Putin is preparing for more war, US senators warn, urging swift sanctions and global action
PARIS (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling at the peace table while preparing a new military offensive in Ukraine, two senior U.S. senators warned Sunday, arguing that the next two weeks could shape the future of a war that has already smashed cities, displaced millions and redrawn Europe's security map.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal spoke to The Associated Press in Paris after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and touring neighborhoods shattered by what they called the worst Russian bombardments since the full-scale invasion began.
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Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Man accused of framing other man for deportation by writing letters threatening Trump's life
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin man is facing charges accusing him of forging a letter threatening President Donald Trump's life in an effort to get another man deported. Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint filed Monday that Demetric D. Scott was behind a letter sent to state and federal officials with the return address and name of Ramón Morales Reyes. Scott was charged Monday with felony witness intimidation, identity theft and two counts of bail jumping. His attorney, Robert Hampton III, didn't immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. Immigration agents arrested Morales Reyes, 54, on May 21 after he dropped his child off at school in Milwaukee. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the arrest, saying he had written a letter threatening to kill Trump and would 'self-deport' to Mexico. The announcement, which also was posted by the White House on its social media accounts, contained an image of the letter as well as a photo of Morales Reyes. But the claim started to unravel as investigators talked to Morales Reyes, who doesn't speak English fluently, and obtained a handwriting sample from him that was different than the handwriting in the letters, according to court documents. Morales Reyes is listed as a victim in the case involving Scott, who is awaiting trial in Milwaukee County Jail on armed robbery and aggravated battery charges. The trial is scheduled for July. Law enforcement officers listened to several calls Scott made from the jail in which he talked about letters that needed to be mailed and a plan to get someone picked up by ICE so Scott's trial could get dismissed, according to the criminal complaint. He also admitted to police that he wrote the letters, documents said. Morales Reyes works as a dishwasher in Milwaukee, where he lives with his wife and three children. He had recently applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who become victims of serious crimes, said attorney Kime Abduli, who filed that application. Abduli told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that she was glad Morales Reyes was being cleared of any involvement in the letter writing. His deportation defense lawyer, Cain Oulahan, wrote in an email Monday night that the main focus now is to secure Morales Reyes' release from custody and the next step will be to pursue any relief he may qualify for in immigration court. 'While he has a U visa pending, those are unfortunately backlogged for years, so we will be looking at other options to keep him here with his family, which includes his three US citizen children,' Oulahan wrote.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bulgaria is close to joining the euro currency but faces disinformation and fear
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria is close to realizing its decades-old goal of joining the euro currency union and deepening ties with the more prosperous countries of Western Europe. But the government faces a populist backlash against the shared currency on the eve of a key decision by European Union authorities. Fears of inflation, poverty and the unknown are mingling with disinformation spread on social media that aims to turn people against the euro. The discontent tracks with increased support for populist and anti-EU parties across Europe, which is exploited by nationalist and pro-Russian politicians in a country that remains one of Europe's poorest and most afflicted with corruption. 'Adopting the euro will make us feel the threshold of poverty. After all, prices will be in euros,' said 78-year-old retiree Tanya Ignatova. 'Bulgaria is not ready for the euro. Someday we may be ready, but not now,' said another retiree, Mario Georgiev. Several thousand people rallied against the euro in the capital on Saturday, urging a referendum on whether to transition from the lev currency to the euro. The head of the pro-Russian Varazhdane party, Kostadin Kostadinov, told the crowd that 'Bulgaria has risen and declared: Freedom, we choose the Bulgarian lev!' Many do support the euro Others in Bulgaria say the country already benefits from EU membership and it does not matter what the currency is. 'We have inflation now and we will have it in the future,' said 26-year-old Konstantin Bozhinov. Aiming at deepening European integration amid growing geopolitical tensions, the government is pressing ahead. It has asked for a review of whether it meets the requirements of low inflation, sound government finances and legal conformity to EU institutions. On Wednesday, the European Commission will announce the results. If the commission gives a green light, other member states will decide on Bulgaria's candidacy in the coming weeks. At the last review in 2022, Bulgaria failed on the inflation requirement. Inflation has since fallen. President Rumen Radev has encouraged the anti-euro voices by proposing a referendum on the currency, citing public concerns over inflation and purchasing power. That followed a protest in February that saw the offices of the EU's executive commission in Sofia spattered with red paint and its entrance set on fire. The president's proposal was turned down by the pro-European majority in parliament, which accused Radev of acting in favor of Russia with his last-minute attempt to sabotage the euro adoption. According to the EU's multi-country Eurobarometer survey released last week, 50% of Bulgarians are against the adoption of the euro, while 43% are in favor. In contrast, trust in the euro continues to grow across the rest of the EU. Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. It has been plagued by political instability and corruption that have fueled euroscepticism among its 6.4 million citizens. Analysts say disinformation campaigns from abroad have fed fears of economic changes that could bring more poverty. Scores of false claims by opponents of the eurozone have been published on social networks. One claim says the EU plans to take away people's savings if they fail to spend them within a certain period. Another claims that plans to introduce a digital version of the euro are part of a plan to control everyone. 'There is a powerful brainwashing of the average Bulgarian. Illusory fears are being spread, lies are being told wholesale, unscrupulously and brazenly,' said Ognyan Minchev, director of the Institute for Regional and International Studies in Sofia. Risks and rewards Economists say joining the euro will not bring massive change to Bulgaria's economy in the short run. That's because the government has pegged the currency to the euro by law, at a fixed rate of 1 lev for every 51 euro cents. Joining the euro can bring lower borrowing costs, greater ease in comparing domestic and foreign prices and no need to exchange money when vacationing in another euro country. More than that, it's a sign of integration into the EU and its large economy. Members get a seat on the European Central Bank's interest rate-setting committee. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Countries agree to join the euro when they join the EU, but so far 20 of 27 members have taken the step. Croatia was the last to join in 2023. Bulgaria's government has very little debt, at 24.1% of GDP — the second lowest in the EU and well below the 60% level in euro membership criteria. That's a sharp contrast to its neighbor, Greece, which entered the euro in 1999 with high debt that was concealed through complex financial transactions. Greece's broken finances eventually triggered a eurozone-wide crisis. Bulgaria's government has been 'fiscally super conservative … the risk of Bulgaria becoming a fiscal risk to the eurozone is essentially zero,' said Zsolt Darvas, senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels. Fears of inflation are not entirely without basis. Experience in other countries shows that 'whenever there is a changeover from national currency to the euro, there is often a minor inflation effect, but it's typically less than 1%,' said Darvas Economists say a one-time increase occurs as service providers such as restaurants, which don't adjust prices as often as other sectors, take advantage of re-doing menus and price lists to implement hikes.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Swedish inquiry finds abuse and fraud in international adoptions dating back decades
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish commission recommended Monday that international adoptions be stopped after an investigation found a series of abuses and fraud dating back decades. Sweden is the latest country to examine its international adoption policies after allegations of unethical practices, particularly in South Korea.
