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Wednesday, December 23, 2009 WASHINGTON: The United States warned Iran Tuesday that December is "a very real deadline" after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed an international ultimatum over its nuclear program. The United States and France have explicitly said Tehran must accept a UN-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel by the end of the year or face the threat of further sanctions. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the so-called P5+1, which gathers UN Security Council veto-wielding permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany, were all on board with the deadline. "I think that the international community is united in this. This is not (just) something that the (US) president has said... This is something that the members of the P5+1 have said," Gibbs said. "That's why we are at the point where we are now with the international community waiting to see and have been waiting t...

ZURICH: Just a few weeks after Argentinian striker Lionel Messi earned the prestigious Ballon d'Or prize as Europe's best soccer player, he's managed to top that with another very prestigious honor: the title of World Player of the Year, given by soccer's governing body FIFA.The past year gave the 22-year-old Messi plenty of chances to prove his ability as the world's best footballer. He's been a key player at his club side FC Barcelona since joining the first team for the 2004-05 season, and led the team to a slew of major titles in 2009. In the spring, Messi's nine goals were essential to Barca's march to the Champions League trophy, including one in his team's 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final.Lionel Messi is officially the Best Footballer for the year 2009 according to FIFA. The managers of the national teams voted for Messi and the two times second placed candidate finally got this great distinction.