Section: Malaysia
Officials sounded early alarms over White House-Ukraine talks
Top Trump allies pressured Ukrainian officials for political help two weeks before Trump’s call to Zelensky. (Reuters pic)WASHINGTON: Two White House national security officials sounded alarms about improper pressure on Ukraine in early July, well before President Donald Trump’s bombshell phone call with Ukraine leader Volodymyr...
Top Trump aide refuses to comply, snubs impeachment probe subpoena
Evidence gathered shows Mulvaney was a key player in Trump’s alleged extortion of Ukraine. (AFP pic)WASHINGTON: White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney snubbed demands by House impeachment investigators to testify Friday, claiming immunity as a top aide to President Donald Trump. As Trump again blasted the probe as “corrupt” and a...
Nato allies clash after Macron says alliance experiencing ‘brain death’
PARIS: Nato partners argued Thursday over the alliance’s worth after French President Emmanuel Macron said it was undergoing “brain death”, prompting a fierce defence of the bloc from Germany, Canada and the US while drawing praise from non-member Russia.“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of Nato,“ Macron told The...
UN assembly condemns US embargo on Cuba, for the 28th time
UNITED STATES: The UN General Assembly on Thursday condemned the nearly 60-year-old US embargo on Cuba for the 28th year in a row, calling for an end to it by a vote of 187 to three.Only Israel and Brazil voted with the US against the resolution. Two other US allies — Ukraine and Colombia — abstained.First imposed on Oct 19, 1960 in response to...
Giuliani told ‘lies’ about US envoy to Ukraine, says diplomat
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent leaves Capitol Hill after testifying. (AP pic)WASHINGTON: A top US diplomat told congressional investigators that President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani conducted a “campaign full of lies” against the US ambassador to Ukraine before she was recalled from her post, according...
Public hearings in Trump impeachment probe start next week
WASHINGTON: The first open impeachment hearings into US President Donald Trump will begin next week, the congressman leading the probe said Wednesday, as the investigation heads into a highly anticipated public phase.William Taylor, Washington’s top diplomat to Ukraine, and deputy assistant secretary of state George Kent are scheduled to...
Pompeo faces fire over ambassador targeted by Trump
WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had achieved the seemingly impossible in Donald Trump’s Washington — pleasing the mercurial president while casting himself as a defender of his institution.But that wiliness has reached its limits. Pompeo is now facing fire over accusations he ducked from standing up for the US ambassador to...
Trump staff with ‘substantial first-hand knowledge’ called to testify in impeachment probe
Mick Mulvaney is unlikely to comply given the White House’s opposition to administration officials cooperating with investigators. (AP pic)WASHINGTON: US House impeachment investigators on Tuesday summoned President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney for a deposition, saying he has “substantial first-hand knowledge” of...
US diplomat U-turns, now says he knew of Ukraine quid pro quo
Sondland switched his testimony. (AP pic)WASHINGTON: US envoy Gordon Sondland acknowledged telling a top Ukrainian official that US security assistance withheld by President Donald Trump was unlikely to be delivered until Ukraine publicly met a demand for an “anti-corruption” statement, according to a new declaration from Sondland released...
Former US envoy says she feels ‘threatened’ in released impeachment transcripts
Yovanovitch arrives for her testimony on Oct 11. (AP pic)WASHINGTON: Witness transcripts in the impeachment probe into Donald Trump were made public for the first time yesterday, with the former US ambassador to Kiev telling investigators she felt threatened by the president in his call to Ukraine’s leader. Democrats are entering an open...
