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The United States offered a $10 million reward on Thursday for information leading to the arrest of Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, head of the Mexican drug trafficking group Carteles Unidos.Farias Alvarez, nicknamed “El Abuelo,” or the grandfather, was one of five high-ranking members of Carteles Unidos — the United Cartels in English — whose criminal indictments were unsealed by the Justice Department on Thursday.”Today’s charges are designed to dismantle the United Cartels and bring their leaders to justice for unleashing death and destruction on American citizens,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.The US Treasury Department simultaneously announced it was imposing sanctions on members of the United Cartels and another group known as Los Viagras.”Treasury, alongside our partners in US law enforcement, will continue to target every effort by the cartels to generate revenue for their violent, criminal schemes,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.The State Department designated the Michoacan-based United Cartels and other drug trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations in February.Aside from Farias Alvarez, rewards of $5 million each were announced for Nicolas Sierra Santana, known as “El Gordo,” and Alfonso Fernandez Magallon, known as “Poncho,” and $3 million each for Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez, known as “Wicho,” and Edgar Orozco Cabadas, known as “El Kamoni.”According to the Justice Department, the United Cartels are a major supplier of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine to the United States.”Profits from US drug sales are allegedly used to acquire heavy weaponry, hire mercenaries, bribe local officials, and fund lavish lifestyles for cartel leaders,” it said.The announcement comes two days after Mexico transferred 26 wanted fugitives to the United States, including several high-ranking members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.The transfer was the second since Republican Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.In late February, Mexico sent 29 accused drug traffickers to the United States, including Rafael Caro Quintero, who was accused of kidnapping and killing US drug enforcement special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday acknowledged his high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin may fail, and said any Ukraine deal would come through a future three-way meeting with Kyiv to “divvy things up.”Russian President Vladimir Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the invitation of Trump in his first visit to a Western country since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has killed tens of thousands of people.The Kremlin said that the two presidents planned to meet one-on-one, heightening fears by European leaders that Putin will cajole Trump into a settlement imposed on Ukraine.Trump, on the eve of the summit, insisted that he would not finalize any deal with Putin and that he would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in any decisions.”This meeting sets up the second meeting, but there is a 25 percent chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting,” Trump told Fox News Radio.”The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don’t want to use the word ‘divvy’ things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it’s not a bad term,” Trump said.Zelensky has refused any territorial concessions to Russia, which has ramped up attacks and made sharp gains on the battlefield just ahead of the summit.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any future deal needed to ensure Ukraine’s security.”To achieve peace, I think we all recognize that there’ll have to be some conversation about security guarantees,” Rubio told reporters in Washington, saying he was “hopeful” about the summit.Trump has previously ruled out letting Ukraine join NATO and backed Russia’s stance that Kyiv’s aspirations to enter the transatlantic alliance triggered the war.Ukraine and most of its European allies reject Putin’s narrative and point to his remarks denying the historical legitimacy of Ukraine.- Shifting Trump tone -Trump had boasted that he could end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January.But his calls to Putin — and intense pressure on Zelensky to accept concessions — have failed to move the Russian leader and Trump has warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin keeps snubbing his overtures.Putin on Thursday welcomed US efforts to end the conflict and said that talks could also help yield an agreement on nuclear arms control.”The US administration… is making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting,” Putin told a meeting of top officials in Moscow.The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) Friday at the Elmendorf Air Force Base, a major US military installation in Alaska that has been crucial in monitoring Russia.”This conversation will take place in a one-on-one format, naturally with the participation of interpreters,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.He said that delegations would continue discussions over a working lunch and that Putin and Trump would hold a joint news conference. The White House has not confirmed any plans for a joint press appearance.Trump faced heated criticism over his joint news conference after his 2018 summit with Putin in Helsinki where he sided with Russia over US intelligence in accepting Putin’s denials of interfering in the 2016 US election to help Trump.- European support for Zelensky -Zelensky, who will not join Friday’s summit in Alaska, met Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after talks a day earlier in Berlin.Starmer greeted the Ukrainian leader with a warm hug and handshake on the steps of his Downing Street residence and later voiced solidarity.European leaders expressed relief after a call with Trump on Wednesday, saying he appeared focused on a ceasefire rather than concessions by Ukraine.A day before the summit, Ukraine fired dozens of drones at Russia, wounding several people and sparking fires at an oil refinery in the southern city of Volgograd.Russia meanwhile said its troops had captured two new settlements in eastern Ukraine, where it has been advancing for months.Diplomacy since Russia’s invasion has largely failed to secure agreements beyond swaps of prisoners.Russia said Thursday it had returned 84 prisoners to Ukraine in exchange for an equal number of Russian POWs in the latest exchange.burs-sct/bgs

In the early days of his second term, US President Donald Trump was full of praise for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who he meets Friday in Alaska for crunch talks on the Ukraine conflict.But as the months have passed without the peace deal Trump said would be done in 24 hours under his leadership, his tone on Putin has turned sour.Here a look back in quotes at the shifting mood:- ‘I get along with him great’ -Ending the war in Ukraine was a priority for Trump in January when he returned to the Oval Office. “I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal,” he told reporters on January 20, while also insisting, “I got along with him great.”A day later on Truth Social he posted:”I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE.”Meanwhile from the Kremlin Putin was flattering, telling Russian state media on January 24 that Trump was “not only a smart person, but a pragmatic person”. He also said what he referred to as the “crisis in Ukraine” might have been averted had Donald Trump been US president at the time.”I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president — if his victory hadn’t been stolen in 2020 — then maybe there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that emerged in 2022.”- ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ -Good vibes seemed to circulate between the two leaders the following month.Trump described their phone conversation on February 12 as “lengthy and highly productive”.”President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ We both believe very strongly in it,” he posted on Truth Social.But his tone changed sharply at the end of March.Trump told NBC he was “very angry, very pissed off” when Putin started getting into Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky’s credibility. Then in April, Trump called on Putin to stop strikes on Kyiv. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” he posted on April 24.He continued in this spirit two days later.”It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”- ‘He’s gone absolutely CRAZY!’ -By late May, exasperation was taking over. “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” he posted on May 25. “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump posted a day later. “He’s playing with fire!”But when Trump turned 79 on June 14, Putin did not forget to send his best wishes.”President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday,” Trump posted, adding that the call was to “more importantly, talk about Iran.”It was a brief thaw.”We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” Trump said at the White House on July 8.”I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. And he’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night,” he told reporters a week later.By the end of July, Trump said he was “not so interested” in talking to Putin anymore.But days before Friday’s summit in Alaska he said he expected to have a “constructive conversation” with his Russian counterpart.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump will hold “one-on-one” talks aimed at settling the Ukraine conflict when they meet for their landmark summit in Alaska on Friday, the Kremlin said.The meeting, set to take place at a US air base outside of Anchorage, marks Putin’s first trip to a Western country since his February 2022 assault on Ukraine.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday, is not scheduled to take part.After nearly three-and-a-half years of fighting, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, Trump on Wednesday urged Putin to accept a peace deal or face “very severe consequences”.The Kremlin said the talks were due to start at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) Friday.”This conversation will take place in a one-on-one format, naturally with the participation of interpreters,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.”This will be followed by negotiations between the delegations, which will continue over a working breakfast,” Ushakov added.He said it was “probably obvious to everyone that the central topic will be the resolution of the Ukraine crisis” although broader issues around peace and security would also be discussed.Putin and Trump will give a joint press conference following their meeting, during which they will “summarise the results of the negotiations”, Ushakov said.- Zelensky meets Starmer -Putin on Thursday welcomed US efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.”The US administration… in my view is making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting,” he told a meeting of top officials.He also suggested that following talks with the US could result in an agreement on nuclear arms control.On the eve of the summit, Ukraine fired dozens of drones at Russia, wounding several people and sparking fires at an oil refinery in the southern city of Volgograd.Russia meanwhile said its troops had captured two new settlements in eastern Ukraine, where it has been advancing for months.Zelensky, who has refused to cede territory to Russia as part of a peace deal, met with UK Prime Minister Starmer earlier Thursday.Starmer greeted the Ukrainian leader with a warm hug and handshake on the steps of his Downing Street residence.Following their talks, Starmer wrote on X: “Britain will always stand with Ukraine.”The meeting came a day after European leaders and Trump held a virtual conference by phone.- Fresh prisoner exchange -A stepped-up Russian offensive and Zelensky’s exclusion from Friday’s Alaska meeting, have heightened fears in Europe that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that forces painful concessions on Ukraine.The US leader initially said there would be some “land swapping going on”, but appeared to have walked that back after speaking with European leaders on Wednesday.Speaking after Wednesday’s conference, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Trump had indicated there “would be no discussion of territories” during the summit.”Another key signal was that President Trump is seeking a ceasefire,” he said.Trump suggested there might be a second meeting involving both Zelensky and Putin if the first was successful.”There may be no second meeting because, if I feel that it’s not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.”If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump said.Russia said Thursday it had returned 84 prisoners to Ukraine in exchange for an equal number of Russian POWs, the latest in a series of swaps that have seen hundreds released this year

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Thursday in London with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a strong show of support on the eve of a key US-Russia summit from which Kyiv and its European allies have been excluded.Starmer greeted the Ukrainian leader with a warm hug and handshake on the steps of his Downing Street residence, only hours after Zelensky took part in a virtual call with US President Donald Trump. Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet Friday at an air base in Alaska, the first time the Russian leader has been permitted on Western soil since his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine which has killed tens of thousands of people.A stepped-up Russian offensive, and the fact Zelensky has not been invited to the Anchorage meeting Friday, have heightened fears that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that forces painful concessions on Ukraine.But Starmer said Wednesday there was now a “viable” chance for a ceasefire in Ukraine after more than three years of fighting.Near the front line Thursday, Ukraine fired dozens of drones at Russia overnight into the early morning, wounding three people and sparking fires including at an oil refinery in the southern city of Volgograd. Kyiv calls the strikes fair retaliation for Moscow’s daily missile and drone barrages on its own civilians.With such high stakes, all sides were pushing hard in the hours before Friday’s meeting.- Three-way meeting? -Zelensky, who has refused to surrender territory to Russia, joined the call from Berlin with Trump, as did European leaders who voiced confidence afterward that the US leader would seek a ceasefire rather than concessions by Kyiv.Trump has sent mixed messages, saying he could quickly organise a three-way summit afterward with both Zelensky and Putin, but also warning of his impatience with Putin.”There may be no second meeting because, if I feel that it’s not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday.But Trump added: “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” involving both Putin and Zelensky.Zelensky, after being berated by Trump at a February meeting in the White House, has publicly supported US diplomacy but has made clear his deep scepticism.”I have told my colleagues — the US president and our European friends — that Putin definitely does not want peace,” Zelensky said.As the war rages on in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky was in Berlin Wednesday joining Chancellor Friedrich Merz on an online call with other European leaders, and the NATO and EU chiefs, to show a united stance against Russia.Starmer on Wednesday said Ukraine’s military backers, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, had drawn up workable military plans in case of a ceasefire but were also ready to add pressure on Russia through sanctions.”For three and a bit years this conflict has been going, we haven’t got anywhere near… a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire,” Starmer told Wednesday’s meeting of European leaders.”Now we do have that chance, because of the work that the (US) president has put in,” he said.NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declared: “The ball is now in Putin’s court.”

Alaska, the US state that will host the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on Friday, is a source of imperial nostalgia and often less-than-serious territorial claims in Russia.The territory that Russia sold to the United States in 1867 is now a symbol of the entwined history of the countries, whose relations have been severely damaged since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.To some experts, the summit in Alaska evoked memories of the thaw between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War.”It’s a classically orchestrated summit, like in the era of detente,” Russian political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov said on Telegram.”Its symbolic significance is the absence of intermediaries: the powers, so to speak, decide for themselves,” he added, saying that China is “not close” to Alaska and that Europe is “as far away as possible”.- Fur trading hub -But beyond being a unique meeting place, Alaska also fuels Russian memories of the Tsarist empire, the historic predecessor of the Soviet Union.”For Russia, Alaska symbolises the peak of an expansion,” Alexander Baunov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said on the centre’s website.It was “when the Russian continental empire had, for the only time, succeeded in crossing an ocean like the European empires”, Baunov said.A Russian colony since the 18th century, Alaska was eventually sold to the United States for $7.2 million in 1867 by Tsar Alexander II.The remote territory was economically very difficult for the Russians to exploit and at the time its sale was welcomed by the Imperial Court as the country was struggling economically.But the transaction later came to be seen as a regrettable bargain after what formerly was a fur trading hub turned out to house crucial natural resources: gold and oil.- ‘Our bears’ -In recent years, the price at which Alaska was sold, considered by some to be ridiculously low, and the legal validity of the transaction have become regularly recurring debates in Russia.In July 2022, in the midst of patriotic fervour in Russia and as tensions soared between Moscow and Washington following the offensive against Ukraine, the Alaska issue resurfaced.The speaker of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, spoke of “lands to be returned”, describing Alaska as a “disputed territory”.Russia’s authorities are apparently not interested in reclaiming it.In 2014, Vladimir Putin, asked by a pensioner about the possibility, replied: “My dear, why do you need Alaska?” adding the territory was “too cold”.Still, the idea of reclaiming Alaska is an endless source of memes widely circulating on Russian social media. One of the most famous claims that “our soul” suffered from the loss of Alaska because “it’s where our bears live”.The recapture of Alaska is even mentioned in a 1990s hit by a rock band Putin likes, Lyube, with the lyrics: “Stop messing around, America… And give back our Alaskan lands.”

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday easing regulations for the private space industry, including eliminating some environmental reviews, in a move likely to please his erstwhile advisor Elon Musk.The executive order, which said it aimed to “substantially” increase the number of space launches in the United States, was described by an environmental group as “reckless.”Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has talked up several space missions including sending humans to the Moon and Mars.The Moon and Mars missions are planned to get a ride on the massive Starship rocket of Musk’s private firm SpaceX.However, Starship has had a series of setbacks, with its latest routine test ending in a fiery explosion in June. SpaceX dominates the global launch market, with its various-sized rockets blasting off more than 130 times last year — and that number looks set to rise after Trump’s executive order.”It is the policy of the United States to enhance American greatness in space by enabling a competitive launch marketplace and substantially increasing commercial space launch cadence” by 2030, the order read.The change could well benefit Musk, who has long advocated for deregulation of the space industry. The world’s richest man was previously a close advisor to Trump before the pair had a dramatic, public falling out in July.The executive order also called on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — who was at the signing and is currently NASA’s administrator — “to eliminate or expedite the Department of Transportation’s environmental reviews” for launches.SpaceX has been repeatedly criticized over the environmental impact at the sites where Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket in history, blasts off.The US-based nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity said Trump’s new executive order “paves the way for the massive destruction of protected plants and animals.””This reckless order puts people and wildlife at risk from private companies launching giant rockets that often explode and wreak devastation on surrounding areas,” the center’s Jared Margolis said in a statement. Musk’s dreams of colonizing Mars rely on the success of Starship, and SpaceX has been betting that its “fail fast, learn fast” ethos will eventually pay off.The Federal Aviation Administration approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 in early May, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely affect the environment.

When Snoop Dogg sang the praises of Swansea City, it signalled the unlikely arrival of the latest celebrity owner in the once unfashionable Championship, English football’s second tier.The American rapper has joined the Welsh club’s ownership structure, investing an undisclosed sum to rub shoulders with former Real Madrid stalwart and World Cup finalist Luka Modric, who has also sunk his money into the club.”The story of the club and the area really struck a chord with me. This is a proud, working-class city and club. An underdog that bites back, just like me,” Snoop said in an introductory video.In North Wales, Wrexham are dreaming of an extraordinary promotion to the Premier League this season on the back of the enthusiastic and lucrative support of Hollywood star Ryan “Deadpool” Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney.Meanwhile, former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady has a minority stake in Birmingham City, very much the second club in England’s second city after Premier League outfit Aston Villa.His arrival in 2023 was not met with universal approval, with one fan asking “Tom Brady, who’s he?” in the Amazon Prime Video series “Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues” which follows his early, whirlwind involvement in the club that includes the sacking of manager Wayne Rooney.Brady says his is a “visionary role” and he tries — not always successfully — to pass on his experience of winning seven Super Bowl winner’s rings to the Birmingham players and their young manager, Chris Davies.But why do so many celebrities want to invest a slice of their fortunes into the Championship?Christopher Winn, course leader at the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB), told AFP the principal reason was because they see it as an attractive investment — with the carrot of the Premier League’s riches if the team can gain promotion proving irresistible.”There is the notion of long-term returns, in other words buying low (in a lower league) and selling high,” Winn told AFP.”While on-field success and subsequent off-field returns are no guarantee, should the promised land of the Premier League be reached, a significant profit would likely be generated on any future sale of the club, in other words generating returns for investors well beyond their initial investment and operational outlay.”Granted, that does not mean the investors are all out to make a return — football can often be a game of utility maximisation after all, and for some a personally funded passion project.”- ‘We could make money’ -Brady’s friend and co-owner at Birmingham, the New York-based investor Tom Wagner, reveals in the documentary they originally tried to buy a Premier League team but the deal fell through.Then the chance to snap up Birmingham presented itself.”We thought we could make some money, have a good return, which is our ultimate objective, so we just couldn’t pass it up,” Wagner says.Birmingham manager Davies has quickly felt the effect of having a sporting icon breathing down his neck — he good-naturedly recounted to The Times that his attempts to relax on a family holiday in the Maldives were disrupted by Brady insisting on scheduling daily conference calls at the children’s dinner time.In Wagner and Brady’s first season, Birmingham crashed down into League One, or England’s third division, but with Davies in charge they emphatically secured promotion to the Championship this year, romping away with the League One title with a record points total.That was largely due to the Americans’ injection of funds for new players such as forward Jay Stansfield, acquired from Premier League club Fulham for £15 million ($20.3 million), a huge fee for League One.Celebrities are active behind the scenes at other Championship clubs.Birmingham kicked off the season last week with a 1-1 home draw against Ipswich Town, who count multi-million-selling music star Ed Sheeran among their financial backers.Ipswich confirmed last year that Sheeran had bought a 1.4% stake in his local club and he has been the shirt sponsor for the last four years – although in a cautionary tale for other star owners, his involvement did not stop Ipswich being relegated from the Premier League last season.

At US President Donald Trump’s new migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, time has no discernible meaning.Prisoners are barely able to see sunlight in the windowless space, living under fluorescent lamps that are always on, with no clocks or anything else by which they might mark the days.Several detainees, their family members and lawyers have denounced appalling conditions at the facility, nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” by an administration that has likened undocumented migrants to “animals” and promised to deport millions. AFP spoke with several “Alligator Alcatraz” detainees by phone and obtained further information about conditions there from relatives, lawyers and legal documents.Detainees spoke of facilities covered in filth, a lack of medical care, mistreatment, and the violation of their legal rights.”They don’t even treat animals like this. This is like torture,” said Luis Gonzalez, a 25-year-old Cuban who called AFP from inside the center.  Florida authorities built the facilities in eight days — opening the center on July 2 at an abandoned airfield in the Everglades wetlands.Governed by Republican Ron DeSantis, the southeastern state signed an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain undocumented foreigners, a power that until now had been reserved for federal authorities. Now, the Trump administration wants to make this a model for other detention centers across the country. – Like ‘murderers’ –Gonzalez arrived in the United States in 2022 and settled in Florida after authorities released him while his asylum application was being reviewed. Last month, when an immigration judge dismissed his case, ICE agents arrested him and took him to “Alligator Alcatraz.”They kept him chained by his hands, waist, and feet on a bus with other detainees for more than a day before taking him to one of the large tents that house eight cells each, he said.”I haven’t seen sunlight in the 14 days I’ve been here,” he said. “When they take us to the dining hall, they take us with our hands on our heads as if we were murderers.” He lives in a cell with about 30 people, a space enclosed by chain-linked fencing that he compares to a chicken coop. It is hardly ever cleaned, he says, not even the three toilets that everyone shares. At the time of the call, Gonzalez had not showered for a week. The days are hot, with swarms of mosquitoes in the cells, and the nights are not much better. – Beatings, attempted suicide –Gonzalez and other detainees have denounced the lack of medical care available at the site. Michael Borrego Fernandez, 35, complained of pain but was not treated until he began to bleed, according to his lawyers and legal documents. He underwent emergency surgery for hemorrhoids, only to have to be hospitalized again when he was not given antibiotics and his wounds became infected. Some prisoners, such as Marcos Puig, 31, have rebelled. Before a visit from officials, guards isolated him to prevent him from protesting, he said by phone from another Florida facility where he is now being held. Outraged, he broke a toilet in his new cell, prompting a dozen guards to enter, handcuff him, and punch and kick him all over his body. Afterward, he says, they left him kneeling for about 12 hours in a space without cameras or air conditioning before transferring him to another detention facility. “I arrived here broken. I was covered in bruises,” he said. Another inmate, Gonzalo Almanza Valdes, reported seeing guards “beat up” detainees, according to a recorded phone call with his wife. Desperation has pushed some to the limit. On Sunday, Sonia Bichara called her partner, detainee Rafael Collado.Through the speakerphone, the 63-year-old man said: “I have tried to kill myself twice, I have cut my veins.” When contacted by AFP, Florida authorities denied allegations of abuse.- ‘Completely illegal’ – Activists and lawyers are demanding the closure of the facilities, which are facing two lawsuits. The first alleges that migrants’ right to due process is not being respected. “There are people who have been there since they arrived and have still not seen a judge. And that cannot be, it is completely illegal,” said Magdalena Cuprys, Gonzalez’s lawyer. She said detainees were unable to request bail or a case review because the courts that should be hearing the cases are not doing so, claiming they have no jurisdiction over the state-operated center.The second lawsuit alleges that the facility threatens the Everglades ecosystem.Last week, a federal judge ordered a 14-day suspension of all new construction at the center while she reviews the case. 

Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” will be released on October 3, the star has revealed, as she showcased cover art and a tracklist for what is expected to be one of the biggest albums of the year.The news came during Wednesday’s episode of the “New Heights Show,” a podcast fronted by her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason.It was also confirmed on Swift’s own social media accounts.”And, baby, that’s show business for you. New album The Life of a Showgirl. Out October 3,” she wrote on Instagram.Swift’s official website shows four different CD versions, with a “sweat and vanilla perfume edition” also available on cassette and vinyl.The album cover for that version shows the 14-time Grammy winner partially submerged in slightly grubby-looking water, wearing what appears to be a rhinestone-studded top.Only the star’s mouth, nose, eyes and forehead and a blinged-out wrist are above the water.The tracklist, which was also unveiled on Wednesday, shows 12 entries, including the title track which it says features Sabrina Carpenter.Swift’s last major release, “The Tortured Poets Department” came in April last year.Just hours after it dropped, the “Shake It Off” singer expanded it into a double album called “The Anthology” which dominated charts for the year.The 35-year-old has recently wrapped up a nearly two-year world tour, with a $2 billion dollar take that shattered records.The 149 shows of the Eras Tour were typically more than three hours long, delighting fans who had shelled out big bucks for the chance to see one of pop’s biggest ever stars.Though Swift is famed for singing about heartbreaks with her famous exes, her two-year relationship with Kelce, one of the NFL’s most bankable players, has further inflamed her celebrity.However her endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris in last November’s US presidential election, was not enough to tip the scales — though it did anger winner Donald Trump, who declared on social media “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT.”