Donald Trump has ordered the reopening of Alcatraz "to house America's most ruthless and violent offenders". In a post on Truth Social, the US president said he was tasking the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security with enlarging and rebuilding the notorious US prison, which was closed down more than 60 years ago.

Why was Alcatraz built?
Alcatraz Island, which lies 1.25 miles (2km) off the northern shore of San Francisco, has a long history as a place of imprisonment, but its infamous maximum-security penitentiary opened in 1934. Designed for difficult or dangerous inmates who other prisons couldn't contain or control, its isolated and supposedly escape-proof position earned it the nicknames "Devil's Island" and "The Rock".

Who was imprisoned there?
High-profile inmates included Chicago mob boss Al Capone and gangsters George "Machine Gun" Kelly, James "Whitey" Bulger, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and Arthur "Doc" Barker. Perhaps its most well-known inmate was Robert Stroud, the so-called "Birdman of Alcatraz" (so nicknamed because of his interest in ornithology).

Why did it close?
In 1963, the maximum-security prison was closed "because the institution was too expensive to continue operating", according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The prison cost three times more to run than other federal jails, largely owing to the island's isolation – all supplies, including food, water, fuel and medicine, had to be brought in by barge.
The site was handed over to the National Park Service in 1972 and opened to the public a year later.

Is reopening the prison feasible?
"Bringing the facility up to modern-day standards would require massive investments" at a time when there has been widespread "shuttering" of prisons "for similar infrastructure issues", said NBC.

"My reaction was two words: water and sewage," Alcatraz historian Jolene Babyak told NPR. There is no water source on the island and, in the days of the old prison, "all the sewage was dumped in the bay. So that is a problem."

The "long overdue" victory of an Asian player in a World Snooker Championship final "was supposed to be one of unalloyed joy", said Luke Baker in The Independent. But there is an "air of hesitancy around the celebrations" following this historic first.

China's Zhao Xintong bested legendary Welsh champion Mark Williams in "comfortable fashion" on Monday. But Zhao was competing as an amateur after recently returning from a 20-month ban for his involvement in snooker's biggest match-fixing scandal.

Snooker's 'dark side'
During the Covid pandemic, Chinese snooker star Ding Junhui set up a snooker academy – a "kind of finishing school" – in South Yorkshire, said The i Paper. Nearby Sheffield, home of the World Championship, became an "outpost of Chinese snooker" that soon revealed the sport's "dark side".

In early 2023, 10 Chinese players were charged with varying degrees of match-fixing. Many were under significant financial pressure arising from the cost of travelling abroad to compete in tournaments, as well as "ill-judged gambling and betting habits", according to the independent investigation report.

Zhao was the only accused player not alleged to have personally fixed matches. He accepted charges of being party to another player fixing two matches, and betting on matches himself, saying he felt he had "no other option".

'The game's missed him'
Zhao was given a 30-month suspension, reduced to 20 months due to his early guilty plea, and had to start from scratch as an amateur, playing qualifying school tournaments to earn a tour card. His journey to the world title was "longer than any other player in Crucible history", taking in nine rounds and 172 frames, said The Times. "There can be little doubt that he has earned it."

An estimated 150 million people in China watched the final, although it "remains to be seen" whether Zhao will be "lauded as a national hero" when he returns to his native country today, said the Daily Mail. But Ronnie O'Sullivan, arguably the greatest living snooker player, remains one of his "staunchest supporters".

"The game's missed him," said O'Sullivan. Zhao's win "will just be amazing for snooker, and his life as well".

Historical fiction is enjoying a "surge" in popularity, with an influx of books that "vividly" transport readers to "bygone eras", said Forbes. Here are some of the most compelling recent releases.

The Pretender by Jo Harkin
Harkin's latest novel is "loosely" based on the real life of Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne of England following the succession of Henry VII, said Antonia Senior in The Times. "At turns funny, moving, filthy and original", it's an "absolute delight" – and a "front runner" for the best historical fiction book of the year.

The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian
This compelling tale is inspired by the true story of a wounded Vermont captain in the US Civil War whose life was saved by a Confederate woman, said Alida Becker in The New York Times. Bohjalian adds his own "imaginative twists" to the fascinating historical material.

Perspectives by Laurent Binet
Set in Renaissance Florence, Binet's latest book begins with fresco painter Jacopo da Pontormo being "stabbed to death" in the chapel that he has been painting for more than 10 years, said Vulture. Filled with characters who "gossip, flatter and scheme wildly", this epistolary novel makes for an "extremely fun" read.

The Eights by Joanna Miller
Set in 1920 – the "pivotal" year when Oxford University began awarding degrees to women – Miller's debut novel follows four "equally compelling" young female students, said Kat Trigarszky in The Washington Post. Living on Corridor Eight of St. Hugh's College, they navigate the university's "archaic rules" and their "misogynistic" peers.

Why is it still so hard to listen to women?
Heather Blundell on City A.M.
The "implacable sadness" of Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre "burns through the words" of her final note to her family, writes Heather Blundell. Her death should "ignite" a "debate" about why we are "so quick to doubt" women who say they've been abused. "Calling out abusers" may not stop these "vile crimes" but, as Giuffre wrote, we've "got to start somewhere". And "maybe a start is believing women when they are alive".

How old is too old to go clubbing? I have the answer
Zing Tsjeng in The i Paper
I'm 36, which is, according to TikTok, "too old to go clubbing", writes Zing Tsjeng. But "I'd rather opt for a crowded dance floor than a solitary takeaway", and research suggests that as we get older, it's "even more important for our brains and our bodies" to have a "good dance". With the nightclub sector warning that we "could lose all our clubs by 2030", there's "all the more reason" for a "big night out".

King Charles's reign has begun poorly
Alexander Larman in The Spectator
Two years after his coronation, "it is hard to argue that Charles has managed to achieve anything of any significance", writes Alexander Larman. The King's "open embrace" of Ukraine shows he is a "bloody-minded disruptor", but the royals are overshadowed by Prince Andrew's scandals and by the "antics" of Prince Harry. The question now is "not so much whether the monarchy should continue", but whether "anyone especially cares whether it does or not".