It comes amid escalation from the Trump administration against Nicolas Maduro's government, and as the US builds up a naval military presence in the region, including the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier and its support group. The status of the attempted interception is unclear, according to Sky's US partner network NBC News, but reports first emerged at around 2.30pm in the UK that the operation was under way. As it happened: US in 'active pursuit' of third vessel Two officials told NBC News the US Coast Guard was in "active pursuit" of the vessel, which is sanctioned by the US. One told the outlet it was "a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion". "It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order," they said, adding that dark fleet vessels usually do not operate exclusively for one country. It is understood the vessel is sailing under the name Bella 1, according to British maritime risk management group Vanguard, according to NBC News and Bloomberg. Sky News has seen Bella 1 is sanctioned by the US government, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) website, and has been included on the list since June 2024. Read more: The real reason for Donald Trump's Venezuela exploits One US official told NBC the vessel was sanctioned under the counterterrorism authority for its involvement in the network of Houthi financial facilitator Sa'id al Jamal. Another US official separately told the New York Times the ship did not submit to being boarded and continued onward. If successful, it would mark the third such interception near Venezuela in the past two weeks, with a tanker being seized on Saturday and near the start of the month. Explained: The US-Venezuela crisis Trump's 'blockade' of tankers Earlier this week, the US president declared he had ordered the "blockade" of oil tankers into and out of the South American country. He said the US military would remain in place until Venezuela returns "all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us". In the social media post following months of escalating tensions in the Caribbean, Donald Trump said Venezuela was surrounded by the "largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America". Venezuela's government has accused Mr Trump of "violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation" with "a reckless and grave threat" against the South American country. China's foreign minister Wang Yi later accused the US of "bullying" Venezuela, and said on Wednesday: "China believes the international community understands and supports Venezuela's position in defending its legitimate rights and interests." Washington has also announced sanctions on numerous oil tankers, shipping companies and family members of Mr Maduro. President Trump has been ramping up pressure on the Maduro regime, accusing it of involvement in the drugs trade. As part of his efforts, he has also authorised deadly strikes against vessels he claims are trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. President Maduro claims Mr Trump is trying to overthrow him with a view to seizing Venezuela's oil reserves.

With the ability to tell political and philosophical stories, fairy tales and musical adventures, all with equal flair, puppeteers bringing the inanimate to life on stage is back in vogue. A staple of the festive season, the year-round resurgence has been invigorated by hit West End shows including War Horse, The Life Of Pi, The Lion King and My Neighbour Totoro, boosting a craft that has been traced back as far as the ancient Greeks. This year, puppets are centre stage at Shakespeare's Globe, with Pinocchio their leading man. The tale of a wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy, Globe associate director Sean Holmes tells Sky News: "It seemed to fit, a boy made of wood in a theatre made of wood. "There's something about the kind of challenge of that storytelling, the theatricality, the magic, the puppetry, that really drew us to it." The performers - made up of actors and puppeteers - spent 18 months workshopping the show ahead of opening night, perfecting the challenge of skilled puppetry, acting and singing all on an open-air stage. It's no mean feat. The show features a range of puppets, including rod, table-top, and large-scale creations that fill the stage and marionettes - small puppets with big impact. One of the show's puppeteers, Stan Middleton, a marionette specialist, operates a marionette Romeo puppet in part of the performance. He tells Sky News: "I think a lot of people are scared of marionettes because they think, 'Oh no, they're too difficult, we can't do them'." He goes on: "It's so nice to have the marionette moment in this show, because it gives people a chance to see how beautiful they are and how enchanting… "They've got a sort of delicate charm and a sort of like inner silence which I think really captivates people." Despite their charms, the intricate skills required to both craft and manipulate long-string marionettes mean they are under threat. While some puppets - including War Horse-style rod and Totoro-style body ones - are enjoying success on the stage, marionettes are critically endangered. Unlike dance or circus, puppetry is not recognised in its own right by Arts Council England and is instead grouped with theatre. It means specialist puppet venues are competing for funding in the highly saturated market of theatre companies producing for children and families, with no special recognition of their craft. Marionette-making was added to Heritage Crafts' Red List of Endangered Crafts in 2023. There are now calls for it to be added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) list too, after the UK officially joined earlier this year. Little Angel Theatre, a hub for British puppetry for over six decades, is one of a handful of UK spaces where puppeteers can perform with long-string marionettes. Boasting not one but two marionette bridges, puppeteers can walk 360 degrees all the way around the upper part of the stage, working their marionettes from a hidden vantage point above. Trained by some of the last remaining UK makers, including Little Angel co-founder Lyndie Wright, Little Angel Associate director Oliver Hymans is a central figure in the effort to save the craft. Inspired by seeing old marionettes hung up at the back of the stage and intrigued by why they were not being used, he is now committed to re-establishing traditional marionette-making. Hymans tells Sky News: "The marionette is a series of nine different pendulums all wired together. You're having to work against gravity to keep it in control. "But the thing about the marionette is you can hide the puppeteer. So, you can completely design and develop a world where there are only puppets and scenery and scenography." He says the majority of master marionette makers have retired or are nearing retirement, and warns there may be just a handful left in the country. He explains: "With the onslaught of AI, we know it's coming. Jobs where people use their hands are going to be vitally important, and if we don't protect these crafts, they are going to die out." Putting their money where their mouth is, Little Angel is nurturing emerging talent, upskilling people in both the art of making and performing with marionettes. They plan to have a marionette show on stage next summer. Also joining the fight for the overlooked craft, puppetry director Rachel Warr has organised a celebration of marionettes for the last three years, with the support of the Art Workers' Guild Outreach Committee. An industry-focused free event, it brings the puppetry community together - with particular relevance to those who work with marionettes - or who aspire to. Some members of the community appear in a forthcoming short documentary about puppets, Untangling, by filmmaker Hester Heeler-Frood. Warr told Sky News: "People are often more affected by a puppet dying on stage than an actor pretending to die in character. It doesn't have the artifice of getting up and walking away and getting on the tube at the end of the night. "There's something quite vulnerable about the puppet in that sense… We know that it's not really alive, and yet we're able to project on to it our own thoughts and feelings. It's a blank canvas - a powerful tool." Meanwhile, as Pinocchio plays at the Globe, the theatre is running accompanying puppetry workshops, encouraging children to get involved in the craft - maybe inspiring future stars of puppeteering. With their future hanging by a string, the training of the next generation is key to breathing life back into an overlooked craft, reinstating marionettes to their rightful place on the stage. Pinocchio runs at Shakespeare's Globe until Sunday 4 January. The Storm Whale at Little Angel Studios runs until Saturday 24 January, and Me runs at Little Angel Theatre until Sunday 25 January.

Speaking to Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Anna Turley acknowledged that "things are still hard" for Britons, but struck an optimistic tone about the year ahead. She said the government has "taken a lot of difficult decisions this year" to "stabilise the economy", but we are now "starting to see that recovery". "As we go into the new year, I'm really optimistic about delivering the kind of change that people voted for last year, and to see them starting to see and feel it in their pockets and in their local communities," Ms Turley insisted. On average over the last 10 polls, the Labour Party is down in third place on 18.2%, while Reform UK is on 29.4%, and the Conservative Party is on 18.9%. Trevor then asked if the public simply hasn't noticed "how lucky they've been", and the senior minister said: "Well, I think rightly, people are impatient for change. We all are. And people voted for change - that was on the front of our manifesto last year. "But it takes time to deliver that. It takes time to stabilise things from the chaos that we inherited." She said fundamental changes, particularly those that require legislation, take time to deliver, pointing to the Employment Rights Bill, which only passed through parliament last week after the Lords repeatedly sought to amend it. Ms Turley continued: "We live in the real world. We know things are still hard. "But I'm conscious with every single day that goes by next year, people will really start to see and feel more money in their pockets, better public services when they're looking for an appointment with a doctor, their streets and the neighbourhoods are looking better and better, and that change takes time. "But we will be delivering that in the new year, and I'm confident people can really start to see that." Asked directly if Sir Keir Starmer will be Labour leader and prime minister by next Christmas, Turley replied: "Of course. Absolutely. "As I said, people will really start to see and feel the change in their pockets. He has got a very clear vision for making sure that people can really deal with the cost of living, that public services will get back on their [...] feet. "And he's building a Britain that is one that is tolerant, that is open, that is confident in itself. And that is really about renewal and investment in young people as opposed to the division and the decline of the opposition." Read more:Over half of Labour members want to ditch StarmerAlmost two in three Labour members back BurnhamOver a third of Britons think Reeves exaggerated bad news Her backing of the prime minister comes amid continued unease on the Labour benches about the party's position in the polls, and the manoeuvrings of some big figures who are rumoured to be plotting a move against the prime minister if May's local elections go badly. One such person thought to be preparing for a potential leadership bid is the health secretary, Wes Streeting, who has told The Observer today that he is not ruling himself out as a candidate for the top job in future. "I'm diplomatically ducking the question to avoid any more of the silly soap opera we've had in the last few months," Streeting said, despite also noting the "pressure" and the "demands of that job". Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is repeatedly refusing to rule out a return to Westminster to challenge Sir Keir for the Labour leadership, and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner is thought to be preparing to potentially launch a leadership bid of her own. 'We're going to smash the local elections' Also on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the Conservative Party deputy chair, Matt Vickers, was bullish about his party's prospects at May's local elections. "We're going to go out there and smash these next elections," he said. "The reality is we had a tough general election. If anybody thought that we were going to dust ourselves off and be back in the game within months, then they're a bit mad."

It was announced on Friday that the 27-year-old Englishman, who had beaten Oskar Lukasiak 3-0 in the first round, had been suspended after the Darts Regulation Authority (DRA) was notified of an "adverse analytical finding" from a test conducted on December 14. Taylor was given a one-month ban earlier this year after failing a drugs test at the Players Championship Finals in November 2024. Dom Taylor out of World Darts Championship after failed drugs testWorld Darts Championship latest results and scheduleWorld Darts Championship LIVE! Latest updates, highlights Players are tested on a random basis during the World Championship at Alexandra Palace. In a post on his Facebook page on Sunday, Taylor apologised for the failed test. He said that personal traumas in his life had contributed to his situation and that he will be "getting the help I need". He wrote: "The first thing I need to say is sorry! "I am sorry to every single one of my family, friends, sponsors, management team and most of important of all, you guys, all my fans be it outside of darts or inside of darts, the game/sport I love the most. "Also I need to apologise for blatant lying to you all in my interview after my win against Oskar last week, as I have been lying to myself and everyone else around me. "I did complete and finish the course that I was required to do at the end of last/beginning of this year, along with everything else I was required to do and sanctions." Taylor was banned in January and given an initial two-year suspension for a banned substance which was reduced to three months as the substance was not performance enhancing. This was cut to one month after Taylor agreed a UKAD-approved three-month Substance of Abuse treatment programme. Taylor was asked about his ban following his first-round win and said: "Biggest let-down of my life. But I've rebounded back, and here we are." In its statement on Friday, the DRA said: "This matter will now be the subject of a disciplinary process in line with the relevant DRA Anti-Doping Rules. "The DRA will not be making any further comment pending the outcome of this confidential process." Taylor had been due to play Jonny Clayton in the second round on Saturday. Clayton received a bye to the third round.

The Democrats from the House Oversight Committee drew attention to the apparent removal of an image showing two printed pictures of Mr Trump in a desk draw. One picture had Mr Trump standing surrounded by women in bathing suits, while the second appears to be an already known picture - partly obscured - of him, his wife Melania, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. After the Democrats flagged the missing image on Saturday, Sky News went back to the files online and confirmed that it did appear to be missing, despite the fact they downloaded it when the files were initially released on Friday. The other photos removed from the trove of documents were almost all nude paintings of women in Epstein's home. In a post on X on Sunday, the DOJ said the image including pictures of Mr Trump has since been reposted on to the Epstein Files page. Sky News has seen that file number 468 is once again listed online. Mr Trump is still visible in the latest version of the image, and there is no immediate difference from the original upload. The DOJ said that "the Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims". "Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review," the department added. "After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction." Mr Trump has not commented on the release of the files and has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein's case. Questions over heavy redactions Thousands of documents relating to the dead paedophile financier were made public by the DOJ on Friday - hours before a legal deadline following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Many of the pages were either partially or fully redacted, which the DOJ says is to protect the more than 1,200 victims and their families identified in them. Some of Epstein's victims, legal experts and members of the public have questioned whether this is the sole reason for the redactions, while the Oversight Democrats have claimed: "This is a White House cover-up." Ashley Rubright, who was abused for several years after meeting Epstein in Palm Beach when she was 15, told Sky News: "Seeing [...] completely redacted pages, there's no way that that's just to protect the victims' identities, and there better be a good reason. I just don't know if we'll ever know what that is." Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has represented some of Epstein's victims, says she has been told that despite the heavy redactions, some compromising pictures of survivors and their names were left in the files released on Friday. "We have had to notify the Department of Justice about names that should have been redacted that weren't redacted," she told Sky News. "So this is further trauma to survivors, and apparently also some of the images of some of the survivors appear not to have been redacted, and they are nude or not completely dressed. "This is a major concern because the law clearly indicates, and the judges have indicated, that the names and any identifying information of the survivors must be redacted." Read more:Epstein victims react to partial release of filesLinks between Epstein and the UK revealed in new files In a letter to the judges overseeing the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, US attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton acknowledged that a review "of this size and scope is vulnerable to machine error [or] instances of human error". He also said the DOJ had opted to redact the faces of women in photographs with Epstein "even where not all the women are known to be victims," as it was not viewed as practical for the DOJ to identify every person in all the photos. The methodology has led to some confusion and misled speculation online. Many celebrities and public figures appear with Epstein in the photos published by the DOJ, often included without context. There is no suggestion that these pictures imply anyone has done anything wrong, and many of those featured in them have denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. Through its release, the Trump administration has claimed to be the most transparent in history, despite the fact Congress forced their hand by voting to make the files public by 19 December. But some have been held back, with Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general and a former personal lawyer for Donald Trump, saying more would follow in the coming weeks. Many Democrats and some Republicans have criticised the partial release as failing to "comply with law," as have lawyers including Ms Allred. "So clearly, the law has been violated. And it's the Department of Justice letting down the survivors once again," she said. She labelled the incomplete release of the files a "distraction", adding: "This is not over, and it won't be over until we get the truth and transparency for the survivors."

A spokesperson for the company said it had decided not to release any new titles by Walliams "after careful consideration, and under the leadership of its new CEO". "HarperCollins takes employee well-being extremely seriously and has processes in place for reporting and investigating concerns," they added. "To respect the privacy of individuals, we do not comment on internal matters." In a statement later on Friday, a spokesperson for the comedian and children's author said: "David has never been informed of any allegations raised against him by HarperCollins. "He was not party to any investigation or given any opportunity to answer questions. David strongly denies that he has behaved inappropriately and is taking legal advice." It follows a report from The Telegraph that Walliams was dropped after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards young women. The 54-year-old, who shot to fame with the BBC sketch show Little Britain, is one of the country's best-selling children's writers. He has written more than 40 books, which have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and been translated into 55 languages, according to his website. His first children's book, The Boy in the Dress, was published by HarperCollins in 2008, and he was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to charity and the arts. Walliams is also known for Come Fly With Me, another BBC sketch show, and was formerly part of the judging panel for ITV's Britain's Got Talent. He left the show in 2022 after a recording of him making disparaging comments about contestants was leaked. The remarks were understood to have been both derogatory and sexually explicit, referring to one contestant as a "c***" and saying of another: "She thinks you want to f*** her, but you don't". Walliams later released a statement apologising for the "disrespectful comments" and saying they were private conversations that were never meant to be shared. HarperCollins UK announced in October that it had appointed Kate Elton as its new chief executive, following the departure of former boss Charlie Redmayne.

It's not a particularly special roundabout. But it does tell us something about British politics. Belgrave Circle, in the north of the city, was opened in March 2015 on the site of an old railway station known locally as "The Gateway to Skegness". Later that year, Leicester - along with the rest of the country - went to the polls in the 2015 general election. The vote saw David Cameron win a majority and Ed Miliband resign as Labour leader. But around the Belgrave Circle, something different was going on. Because this is the spot where Leicester's three parliamentary constituencies meet, and in 2015 they were all held by Labour MPs who saw their majorities increase. It's a different story now. Stand in the middle of the roundabout and face towards Abbey Park and you'll see the city's only remaining Labour seat - that of cabinet minister Liz Kendall. Turn around and face the B&M Home Store, and you'll find the only place the Conservatives picked up at the last election. This freak occurrence happened after the Labour vote was split by two independent candidates - both of whom also happened to be former MPs for the city. Labour saw its vote share cut in half here, and then some. The Tory vote dropped as well, but not by enough to stop the party coming through the middle and taking the seat by four thousand votes. But walk to the south of this roundabout and you'll get to where an independent candidate went one step further. Local optician Shockat Adam won this seat last year, defeating frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth in a campaign focused mainly on Gaza and events in the Middle East. What happened on this roundabout last July is no one-off. There's plenty of evidence to suggest these phenomena could be on the rise around the country. Since the election, Labour's vote share has plunged, and its base has fractured as support for insurgent parties on the right and left surges. A lot of the focus from this has been on Reform UK and how Labour can stop Nigel Farage in traditional 'red wall' seats in the midlands and the north. And yes, Labour is leaking support to Reform on the right. But what's often not talked about is the greater number of votes its losing on the left. A rejuvenated Green Party under Zack Polanski is chasing Labour close in some polls, while Your Party is attempting to form a separate fighting force straddling ex-Corbynites, independent pro-Gaza candidates and those from the more hard-left tradition. Come the next election, this could all have far-reaching consequences. Sky News has ranked all 404 Labour seats according to how at risk they are to these new forces on the left. We created this 'vulnerability index' using factors like voting history, population and demographic data. It shows several cabinet ministers in the top 25 most vulnerable, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in fourth place, Sir Keir Starmer in thirteenth place and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy in twenty-third place. All three of these Labour big beasts have seen their majorities cut in the last election by a Green candidate, an independent candidate or a mix of the two. In Birmingham Ladywood, the total number of votes won by independent and green candidates exceed the number won by the Home Secretary. That could trigger trouble, given the Greens and Your Party have indicated they may be open to the idea of local "progressive pacts". But in the neighbouring constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, the result last year shows how an altogether different result could materialise. Here, Labour's vote was again split by a left-wing insurgent candidate - this time from George Galloway's Workers Party. But the conservative vote was also cut in half by Reform. If Nigel Farage can unite the right in places like this, he could come through the middle - in much the same way the Tories did in Leicester. So how can the government fight back? Part of the answer, according to senior figures, is attempting to tell a more appealing story about the more overly left-wing chunks of their policy platform - such as the workers rights reforms and rental overhaul. The hope is these stories may be given more of a hearing in 2026 when (or perhaps more accurately, if) a corner starts to be turned on big domestic priorities like the economy, the NHS and migration. If that doesn't happen, the real saving grace for Labour could be tactical voting. The Greens and Your Party have made it clear that they will plough on with their campaigns against the government, even if it ultimately benefits Reform. Read more from Sky News:Australia launches intelligence reviewEngineer becomes first wheelchair user in space What's less clear is whether left-wingers across the country will. If they are faced with the prospect of Nigel Farage in Downing Street, could they hold their nose and stick with Labour? It all begs the question - who is their great enemy: the government or Reform? Ministers are already trying to emphasise a binary choice when they talk about Labour being the one single "bulwark" to Nigel Farage. Expect more attempts to mobilise this anti-Reform vote in the years ahead. But that's made more difficult by what happened around Leicester's Belgrave Circle. The same political fracturing that's dogged the right in years past now being replicated on the left. Labour's ability to pick up the electoral pieces may prove decisive in whether what took place on a shabby East Midlands roundabout in July 2024 is recreated across the country in a few years' time.

For the first time in his tenure, Amorim has visibly moved away from the rigid 3-4-2-1 formation he had previously stuck with both at Old Trafford and across his managerial career, displaying a level of flexibility which had previously become a bone of contention for Manchester United supporters. After deploying a hybrid back four in Monday's 4-4 draw with Bournemouth, United put on another improved display despite losing 2-1 to in-form Aston Villa at Villa Park and deserved more than they got for the second game in succession. Man Utd fixtures & scores | FREE Man Utd PL highlights▶️Got Sky? Watch Man Utd games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want! 🔔 Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, Neville said: "I thought it was a really good performance, but the details of the two goals have cost them. "Now that's going to continue to happen whilst they don't have the likes of Harry Maguire and Matthijs De Ligt, and they don't have players that would make them a lot stronger. "What I have seen in these last two games is a couple of things. One, the manager has changed. Quite obviously, the system that he said he would never change, the five or the three [at the back], the two in midfield, the two wing backs and the three up front, that has been thrown out of the window in the last two matches. That's a good thing. "I'm happy that the manager is adapting to what's happening out there because of what's happening with AFCON, but also I think there's an element where he couldn't carry on as we saw against West Ham and Everton at home. "More of that would find the manager in a lot of trouble - more of what we've seen between Bournemouth and Villa is going to find the manager in a job, and will allow him to build something, because you can build off what you've seen here. "Manchester United can still finish in the top five and they've missed three or four opportunities in the last three weeks to do that, but if they can get those players back from AFCON and they can stay fit, they can do something. "Ruben Amorim has got to approach it the way in which he has in the last five or six days. The system has been tweaked - more than tweaked - and I think with [Mason] Mount, [Matheus] Cunha, [Bruno] Fernandes, [Bejamin] Sesko, [Bryan] Mbeumo and Amad [Diallo] out there on the pitch, not all of them but probably four or five of them, they will cause a lot of teams a lot of problems." Keane: Man Utd still among league's worst out of possession Keane was similarly impressed with Man Utd's attacking output, with Amorim's side only outscored by Manchester City this season, but felt that was little excuse for the ease with which they were cut apart for both of Morgan Rogers' fine strikes in their latest defeat - their fifth from 17 league games. Leny Yoro was singled out for criticism for a lack of intensity in closing down Rogers when he first received the ball before cutting inside and netting a stunning opener, while Keane was just as frustrated by Diogo Dalot's attempts to block a cross leading up to his second. "You can have all the talent in the world, but you have to roll your sleeves up and when the game gets a bit tight you say you're going to do your bit for the team," he said on Super Sunday. "This isn't a tricky winger, it's just a little shimmy. He's like yeah, have a cross. This ends up being the winning goal. "It's not like someone's done a brilliant trick or run at him with real pace. You get down low, you get your body in position. You say if you're going to get a cross in, you're going to have to do remarkably well. "There are too many players who don't do enough. Not just Dalot. In the last two games Man Utd have conceded six goals. What chance have you got? Newcastle are coming up in a few days, they'll come to Old Trafford and enjoy it, they'll have runners. "These are the ugly bits of football. We know you've got the other bits, but you've got to do the ugly bits. That's what all the top teams do. "But you can also dig deep, you can win playing ugly. You have to find a way to do that. "Out of possession they're one of the worst teams in the league. With the ball they're good, but if you want to be a top footballer, it's about what you do out of possession. "Man Utd cut corners, take too many risks and I'm glad they get punished. I like to see teams getting punished who take chances and let their team-mates and fans down."