
Italy opens Ukraine rebuilding conference as doubts of US defense help remain
Premier Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were opening the meeting Thursday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine, firing a record number of drones across 10 regions this week.

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Winnipeg Free Press
43 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump to make unprecedented second state visit to UK between Sept 17-19
LONDON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump will make an unprecedented second state visit to the U.K. between Sept. 17 and 19 when he will be hosted by King Charles II and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace said Monday. Trump, who is a big supporter of the royal family, particularly of the monarch, will be accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump during the three-day visit, the palace confirmed. No U.S. president has been invited for a second state visit. Trump previously enjoyed the pomp and pageantry of the state visit in 2019 during his first term when he was hosted by Charles' late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The invitation for the second state visit from the king was hand-delivered by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in February during a meeting at the White House. After reading it, Trump said it was a 'great, great honor' and appeared particularly pleased by the fact he will be staying at Windsor Castle, to the west of the capital. 'That's really something,' he said. Precedent for second-term U.S. presidents who have already made a state visit is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W. Bush and Barack Obama. State visits are ceremonial meetings between heads of state that are used to honor friendly nations and sometimes smooth relations between rivals. While the king formally issues the invitation for a state visit, he does so on the advice of the elected government. The visit is seen as part of Starmer's effort to keep Trump close and lessen the impact of some of his polices on the U.K. The relationship between the two appears amicable, and has helped the U.K. from facing the sort of hefty U.S. tariffs that other nations are seeing. But like Trump's previous visit, it's unlikely he will be welcomed by all. Last time, a day of protests saw the flying of a giant blimp depicting Trump as an angry orange baby from outside Parliament. Lawmakers from Starmer's Labour Party have also questioned whether the honor should be extended to Trump at a time that he is supporting Israel's war in Gaza and threatening the sovereignty of allies such as Canada and Greenland. Charles could also face some challenges during the visit because he is head of state of both the United Kingdom and Canada, which Trump has suggested should become the 51st U.S. state. During a speech to the Canadian parliament in May the king highlighted Canada's 'unique identity' and 'sovereignty,' while echoing the words of the country's national anthem when he said 'The True North is indeed strong and free.' State visits to Britain are particularly prized by heads of state because they come with a full complement of royal pomp and circumstance, including military reviews, carriage rides and a glittering state banquet hosted by the monarch. The events normally take place in and around Buckingham Palace in central London. But like last week's state visit from French President Emmanual Macron and his wife Brigitte, the Trumps will stay at Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace is undergoing extensive remodeling.


Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Here's how Nigerians remember Buhari, who ruled both as a dictator and a democrat
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's former President Muhammadu Buhari, who ruled Africa's most populous nation twice as a military dictator and a democratic president, died on Sunday at age 82 and is being remembered as a divisive figure who oversaw one of the country's most troubled periods. 'He inherited unprecedented goodwill and squandered it,' Olive Chiemerie, a Lagos-based writer, told The Associated Press. 'His legacy is one of missed opportunities, deepening inequality and a country left to pick up the pieces.' Here are some highlights of Buhari's presidency: 'EndSARS' protests In October 2020, thousands of youths took to the streets to protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, a police unit accused by rights groups and others of extrajudicial killings, torture and extortion. Buhari initially responded by disbanding the unit. As the protests grew stronger with broader demands for better governance, however, his government deployed security forces to resist the demonstrations. On Oct. 20, soldiers opened fire at peaceful protesters in the economic hub of Lagos, killing at least 12 people, according to rights groups. Buhari didn't acknowledge the shootings in a nationwide address that called protesters 'rioters' and warned them against 'undermining national security.' Ban on Twitter Months after the protests, many Nigerians took their anger online, mostly on Twitter, to rail against institutional corruption, economic woes and escalating insecurity. The matter spiked after Twitter removed a tweet from Buhari's account about a secessionist movement, calling it abusive. The Nigerian government responded by suspending access to the platform for seven months. That further heightened concerns over human rights. As a military dictator in Nigeria in the 1980s, Buhari had brooked little criticism. As president, he detained political opponents and several journalists. Nigerian police operatives once stormed a courtroom to re-arrest activist Omoyele Sowore, drawing outrage from the judge and many Nigerians. An ailing economy Buhari pursued economic policies that Nigerians said imposed huge strains on the economy, forcing it to dip into recession in 2016 and 2020. In 2019, he closed the border to all goods with the goal of spurring local production, especially of agricultural products, which sparked surging inflation. In the face of a dollar shortage as a result of a slump in oil production and falling oil prices globally, his government pegged the local currency to the dollar at an artificial rate, worsening the naira's value. 'Buhari left a legacy of debt that continues to sabotage the economic efforts of his successors,' said Akeem Alao, a teacher in Lagos. Security crises Buhari's administration failed to rid Nigeria of its security woes — a key election promise and an ambitious one in a country long threatened by Boko Haram extremists and a breakaway faction. The years of violence have killed at least 35,000 people and displaced more than 2 million. While Buhari was president, the extremists expanded beyond the northeast and partnered with other armed groups in the north to carry out attacks, including on a passenger train near the capital, Abuja, and a jailbreak there. Buhari's government often declared that Boko Haram had been 'technically defeated,' to the scorn of critics.


Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Here's how Nigerians remember Buhari, who ruled both as a dictator and a democrat
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's former President Muhammadu Buhari, who ruled Africa's most populous nation twice as a military dictator and a democratic president, died on Sunday at age 82 and is being remembered as a divisive figure who oversaw one of the country's most troubled periods. 'He inherited unprecedented goodwill and squandered it,' Olive Chiemerie, a Lagos-based writer, told The Associated Press. 'His legacy is one of missed opportunities, deepening inequality and a country left to pick up the pieces.'