo and Liang, the cast includes Cody Rhodes as Guile, Orville Peck as Vega, 50 Cent as Balrog, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, Oliver Richters as Zangief, Hirooki Goto as E. Honda, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Roman Reigns as Akuma, Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki, Eric André as Don Sauvage, Mel Jarnson as Cammy, Rayna Vallandingham as Juli and Alexander Volkanovski as Joe.
“Street Fighter” is directed by Kitao Sakurai from a screenplay by Dalan Musson. Legendary co-produced with Japanese video game developer Capcom, while Paramount Pictures is distributing the film.
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