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Barcelona create space for Torres by extending Umtiti contract
AFP
Barcelona extended Samuel Umtiti’s contract until 2026 on Monday, a deal that creates enough space in the club’s budget to register Ferran Torres, their new signing from Manchester City.
Torres has been unavailable to play for Barca since joining two weeks ago because registering the striker would mean falling foul of La Liga’s spending restrictions.
Umtiti’s three-year extension means his wages will be spread over a longer period of time, which in turn reduces the amount Barcelona are due to pay in the current financial year.
Barcelona also said “the French defender is reducing a part of the salary that he was due to receive in the year and half remaining on his contract”.
The club added: “This contract extension does not entail any greater financial commitments for FC Barcelona with regard to the player.”
The extension came as a surprise given Barcelona have been trying to sell Umtiti to help reduce the club’s debts of more than a billion euros. His previous contract was worth around 18 million euros per year.
Barca’s spending limit this season is just under 98 million euros but they are significantly over-budget, with La Liga rules stating they can spend only 25 per cent of any savings made as a result.
Umtiti was once a key player for the Catalans but his career has taken a downward turn due to a string of injuries and he has long-been on the fringes of the first team.
But the 28-year-old’s unexpected renewal means Torres is finally eligible to play for Barca.
“Through this contract extension, FC Barcelona will be able to increase its ‘financial fair play’ quota and thus register Ferran Torres with Spanish Football League,” the club said.
But Torres, who joined for 55 million euros from City on December 28, has tested positive for Covid and will need to return a negative test to make his debut in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia this week.
Barcelona play Real Madrid in the semi-finals on Wednesday and the winners will face either Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao in the final on Sunday.
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22-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After 33-Hour Manhunt in Small Western U.S. Town
The 22-year-old suspect, arrested Thursday night after a 33-hour manhunt, grew up in this small town in the western United States, surrounded by canyons and mountains.
His parents live in a typical middle-class American home, nestled on a winding street with perfectly maintained lawns. In this neighborhood, adjacent to the local church, Kris Schwiermann is still in shock.
Tyler was the eldest of three children, a “quiet, respectful, fairly reserved, but very, very intelligent” boy, the retired former school custodian told AFP.
“He was the ideal student, the kind of person you’d want in your class,” confirmed Jaida Funk, who was his classmate from elementary through high school, ages five to sixteen.
“I always thought he would become a businessman or a CEO one day, not this, what I’m discovering about him now,” the 22-year-old added. “It’s definitely unexpected.”
“He was quiet, but not odd, had friends, and talked to different groups,” she continued.
After graduating with honors from high school in 2021, Tyler briefly attended college before switching to an electrical apprenticeship program at a technical school near his home.
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Maduro warns Venezuela would enter armed struggle if attacked by foreign forces
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated on Friday that if his country were attacked, it would enter a phase of armed struggle, amid his claims of “threats” from the United States, which is conducting a military deployment in Caribbean waters near Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is currently in the non-armed phase, which he described as political, communicational, and institutional, but added that if the country were somehow aggressed, it would move to a planned, organized armed struggle involving the entire population, whether the threat is local, regional, or national.
“We would enter a stage of armed struggle, in defense of peace, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and our people,” Maduro said during an event activating citizen militias, broadcast on state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
He also noted that Venezuela is currently in a phase of readiness and preparation to defend the country and will proceed to the deployment of defensive capacities, including training and retraining of the entire Venezuelan population.
Maduro described the Venezuelan people as pacifist yet warrior-like, asserting that “no one will enslave us, neither today nor ever.”
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USCIS gains law enforcement powers: Agents now authorized to investigate and arrest immigration violators
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), traditionally responsible for handling naturalizations, visas, residence permits, and work authorizations, is now expanding its role to include law enforcement powers, according to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under the new directive, specially designated USCIS agents are now authorized to investigate, arrest, and bring to justice individuals who violate U.S. immigration laws. Previously, USCIS primarily managed administrative and bureaucratic processes, while enforcement responsibilities were handled by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Illegal immigration has been a central issue under President Donald Trump’s administration, with DHS reporting that over 300,000 migrants have been arrested in the first six months of his presidency. However, the number of people who have crossed U.S. borders illegally in recent years remains controversial, with experts estimating between 8 to 10 million individuals.
The policy shift also comes amid heightened legal battles over immigration enforcement. Recently, a federal judge blocked the deportation of minors to Guatemala, who were moments away from boarding a flight. Trump’s aggressive measures, including large-scale raids in cities like Los Angeles, have faced multiple judicial challenges, some upheld and others overturned at various federal levels, including the Supreme Court.
According to the DHS statement, the expanded authority allows USCIS to “manage investigations from start to finish rather than referring cases to ICE,” aiming to reduce backlogs and combat fraud within the immigration system.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow will have the power to appoint and train special agents under the order signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ensuring that the agency can effectively execute its newly granted enforcement responsibilities.
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