Santos signs lifetime contract with Pele

SAO PAULO, DEC 05 - Brazilian football club Santos has signed a lifetime contract to use the image of former player Pele .

The club said Thursday it will "continue using Pelé's image in its marketing, publicity and social media campaigns."

"The new agreement also includes a licensing deal which allows Santos FC and Pele to create and release products together," the club said in a statement, adding that it will be able to "have the presence of the Athlete of the Century at its events."

Pele has been Santos' "global ambassador" since 2013 and during negotiations to renew the deal the club decided to offer him the lifetime contract.

" Pele and Santos FC brands will always be related," club president Odilio Rodrigues said. "We expect this agreement to last forever, just like Pele 's legacy, and that is essential for our brand strategies. We have the greatest player of all time in our history, in our present and in our future."

Pele played for Santos nearly his entire career. He scored 1,091 goals with the club before he moved to the New York Cosmos before retiring.

"Santos FC believed in me when I was young, and shaped me to become a successful player, teammate and man," Pele said. "The club is in my blood, it is with me everywhere I go and I talk about it in every part of the world. I am looking forward to working with Santos FC on its strategies and programs to ensure it is recognized as the best football club in Brazil."

Santos said it has become the "first club in the world to sign a lifetime contract with a former athlete."

"With Pele as the world's most famous Brazilian person, and one of the most recognized personalities on the planet, the association between the two brands will strengthen the global presence of Santos FC, enabling greater reach and relevance for its sponsors, partners and other stakeholders," the eight-time Brazilian champion said.

A three-time World Cup champion with Brazil, Pele has been hospitalized since Nov. 24 after being diagnosed with a urinary tract infection that stemmed from a Nov. 13 surgery to remove kidney stones.

Doctors said Thursday that Pele remains in good condition and continues to improve steadily. He stayed several days in an intensive care unit to undergo hemodialysis to help support his only kidney.

Chelsea loses; Ronaldo breaks hat-trick record

LONDON, DEC 07 - Chelsea lost for the first time in 22 matches this season, a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday, and the Blues' English Premier League lead was trimmed to three points by Manchester City.

Cristiano Ronaldo 's record-setting 23rd La Liga hat trick led first-place Real Madrid over Celta Vigo.

ENGLAND

Papiss Cisse scored in the 57th and 78th minutes as Newcastle opened a two-goal lead. Didier Drogba got a goal for Chelsea in the 83rd, two minutes after Steven Taylor was given a red card for a studs-up tackle on Andre Schuerrle.

Chelsea had started 11-0-3 in the Premier League, 3-0-2 in the Champions League and 2-0 in the League Cup.

Man City won 1-0 at home against Everton as Yaya Toure beat American goalkeeper Tim Howard with a penalty kick in the 24th minute after referee Andre Marriner ruled Phil Jagielka impeded James Milner. City's Sergio Aguero, the league's top scorer with 14 goals, limped off in tears after injuring a left knee ligament in the second minute.

Arsenal missed a chance to climb into the top four by losing 3-2 at Stoke. Peter Crouch scored 19 seconds in — the quickest EPL goal this season — and Bojan Krkic and Jonathan Walters added first-half goals.

Liverpool and Tottenham failed to make up ground in the race for the Champions League places, drawing 0-0 at home to likely relegation candidates Sunderland and Crystal Palace. American forward Jozy Altidore made his first league start of the season for the Black Cats and played until the 69th minute.

SPAIN

Ronaldo converted a penalty kick in the 36th minute, then added goals in the 65th and 81st. He has 23 Spanish league hat tricks, one more Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra. With four hat tricks this season, Ronaldo has 28 in his club career, including 27 for Real Madrid.

Real leads the league by four points over defending champion Atletico Madrid, which won 2-0 at Elche on goals by Jose Gimenez and Mario Mandzukic. Barcelona, another point back, hosts Espanyol on Sunday.

Promoted Cordoba's 42-year wait for a top-tier victory ended with a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Nabil Ghilas' 23rd-minute goal.

FRANCE

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain rallied to beat Nantes 2-1 and move into the French league lead by two points over Marseille, which plays Metz on Sunday.

American midfielder Alejandro Bedoya had put Nantes in front in the eighth minute with a 25-yard right-footed shot, his first league goal this season.

Uber cab driver in India arrested after suspected rape

NEW DELHI, DEC 08 - Indian police on Sunday arrested an Uber cab driver suspected of raping a female passenger and said they would take legal action against the U.S. online taxi service for failing to run background checks on him.

The suspect was held in his home town in Uttar Pradesh where his car was earlier found abandoned. He will be brought before a New Delhi court on Monday, said Madhur Verma, deputy commissioner with the Delhi police.

Police opened a rape investigation after the 26-year-old woman reported that she had been sexually assaulted and beaten after hailing a ride home with the Uber driver from a social event late Friday in south Delhi.

Verma said the police would take legal action against Uber for violations including a failure to check whether the driver, named as Shiv Kumar Yadav, had a clean police record and the lack of a satellite location device in his car.

"Every violation by Uber will be evaluated and we will go for legal recourse," said Verma, saying police would take legal advice before opting to press a criminal or civil case.

Uber has faced critical news coverage over its driver screening in the United States, and has apologized for comments by an executive who suggested "digging up dirt" on journalists investigating the firm.

That has not stopped the San Francisco-based firm from raising investment that values it at $40 billion, reflecting the perceived potential of its expansion into high-growth markets like India.

The 32-year-old driver dropped the woman home after attacking her and warned her not to inform the authorities. She managed to note down the driver's number and take a photograph of his car, police said.

Delhi recorded the highest number of rapes in India in 2013, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau data, earning the dubious distinction of being India's "rape capital".

Police attribute the rise in reports to more women coming forward due to greater public awareness following the high profile gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in December 2012.

Uber said in a statement on Sunday that it had suspended the driver following the allegations, in line with company policy, and have provided the authorities with "all relevant details," such as driver, vehicle and trip information.

"Safety is Uber 's highest priority and in India, we work with licensed driver-partners to provide a safe transportation option," Uber spokeswoman Evelyn Tay said on the company's blog.