Category News

Fans Vandalise India Stadium After Messi’s Abrupt Exit

By in News, sport-news

Angry spectators broke down barricades and stormed the pitch at a stadium in India after football star Lionel Messi, who is on a three-day tour of the country, abruptly left the arena.

As a part of a so-called GOAT Tour, the 38-year-old Argentina and Inter Miami superstar touched down in the eastern state of West Bengal early Saturday, greeted by a chorus of exuberant fans chanting his name.

Hours later, thousands of fans wearing Messi jerseys and waving the Argentine flag packed into Salt Lake stadium in the state capital Kolkata, but heavy security around the footballer left fans struggling to catch a glimpse of him.

Messi walked around the pitch waving to fans and left the stadium earlier than expected.

A fan takes a selfie with Inter Miami’s Argentine forward #10 Lionel Messi at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on December 13, 2025.
Thousands of fans packed into a stadium in eastern India on December 13 to cheer on Lionel Messi as the football legend unveiled a 21-metre (70-foot) statue of himself.

Frustrated fans, many having paid more than $100 for tickets, ripped out stadium seats and hurled water bottles onto the track.

Many others stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents.

“For me, to watch Messi is a pleasure, a dream. But I have missed the chance to have a glimpse because of the mismanagement in the stadium,” businessman Nabin Chatterjee, 37, told AFP.

Before the chaos erupted, Messi unveiled a 21-metre (70-foot) statue which shows him holding aloft the World Cup.

Security personnel shield themselves with chairs whilst the crowd reacts as Inter Miami’s Argentine forward #10 Lionel Messi departs from the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on December 13, 2025.
Thousands of fans packed into a stadium in eastern India on December 13 to cheer on Lionel Messi as the football legend unveiled a 21-metre (70-foot) statue of himself.

He was also expected to play a short exhibition game at the stadium.

Another angry fan told the Press Trust of India (PTI) that people had spent “a month’s salary” to see Messi.

“I paid Rs 5,000 ($55) for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi, not politicians. The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame,” Ajay Shah, told PTI.

State chief minister Mamata Banerjee said she was “disturbed” and “shocked” at the mismanagement.

“I sincerely apologise to Lionel Messi, as well as to all sports lovers and his fans, for the unfortunate incident,” she said in a post on X, adding that she had ordered a probe into the incident.

Messi will now head to Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi as part of the four-city tour.

His time in India also includes a possible meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Messi won his second consecutive Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player award this week after propelling Inter Miami to the MLS title and leading the league in goals.

Yungblud reveals heartbreaking reason his Grammy nomination feels ‘tragic’

By in Entertainment News, News

Singer Yungblud has been nominated in the Best Rock Performance category at the Grammy Awards, which takes place on February 4, but described it was “tragic” following a tough year

Yungblud has described his Grammy Awards nomination as “tragic” after the 28 year old musician was nominated for Best Rock Performance for his rendition of ‘Changes’ at Black Sabbath’s farewell concert. He’s opened up on conflicting emotions about the accolade because he “can’t share it” with his late hero Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away just weeks after his final performance in July.

Speaking on the Q podcast, he said: “I don’t know how I feel about it. As a singer, to be Grammy nominated for a live performance where you can’t go into a studio and over dub it or make it perfect, it’s a moment that’s gone and you can’t share it with the person you were singing it to. It is an honour, but it’s also tragic.”

The ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ artist is preparing to embark on an extensive tour throughout much of next year, but he’s worried he requires some breathing space to “process” both Ozzy’s passing and his own rapid rise to fame.

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He explained: “I really need to unpack what’s happened. January 1 we go to Australia and the world tour continues – we’re booking dates until 2028 now and I’ve got to make another album in the middle of it.

“I want to do it justice, and I really want to take the time to feel this and look at it, and I’m not going to feel anything at all if you don’t process things, you become numb.

“I really want to be present and thankful to the universe and to my idols, and most importantly to my community, who have stuck by me and to look them in the eye and be there for the next 20 years.”

Yungblud remains deeply affected by Ozzy’s passing, given the pivotal role the rock legend played in launching him into the spotlight. He added: “You get given an opportunity by your hero to show the world what you can do, you finally get to know your hero on a human level and then he dies.

“Honestly, it makes me emotional as I’m trying to unpack this trip that I’ve been on as I’ve loved this icon my whole life.

“It’s probably the biggest moment of my career that the world has maybe taken notice of me for the first time.

“I get to know him and try to make him understand how thankful I am to him, not only for my life and my personality, but the opportunity he has given me, then he dies.”

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READ MORE: Nikita Kuzmin leaves Strictly fans amazed after revealing his sister’s reality TV past

NYSC Revamps Entrepreneurial Programme, Adds AI To Curriculum

By in News, Nigeria News

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) said it is overhauling its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) training for corps members through standardisation of the curriculum for deeper impact.

A statement by the body said the Director General (DG) of the Scheme, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, disclosed this in his address at the 2025 second SAED stakeholders’ summit held in Abuja.

His summit was themed ‘Empowering a Generation: Building Competence for the Future Workplace and Enterprise Through Impactful Partnerships.’

Nafiu, who said the Scheme had embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation of the SAED programme as a pathway to combating youth unemployment, said the new curriculum included skills like artificial intelligence and mobile application development, amongst others.

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He further disclosed that Corps Members were being mainstreamed into the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, as well as global remote work opportunities through initiatives like Outsource to Nigeria, NYSC jobs.ng, and the SAED SME toolkit.

Describing the SAED programme as a pillar of youth empowerment in Nigeria, he said more than 3.18 million Corps Members had completed entrepreneurship and workplace readiness training since 2012, with over 30,000 businesses formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

“They are employing others and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product while demonstrating that our youths are capable change agents,” he added.

The DG stressed the need to focus more on competence, mastery of the SAED skills, and digital fluency by Corps Members so as to make them highly competitive in the rapidly changing world.

He described the ₦2 billion MSME loan fund for Corps Entrepreneurs, which was recently launched in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI), as a landmark achievement in the entrepreneurship development drive.

Nafiu hailed the founding fathers of the NYSC for their foresight in anticipating and laying the foundation for entrepreneurial training, as captured in one of the objectives of the scheme.

“The unemployment rate as at 1973 was put at 1.9%, but today it is about 6.9%. Nigeria has many young people who lack employability skills.

“We thank our partners and stakeholders in the SAED programme for collaborating with the NYSC to mitigate the scourge of youth unemployment in Nigeria.

“We must be committed to empowering a generation whose innovation and enterprise will shape the country’s future into prosperity.

“Equipping our young people is not just a programme, it is a national assignment, and NYSC is fully committed to it”, he said.

He urged participants at the meeting to renew strategies for equipping Corps Members with the necessary skills, creativity, and confidence to live in the contemporary world.

Earlier in his remarks, the Director of SAED, Kehinde Aremu-Cole, expressed gratitude to the stakeholders at the summit for driving transformation across multiple sectors such as technology and digital skills, creative industries, entrepreneurship development, financial empowerment, and agricultural revitalisation.

Aremu-Cole described as laudable all the training, grants, and mentorship sessions they had delivered previously, noting that they were shaping Nigeria’s future through the Corps Members.

He called on them to create special-purpose funding pathways that would turn desire and skills into productive enterprises.

“Together, we are not just running a programme: we are building a generation.

Elf child star is unrecognisable and has wildly different career 22 years later

By in Entertainment News, News

Daniel Tay played Buddy’s half-brother Michael in the beloved 2003 Christmas film, but has since left acting behind to pursue an impressive new career away from the cameras

Even though Elf came out more than two decades ago, it remains an absolute Christmas classic to this very day.

The movie follows Buddy, a human who was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a baby and raised by Santa’s elves. As he grows up, Buddy (played by Will Ferrell) realises he doesn’t fit in with the other elves so travels to New York City to find his biological father.

Buddy’s dad is Walter Hobbs (played by James Caan), who is a cynical, work-obsessed publisher on Santa’s naughty list. But the elf does manage to form an instant connection with his half-brother Michael.

Child star Daniel Tay played this role brilliantly when he was just 12. However, despite warming the hearts of millions who have watched the film, he decided to embark on a very different career journey when he reached adulthood.

Although the 33-year-old is fondly remembered for his part in Elf, his acting career was brief.

Despite being a hit with viewers, he transitioned away from acting and later graduated from Yale University with a degree in economics.

These days, Dainel is almost unrecognisable from his acting era. More recently, he’s said to have worked as an SAT instructor.

According to the firm’s website, Tay worked as a Teaching Assistant and Peer Tutor within the Computer Science Department during his time at Yale. He also received the Richard U. Light Fellowship for his Mandarin Chinese language studies.

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His profile states: “He believes that teaching and learning are expressions of the basic human need for mutual understanding. With this in mind, he works with students to cultivate relationships based in clarity, humour, structure and respect.”

Following his work as an SAT tutor, academic Daniel went on to become a research fellow at Columbia University and is now reading medicine at Cornell University.

Virtual reality offers escape to Gaza children wounded in Israel’s war

By in News, World News

Inside a makeshift tent in the heart of the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel’s genocidal war, which has destroyed neighbourhoods, schools and hospitals, decimated families and shattered lives for more than two years, no longer exists.

Virtual reality technology is taking Palestinian children struggling with physical and psychological wounds to a world away, where they can feel safe again.

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“After I was injured in the head, I try to forget the pain,” Salah Abu Rukba, a Palestinian child taking part in the sessions, told Al Jazeera at the VR Tent in az-Zawayda, central Gaza.

“When I put on the headset, I forget the injury. I feel comfort as I forget the destruction, the war, and even the sound of the drones disappears.”

Salah Abu Rukba sustained an injury to his head during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza [Screen grab/ Al Jazeera]

Lama Abu Dalal, communication officer at Gaza MedTech – the technology initiative spearheading the project – said Abu Rukba and the others have constant reminders of the war etched in their bodies.

But the VR headset makes them forget their life-changing wounds and simply be children again, if only for a few moments.

Gaza MedTech was launched by Palestinian innovator Mosab Ali, who used VR to comfort his injured son. Ali was later killed in an Israeli attack.

Studies have confirmed that VR can have beneficial effects in the treatment of mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Offering this service in Gaza is hard to sustain, as spare parts of the equipment are barred from entry into Gaza by Israel’s ongoing punishing blockade.

Gaza children
Gaza MedTech was launched by Palestinian innovator Mosab Ali, who used VR to comfort his injured son [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]

Since a ceasefire formally went into effect on October 10, Israel has allowed slightly more aid in, although far less than Gaza’s needs and what the agreement clearly stipulated. Israel continues to restrict the free flow of humanitarian aid and medical supplies.

Authorities in Gaza say the truce has been violated by Israel at least 738 times since taking effect.

The United Nations estimates that more than 90 percent of children in Gaza are showing signs of severe stress driven by the loss of safety and stability, and will require long-term support to heal from the psychological effect of the conflict.