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Lionel Messi scores twice as Inter Miami beat Atlanta United 3-1

The 39-year-old struck four minutes apart after the break and added an assist, lifting Inter Miami to a 3-1 win at Atlanta United.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 11:39

Lionel Messi pictured in 2025. Photo: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Andy Witchger / Wikimedia Commons

Lionel Messi scored twice in the space of four second-half minutes and set up another goal as Inter Miami won 3-1 at Atlanta United in Major League Soccer.

After a goalless opening spell, German Berterame put Miami ahead in first-half stoppage time, finishing from assists by Messi and Luis Suarez. It was Berterame's ninth goal in his first 26 MLS matches.

Messi took over after the break. In the 56th minute he collected the ball on the right, exchanged passes with Berterame on the edge of the box and cut past a defender before beating goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos with a low shot. Four minutes later he repeated the move, running onto a Suarez pass and finishing with his left foot.

The goals were Messi's 24th and 25th of the league season, six clear of the next highest scorer. He also joined Los Angeles FC's Son Heung-min at the top of the assist chart with 15, becoming the first player in league history to record at least 15 assists in three consecutive seasons. His combined goal contributions for the campaign now stand at 40, nine short of the record set by Carlos Vela for LAFC in 2019, with four matches still to play.

Atlanta pulled one back late when former Miami forward Fafa Picault converted a penalty in the 89th minute, denying goalkeeper Dane St. Clair a clean sheet after he had made two saves.

Miami have already secured a playoff place and sit second in the Eastern Conference on 55 points, behind Nashville on 66. They host the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

For Messi, the night was also notable as his first match at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium since the 2026 World Cup semi-final, where two late assists from him gave Argentina a 2-1 win over England in July.

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Ginger and garlic prices jump in Dhaka as vegetable costs stay high

Ginger rose by Tk50-60 a kilogram in two days in the capital's kitchen markets, with onions, garlic and most vegetables also climbing while eggs eased slightly.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 13:04Open this article

A vegetable shop in Dhaka. Ginger, onion, garlic and most vegetables have become more expensive in the capital's kitchen markets, while egg prices have eased slightly. Photo: Yahya / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ginger prices in Dhaka's kitchen markets jumped by Tk50-60 a kilogram in two days, with Chinese ginger selling for about Tk190 a kilogram at markets in Hatirpool, New Market and Lalbagh on 16 October, up from Tk130-140 the previous Wednesday, according to market surveys by The Business Standard.

Onions were selling for about Tk60 a kilogram and local garlic for about Tk100, The Business Standard reported. A separate survey by The Daily Star at Karwan Bazar found wholesale onion prices up by Tk4 a kilogram to Tk48-52, and ginger and garlic up by Tk20-30 a kilogram in a week.

Most vegetables, except papaya and pumpkin, cost Tk80 a kilogram or more. Tomatoes reached Tk180-200 a kilogram and beans Tk160, while traders said supplies of early winter vegetables were still too small to bring prices down.

Egg prices, which had reached about Tk160 a dozen two weeks earlier, eased to Tk145-150. Poultry prices were broadly steady, but beef sold for about Tk800 a kilogram and mutton for Tk1,250.

Traders blamed higher transport and input costs for pushing up wholesale prices, and shoppers said they were buying smaller quantities to manage household budgets. Bangladesh has faced persistent food inflation for months, with essentials climbing after recent floods damaged crops in dozens of districts.

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Saudi-led coalition reports helicopter crash in Najran as Houthis claim a shootdown

The coalition said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter came down with a technical fault, killing two officers. A Houthi spokesman said the group shot down a Saudi Apache.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 13:04Open this article

A US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter in flight over Alaska in 2019, in a file photo. Saudi Arabia operates Apache helicopters; a Houthi spokesman said the group shot down a Saudi Apache near Najran, while the Saudi-led coalition said a National Guard AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed with a technical fault. Photo: CW2 Cameron Roxberry / U.S. Army (public domain)

The Saudi-led coalition said on 18 October that a Saudi National Guard reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region near the border with Yemen because of a technical malfunction, killing its two-officer crew.

Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said the AH-6i helicopter came down inside Saudi territory. The official Saudi Press Agency carried his statement.

The crash was reported a day after the Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a post on X that the group had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near Najran while it was carrying out what he called hostile operations against Houthi positions along the border. Saree gave no details of the weapon, the crew or the exact location.

Al-Maliki rejected that account. He replied to Saree's post with a photo of several Apache helicopters lined up, saying: "You claim to have shot it down, but it will enter the battlefield soon."

The two sides described different aircraft types, and it was not clear that they were referring to the same helicopter.

Najran, in south-western Saudi Arabia on the Yemen border, has come under repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks in recent weeks as fighting has escalated. The coalition also said it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired towards Khamis Mushait and a drone over the Riyadh region.