Latest news with #Soares
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside sick ‘child fight clubs' where gangs lure teens into savage street brawls for cash & leave kids dead or maimed
ON the streets of Brazil, children as young as 11 are pitted against each other in sick fights for cash and entertainment. Operation Final Fight - named after the classic 1990s street fighting video game - has revealed a dark underworld where gangs lure kids into brutal, unregulated fights. Advertisement 6 Children as young as 11 were beaten for entertainment and money across several Brazilian states 6 The fights were held in public squares with spectators placing real-money bets 6 Gangsters lured minors through social media to the brutal unregulated fights, which would later be broadcast online Credit: Police chief Leonardo Soares - who led the investigation into the savage craze sweeping Brazil - said children have been killed or seriously injured. Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he said: "This has emerged in several Brazilian states, and the victims have been children and teenagers. "The fights are so aggressive that they led to the death of a teenager. "Other teenagers also became paraplegic." Advertisement Read more brazil stories Soares said his investigation started after officials spotted videos circulating online - combined with tips from worried parents and anonymous sources. Victims, primarily aged 11 to 17, were often recruited via social media or by word-of-mouth in their communities, Soares revealed. He said: "At first, the child was attracted to fighting to gain social status in that community, wanting to be popular." But the stakes were far more sinister than bruised egos or playground fame. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Breaking Exclusive Soares confirmed that cops uncovered evidence of bets being placed on the fights. And in one horrific case, a 13-year-old girl was offered as a "prize". Mum-of-three, 31, killed & dumped in piranha-infested river by ex with body still missing in Brazil "She was being paraded around like a prize in these fights, being treated like a sexual object," Soares said. The girl was discovered during a police raid at a suspect's home in Boa Vista, where authorities confirmed he was in a sexual relationship with her, Advertisement Prosecutor José Rocha Neto said: "These are serious crimes. "Several criminal offences are possible... they could include corruption of minors, bodily harm, torture, rape of a vulnerable person, among others." Cops also found that fights had been organised and promoted on social media - where clips amassed more than 135,000 views and a flood of comments and shares. The fights, held in public squares in Boa Vista, featured teens wearing boxing gloves while spectators placed real-money bets. Advertisement Soares confirmed that the organised fights have been uncovered in Roraima, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Goias, Ceara and the Federal District. "This crime is running rampant from north to south in the country," he said. "It was a social phenomenon... influenced by the internet and also by movies. "There was that movie Fight Club, which had this influence that young people were trying to copy." Advertisement Chief Inspector Marcos Lázaro told Globo: "Although the investigation was relatively short, the criminals' extensive use of social media allowed us to gather concrete evidence and serve warrants. "They operated in a structured manner, using fake profiles to deceive and lure teenagers." Two suspects, aged 20 and 31, were arrested during the months-long operation. 6 Police arrested two suspects, aged 20 and 31, in Boa Vista during the operation Credit: Civil Police of Roraima/Disclosure Advertisement 6 The savage fighting was also spotted in the states of Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina, Goias, Ceara and the Federal District Credit: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction 6 Cops say the number of victims is on the rise as they continue their investigation Lázaro added: "We still don't know exactly how much these gangs are making in terms of profit, but we could be talking about thousands of Brazilian Reais." Police are now analysing seized cell phones to uncover the full extent of profits and trafficking. Advertisement Videos obtained by police show teenage boys exchanging punches on a football pitch in Fortaleza, Ceara, and in public spaces across Brazil. In one case, two boys in gloves fought until one collapsed to the ground. Signs also point to potential involvement of Brazil's most powerful crime factions. Soares said: "We are beginning to see signs that these organisers have some affiliation with large factions like the PCC or Comando Vermelho. Advertisement "Witnesses are receiving threats, with criminals going to the homes of these families if the child says anything." The Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) are two of the most powerful and notorious criminal organisations in Brazil. Both groups originated in the prison system and have grown into sprawling networks that dominate large parts of the country's drug trade and organized crime activities. 'It's not a sport, it's abuse' Following the police operation, Soares said public awareness efforts have been key in curbing the spread in his own state of Roraima in the north. Advertisement He said: "Our operation had national repercussions. Some thought it was a sport, but it wasn't a sport - it was a fight without technique, causing physical and psychological harm to that child or teenager." Thanks to the crackdown, Soares said: "These fights ceased without any serious harm to any teenagers or children, as has happened in other states." Brazilian NGO Fundação Abrinq, which defends children's rights and promoting their well-being, told The Sun they are aware of the illegal fight clubs but are not directly involved in the investigation. A spokesperson told The Sun: "This is an extremely serious situation that causes deep indignation. Advertisement "Fundação Abrinq is not directly involved in the case mentioned. "However, we emphasise that all forms of violence against children and adolescents are crimes under Brazilian law and must be reported through official channels, such as Dial 100 or the nearest police station." Dozens of child victims have been identified so far - but that number is expected to grow. Soares said: "That number could still go up. We will even continue this investigation, perhaps even with a second phase." Advertisement With more evidence still to be uncovered, the scale of the network - and the damage done - may just be coming to light.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside sick ‘child fight clubs' where gangs lure teens into savage street brawls for cash & leave kids dead or maimed
A police chief told The Sun that fights were held in public squares with spectators placing real-money bets STREETS OF BLOOD Inside sick 'child fight clubs' where gangs lure teens into savage street brawls for cash & leave kids dead or maimed ON the streets of Brazil, children as young as 11 are pitted against each other in sick fights for cash and entertainment. Operation Final Fight - named after the classic 1990s street fighting video game - has revealed a dark underworld where gangs lure kids into brutal, unregulated fights. Advertisement 6 Children as young as 11 were beaten for entertainment and money across several Brazilian states 6 The fights were held in public squares with spectators placing real-money bets 6 Gangsters lured minors through social media to the brutal unregulated fights, which would later be broadcast online Credit: Police chief Leonardo Soares - who led the investigation into the savage craze sweeping Brazil - said children have been killed or seriously injured. Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he said: "This has emerged in several Brazilian states, and the victims have been children and teenagers. "The fights are so aggressive that they led to the death of a teenager. "Other teenagers also became paraplegic." Advertisement Soares said his investigation started after officials spotted videos circulating online - combined with tips from worried parents and anonymous sources. Victims, primarily aged 11 to 17, were often recruited via social media or by word-of-mouth in their communities, Soares revealed. He said: "At first, the child was attracted to fighting to gain social status in that community, wanting to be popular." But the stakes were far more sinister than bruised egos or playground fame. Advertisement Soares confirmed that cops uncovered evidence of bets being placed on the fights. And in one horrific case, a 13-year-old girl was offered as a "prize". Mum-of-three, 31, killed & dumped in piranha-infested river by ex with body still missing in Brazil "She was being paraded around like a prize in these fights, being treated like a sexual object," Soares said. The girl was discovered during a police raid at a suspect's home in Boa Vista, where authorities confirmed he was in a sexual relationship with her, Globo reported. Advertisement Prosecutor José Rocha Neto said: "These are serious crimes. "Several criminal offences are possible... they could include corruption of minors, bodily harm, torture, rape of a vulnerable person, among others." Cops also found that fights had been organised and promoted on social media - where clips amassed more than 135,000 views and a flood of comments and shares. The fights, held in public squares in Boa Vista, featured teens wearing boxing gloves while spectators placed real-money bets. Advertisement Soares confirmed that the organised fights have been uncovered in Roraima, São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Goias, Ceara and the Federal District. "This crime is running rampant from north to south in the country," he said. "It was a social phenomenon... influenced by the internet and also by movies. "There was that movie Fight Club, which had this influence that young people were trying to copy." Advertisement Chief Inspector Marcos Lázaro told Globo: "Although the investigation was relatively short, the criminals' extensive use of social media allowed us to gather concrete evidence and serve warrants. "They operated in a structured manner, using fake profiles to deceive and lure teenagers." Two suspects, aged 20 and 31, were arrested during the months-long operation. 6 Police arrested two suspects, aged 20 and 31, in Boa Vista during the operation Credit: Civil Police of Roraima/Disclosure Advertisement 6 The savage fighting was also spotted in the states of Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina, Goias, Ceara and the Federal District Credit: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction 6 Cops say the number of victims is on the rise as they continue their investigation Lázaro added: "We still don't know exactly how much these gangs are making in terms of profit, but we could be talking about thousands of Brazilian Reais." Police are now analysing seized cell phones to uncover the full extent of profits and trafficking. Advertisement Videos obtained by police show teenage boys exchanging punches on a football pitch in Fortaleza, Ceara, and in public spaces across Brazil. In one case, two boys in gloves fought until one collapsed to the ground. Signs also point to potential involvement of Brazil's most powerful crime factions. Soares said: "We are beginning to see signs that these organisers have some affiliation with large factions like the PCC or Comando Vermelho. Advertisement "Witnesses are receiving threats, with criminals going to the homes of these families if the child says anything." The Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) are two of the most powerful and notorious criminal organisations in Brazil. Both groups originated in the prison system and have grown into sprawling networks that dominate large parts of the country's drug trade and organized crime activities. 'It's not a sport, it's abuse' Following the police operation, Soares said public awareness efforts have been key in curbing the spread in his own state of Roraima in the north. Advertisement He said: "Our operation had national repercussions. Some thought it was a sport, but it wasn't a sport - it was a fight without technique, causing physical and psychological harm to that child or teenager." Thanks to the crackdown, Soares said: "These fights ceased without any serious harm to any teenagers or children, as has happened in other states." Brazilian NGO Fundação Abrinq, which defends children's rights and promoting their well-being, told The Sun they are aware of the illegal fight clubs but are not directly involved in the investigation. A spokesperson told The Sun: "This is an extremely serious situation that causes deep indignation. Advertisement "Fundação Abrinq is not directly involved in the case mentioned. "However, we emphasise that all forms of violence against children and adolescents are crimes under Brazilian law and must be reported through official channels, such as Dial 100 or the nearest police station." Dozens of child victims have been identified so far - but that number is expected to grow. Soares said: "That number could still go up. We will even continue this investigation, perhaps even with a second phase." Advertisement With more evidence still to be uncovered, the scale of the network - and the damage done - may just be coming to light.
New York Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Albany mayor and progressives owe ex-DA Soares an apology
After yet another epic weekend of teen gun crime in Albany, local Democrats are implicitly admitting that longtime District Attorney David Soares was right after all — a year after the party machine ousted him for refusing to shut up about how state 'reforms' fuel the violence. Amid generally slamming overbroad criminal-justice changes for New York's rising crime, Soares relentlessly fingered the Raise the Age law for teaching teens all the wrong lessons — angering the Legislature's leaders enough that they got the Albany party to deny him the party line in last year's election. The 2017 Raise the Age law upped the age of criminal responsibility to 18 — mandating that nearly all 16- and 17-year-olds, even those charged with violent offenses or caught with loaded guns, go to Family Court and so walk right out with barely a slap on the wrist. Now, after teen shootings left 10 wounded and (thanks to a flare gun) set a house ablaze, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan is echoing Soares: 'This is not about needing more youth basketball,' she fumed. 'These are some of the hardest kids to reach.' Albany is 'flooded with guns,' she declared last month after two teens were shot near the Governor's Mansion. 'At what number will the body count be enough to prompt action?' Soares asked after two fatal shootings in 2023. Two years later, the body count continues to rise. And the carnage will continue unless and until Democrats representing communities plagued by youth gun crimes demand an end to the Legislature's failed criminal-justice experiments.
Business Insider
07-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Inside Carlyle's AI rollout: Tech chief shares wins, challenges, and cost savings
Lucia Soares is helming Carlyle's AI transformation after years of bringing tech to big companies. She spoke to BI about the firm's AI rollout and how it's already resulting in cost savings. She also spoke about life as a bicoastal executive and what she learned from her immigrant parents. Lucia Soares had been working for Carlyle for four years when the private equity giant's CEO called to ask if she would take on a new role. "I originally focused on using tech to create portfolio value," she told Business Insider, referring to the companies Carlyle controls. "Then, two years ago, our new CEO called me and said, 'Can you please do what you're doing for our portfolio companies but for our own company internally?' Now, Soares — as Carlyle's chief information officer and head of technology transformation — is taking on a new challenge: Bringing artificial intelligence to the investment giant's 2,300 global employees. She spoke with Business Insider about the rollout, including the successes, the pitfalls, and how the company is implementing checks and balances. She explained where the company is already seeing cost savings, for example. She also walked us through her life as a bicoastal tech executive — and how she learned to hustle from a young age, helping her immigrant parents sell plants at the flea market on weekends. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. In my 27 years in technology, I've learned that you can't start with technology itself as the goal. People said that e-commerce is the goal, or that digital is the goal. Now, they say AI is the goal. And actually it's not. Instead, we start with our business goals: we want to grow, create efficiencies, and build a strong tech foundation. AI and other technologies are levers to achieve these goals. Increasing our employees' AI fluency is a strategic priority. They get AI training from the day they start at Carlyle, and are introduced to a wide range of tools they can use. Now, 90% of our employees use tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot. We also have an AI champions' council where early adopters can play around with tools and eventually share best practices. We're using AI to transform our workflows through Project Catalyst, which automates processes. We're also developing custom tools that leverage proprietary data to deliver insights instantly—saving investors from sifting through endless materials. Today, Carlyle's credit investors can assess a company in hours using generative AI, instead of spending weeks on research. How is AI impacting the average worker at Carlyle? Are they required to use the technology? It depends. Some business leaders have made it a requirement to put all investment committee memos in an AI tool for them to review. Others are not so direct about it, but everybody is seeing how it can make their jobs easier and challenging their teams in meetings to talk about the value they are deriving from AI tools. As a firm, we have a return-on-investment strategy, and my team aims to deliver a certain amount of ROI every year. We're not eliminating people's jobs, but we believe that it can help reduce dependency on outside services costs. For example, we can use AI to review legal invoices and catch errors that will reduce our costs. We've seen real savings as a result. How do you balance autonomy with the risks of adoption? I think a lot about that. I worry about kids in school using a tool to write an essay and not being able to think. But you have to wonder how people felt when the calculator came out, and if they thought no one would ever be able to do math on their own again. We never allow AI to make a final decision. There's always a human in the loop, and someone needs to be accountable for the final results. For example, when employees use AI to write a report, we have employees write a final paragraph summarizing the output to ensure they're thinking critically about it. Let's start with success. When investors invest with us, we can at times receive up to 80-page documents with questions about everything from our employees to cybersecurity training. It's very manual. We had one team decide they'd try to use AI to make investor diligence easier. Despite having just one technologist, this team found a solution to automate the process, which we're launching later this year. We seek to empower people to solve things themselves, with embedded technologists across the organization. We experienced more challenges dealing with regulatory restrictions on large language models globally. We learned the hard way that these regulatory hurdles require a lot of evaluation. We're launching solutions, but it's taking longer than expected to deploy. You might think you can go fast with AI, but it doesn't always work that way, especially in today's global climate. Has any single piece of career advice stuck with you over the years, and what is it? Early on, I was advised to always raise my hand for the extra hard assignments. In other words, take a risk and bet on yourself. My parents are immigrants, and I learned work ethic, courage, and audacity from them. But when I entered the workforce, I had impostor syndrome. With blue-collar parents, the office environment was completely different for me. By taking on difficult assignments, I created relationships and visibility and was able to learn and grow more. Tell me about your parents. They are from the Azores Islands in Portugal. They came to the US during the dictatorship years. My dad only went to school up until the age of 10, because his family could not afford to pay for more education. He can add, subtract, and multiply, but was never taught how to divide. He came to the US after serving in the Portuguese Army to give his family a better future. He knew no English. He became a custodian, cleaning schools, and had a side hustle selling house plants at a flea market on the weekends. We all helped cultivate and sell the plants. I learned a lot from my parents. I am bicoastal: I spend one week a month in DC and also time in New York, but I live on the West Coast and work out of our Menlo Park office. On the East coast, I might start my day — work permitting — listening to news podcasts, going for a run, meditating, and eating a healthy breakfast. At home, I start really early in the morning. I don't always get that workout in, but I start with some early calls, and then take a break to drive my daughter to school before heading to the office. When I get to my desk, I write down the day's priorities. I've done this my whole career, and try not to let constant fire drills overtake those priorities. When you're driving transformation, you have to keep strategy at the forefront. What are the most important meetings of your week? The most important meetings are the unplanned ones. For example, I run into a coworker, and we start talking about our kids. Then they bring up a company we should partner with. Or I run into an administrative assistant, and they show me new ways they're using Copilot. I get inspired by solving problems with people in real time. The second most important meetings are the ones where we drive strategy and brainstorm. As technologists, you can fall into the Dilbert category of employees, where you just work through problem resolutions. So I force strategy onto the calendar to ensure we think big and ambitiously about tech transformation.
The Advertiser
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Kings aiming high as Brazilian big man makes NBL return
NBL champion Tim Soares has confirmed his Sydney Kings return as master coach Brian Goorjian puts the finishing touches on what he hopes can become another title-winning roster. After two seasons abroad, Brazilian big man Soares has reunited with the Kings on a one-year deal alongside fellow key additions Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova. Soares, 28, won a title under then Kings coach Chase Buford in his only previous NBL season in 2022/23. The 211cm centre averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks across 20.9 minutes throughout that campaign, and combined well with MVP Xavier Cooks. "I was always hopeful I'd get another chance to come back and play in Sydney, so I'm really excited to be given this opportunity again," Soares said. "Having the chance to join this talented roster, full of young guys and veterans who know the game, and be coached by someone (like) Goorj, was an easy decision to come back to Sydney. "Not to mention having two talented ball-handlers like Kendric and Delly on the roster will make my job easier as a big man, much like Xav did in our first stint together. "Xav and I had great chemistry during our championship run together, with me being able to space the floor for him to attack the rim, which in fact benefits the whole team." Goorjian was thrilled to sign Soares, who has had stints in Puerto Rico and Japan since his championship-winning season with Sydney. The Kings are aiming high after losing a play-in qualifier last season in legendary coach Goorjian's return to the helm. "The five-man spot is a really important one for us, and after looking at ways to build on last year, we really needed to bring in someone who can bang with those bigger bodies on the inside," Goorjian said. "Tim is exactly that, while also being someone who can finish around the rim, protect the paint and also stretch the floor, which is key alongside Xavier." SYDNEY KINGS' 2025/26 NBL ROSTER: Shaun Bruce, Xavier Cooks, Kendric Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, Jaylin Galloway, Bul Kuol, Keli Leaupepe, Makuach Maluach, Kouat Noi, Tyler Robertston, Tim Soares, Jason Spurgin. NBL champion Tim Soares has confirmed his Sydney Kings return as master coach Brian Goorjian puts the finishing touches on what he hopes can become another title-winning roster. After two seasons abroad, Brazilian big man Soares has reunited with the Kings on a one-year deal alongside fellow key additions Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova. Soares, 28, won a title under then Kings coach Chase Buford in his only previous NBL season in 2022/23. The 211cm centre averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks across 20.9 minutes throughout that campaign, and combined well with MVP Xavier Cooks. "I was always hopeful I'd get another chance to come back and play in Sydney, so I'm really excited to be given this opportunity again," Soares said. "Having the chance to join this talented roster, full of young guys and veterans who know the game, and be coached by someone (like) Goorj, was an easy decision to come back to Sydney. "Not to mention having two talented ball-handlers like Kendric and Delly on the roster will make my job easier as a big man, much like Xav did in our first stint together. "Xav and I had great chemistry during our championship run together, with me being able to space the floor for him to attack the rim, which in fact benefits the whole team." Goorjian was thrilled to sign Soares, who has had stints in Puerto Rico and Japan since his championship-winning season with Sydney. The Kings are aiming high after losing a play-in qualifier last season in legendary coach Goorjian's return to the helm. "The five-man spot is a really important one for us, and after looking at ways to build on last year, we really needed to bring in someone who can bang with those bigger bodies on the inside," Goorjian said. "Tim is exactly that, while also being someone who can finish around the rim, protect the paint and also stretch the floor, which is key alongside Xavier." SYDNEY KINGS' 2025/26 NBL ROSTER: Shaun Bruce, Xavier Cooks, Kendric Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, Jaylin Galloway, Bul Kuol, Keli Leaupepe, Makuach Maluach, Kouat Noi, Tyler Robertston, Tim Soares, Jason Spurgin. NBL champion Tim Soares has confirmed his Sydney Kings return as master coach Brian Goorjian puts the finishing touches on what he hopes can become another title-winning roster. After two seasons abroad, Brazilian big man Soares has reunited with the Kings on a one-year deal alongside fellow key additions Kendric Davis and Matthew Dellavedova. Soares, 28, won a title under then Kings coach Chase Buford in his only previous NBL season in 2022/23. The 211cm centre averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks across 20.9 minutes throughout that campaign, and combined well with MVP Xavier Cooks. "I was always hopeful I'd get another chance to come back and play in Sydney, so I'm really excited to be given this opportunity again," Soares said. "Having the chance to join this talented roster, full of young guys and veterans who know the game, and be coached by someone (like) Goorj, was an easy decision to come back to Sydney. "Not to mention having two talented ball-handlers like Kendric and Delly on the roster will make my job easier as a big man, much like Xav did in our first stint together. "Xav and I had great chemistry during our championship run together, with me being able to space the floor for him to attack the rim, which in fact benefits the whole team." Goorjian was thrilled to sign Soares, who has had stints in Puerto Rico and Japan since his championship-winning season with Sydney. The Kings are aiming high after losing a play-in qualifier last season in legendary coach Goorjian's return to the helm. "The five-man spot is a really important one for us, and after looking at ways to build on last year, we really needed to bring in someone who can bang with those bigger bodies on the inside," Goorjian said. "Tim is exactly that, while also being someone who can finish around the rim, protect the paint and also stretch the floor, which is key alongside Xavier." SYDNEY KINGS' 2025/26 NBL ROSTER: Shaun Bruce, Xavier Cooks, Kendric Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, Jaylin Galloway, Bul Kuol, Keli Leaupepe, Makuach Maluach, Kouat Noi, Tyler Robertston, Tim Soares, Jason Spurgin.
