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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.”

US pop great Billy Joel will auction the motorcycle collection he maintains in New York state after being diagnosed with a brain condition that forced him to cancel a planned tour, his management said Wednesday.In May, Joel scrapped dates in Britain and a packed schedule crisscrossing the United States from July 2025 up until July 2026 because of a diagnosis of a rare condition, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH).”Due to a recent medical diagnosis, Billy will be auctioning off his bike collection later this year,” his publicist told AFP.Joel’s extensive collection of motorcycles is housed at a shop in the Long Island town of Oyster Bay, where they can be seen free of charge on weekends.”He will not be renewing the lease on the 20th Century Cycles bike shop once it expires late September,” the publicist said.The 76-year-old “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “New York State of Mind” legend has been a pop mainstay since the 1970s, and motorcycles have long been part of his public persona.In the hit song’s music video, he whisks away an “Uptown Girl” on the back of his motorcycle, and sings about riding a motorcycle in the rain in the song “You May Be Right.”His collection includes more than 75 bikes, per the shop’s website. “I like the older style,” with some motorcycles dating back to the 1940s, Joel said in a promotional video.Joel’s condition arises if cerebrospinal fluid cannot properly flow throughout the brain and spinal cord, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The excess fluid and pressure can cause brain damage.The institution said on its website that NPH is rare, and can cause cognitive impairment including memory problems as well as trouble walking.Joel said previously “this condition has been exacerbated by (previous) concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance.”

The NBA on Wednesday approved the sale of the Boston Celtics to an investment group led by Bill Chisholm, five months after the deal worth a then-record $6.1 billion was agreed.”The NBA Board of Governors has unanimously approved the sale of the controlling interests in the Boston Celtics to an investor group led by Bill Chisholm,” the league said in a brief statement.”The transaction is expected to close shortly.”Chisholm is the managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group. When he and his co-investors agreed to purchase the storied Celtics franchise “at an initial valuation of $6.1 billion,” that was the highest ever offered for a North American sports team.It has since been surpassed by the $10 billion sale, in June, of the Los Angeles Lakers by the Buss family to billionaire Mark Walter.When the Celtics sale was announced, it was stated that Wyc Grousbeck would continue in his roles of chief executive officer and governor, overseeing team operations through the 2027-28 season.The Grousbeck family and Steve Pagliuca purchased the Celtics for $360 million in 2002.But US media reported this week that Chisholm — a Massachusetts native who calls himself a “die-hard Celtics fan” — will assume the role of governor because under the terms of the deal, Grousbeck will no longer have the required 15% ownership stake the league requires to hold that role.Nevertheless, ESPN reported that Chisholm and Grousbeck “plan to run the team together as originally planned.”The Celtics are one of the most storied in the NBA’s history, with a record 18 championships, the most recent in 2024.

Tesla is recruiting a motorist to test its driver-assistance technology in New York with an eye towards autonomous driving, according to a job listing reviewed by AFP on Wednesday.The role of “Vehicle Operator, Autopilot” involves the driving of an “engineering vehicle” for extended periods, “conducting dynamic audio and camera data collection for testing and training purpose,” according to the job listing.The position is based in Flushing, New York in the borough of Queens. The functions described in the full-time position are still many steps away from providing autonomous or robotaxi service in New York City. New York State law currently limits the use of autonomous cars to testing. Waymo in June said it applied for a permit to begin testing self-driving cars.Billionaire CEO Elon Musk has described Tesla as poised for potential rapid deployment of autonomous vehicles, emphasizing the company’s use of artificial intelligence to analyze real-world data that has been gathered by the company’s existing fleet of vehicles.Tesla in June finally launched limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas following many delays. On a conference call in July, Musk predicted Tesla would “probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the US by the end of the year” — an ambitious target that looks highly unlikely.Musk acknowledged that the rollout depends on regulatory approvals, adding that the company is being “very cautious” in light of safety concerns. 

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday named “Rocky” star Sylvester Stallone and country music great George Strait among the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, as he pursues a controversial overhaul of the storied arts venue.Since returning to office in January, the Republican leader has declared war on what he calls “woke” viewpoints espoused in the nation’s cultural institutions, including a fresh probe of content at several Smithsonian museums.The Kennedy Center, a living monument to the late John F. Kennedy that opened in 1971, has long enjoyed bipartisan support but has been in the president’s crosshairs, and he appointed himself board chairman in February.”We have completely reversed the decline of this cherished national institution,” Trump told reporters at the stately white marble complex overlooking the Potomac River.”We ended the woke political programming.”Also receiving the Kennedy Center Honors, one of the nation’s highest arts awards for lifetime achievement, will be disco diva Gloria Gaynor, rock band KISS and British actor Michael Crawford, known for Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera.”Trump announced he himself would host the awards gala, which usually takes place in early December and is later broadcast on CBS.”I did not insist, but I think it will be quite successful,” he said.He also joked that he wanted an honor himself but was “never able to get one.”- Rocky and the Phantom -Stallone, who at 79 is the same age as Trump, is a three-time Oscar nominee: for best actor and screenplay for the 1976 classic boxing flick “Rocky,” and for best supporting actor, again in the Rocky Balboa role, in the 2015 follow-up “Creed.”Trump called Stallone a “great actor.”He is also a major Trump supporter and one of the president’s “Hollywood ambassadors” along with Jon Voight and Mel Gibson. In November 2024, at a post-election event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago compound in Florida, Stallone called him “the second George Washington.”Strait, 73, is one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with more than 120 million records sold. He is known for huge hits like “All My Exes Live in Texas” and “Amarillo by Morning.” “He’s a good looking guy. Hope he still looks like that,” Trump quipped.Gaynor, 81, is the singer behind the monster disco anthem “I Will Survive.”KISS, formed in the 1970s in Trump’s hometown New York City, gained fame with its shock rock performances and outlandish black and white face paint.”They work hard, and they’re still working hard,” the US president said.Crawford, 83, made his mark on British television in the 1970s before achieving international success by originating the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Phantom of the Opera,” thrilling audiences with his powerful tenor voice.”I think he’s one of the greatest talents I’ve ever actually seen,” Trump said Wednesday.In his first term, from 2017 to 2021, the Republican president skipped the Kennedy Center Honors gala because some of the artists receiving awards criticized him or said they would not attend in his presence.- ‘We’re restoring the Kennedy Center’ -The Kennedy Center is home to the National Symphony Orchestra and also offers theater, opera, comedy and other productions.Many artists associated with the center, including opera singer Renee Fleming and musician Ben Folds, have cut ties with the institution since Trump took the reins. Others including comedian Issa Rae canceled performances.The producers of smash hit historical musical “Hamilton” opted to cancel a scheduled 2026 run, citing the end of “neutrality” at the center.”We’re restoring the Kennedy Center as the premier venue for performing arts anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world,” Trump said.”It was being run down, money wasn’t being spent properly. They were building things they shouldn’t have built that nobody wanted instead of taking care of the great gem that it is.”The Smithsonian Institution, which runs a vast network of museums, said it was reviewing a White House letter announcing a probe of content aimed at removing “divisive or partisan narratives.”Among the museums targeted are the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of the American Indian, the letter said.