Section: The Manila Times (Philippines)
Russian FM presses Tillerson on Syria probe
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced “regret” in a phone call with his US counterpart on Friday (Saturday in Manila) at Washington’s opposition to a Moscow-backed plan to investigate an alleged chemical attack in Syria. In the call with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson which “took place at US initiative,” Lavrov raised the...
IMF tells Ukraine to tackle pricey pension system
KIEV: The IMF’s chief to Ukraine told Kiev on Tuesday its pension system was unsustainable because it supported nearly a third of the population and must limit the number of retirees. The International Monetary Fund has long pressed Ukraine to tackle its budget-draining social welfare program for retired workers as part of a broader...
UN court to rule on Ukraine’s case vs Russia
THE HAGUE: In a key moment for the Ukrainian crisis, the UN’s highest court will rule Wednesday on a bid by Kiev to stop Russia allegedly pumping money, arms and troops into the country’s war-torn east. Three years into a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives, Ukraine is urging the International Court of Justice to...
Top UN court to rule on Ukraine’s case against Russia
THE HAGUE: In a key moment for the Ukrainian crisis, the UN’s highest court will rule Wednesday on a bid by Kiev to stop Russia allegedly pumping money, arms and troops into the country’s war-torn east. Three years into a bloody conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives, Ukraine is urging the International Court of Justice to...
North Korea and the regional peace
GIL H. A. SANTOS MOST of the 626 million people of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were not aware that last week North Korea sent the world’s leaders and their security experts scrambling to closely monitor the military muscle-flexing of Pyongyang and its unpredictable dictator Kim Jong-un. That...
US strike wiped out fifth of Assad air force
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The US strike on a Syrian air base destroyed a fifth of the Damascus regime’s remaining warplanes, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) as Washington fired a fresh salvo of warnings at President Bashar al-Assad. The public assessment of Friday’s missile strike and the forceful rhetoric came as...
US strike wiped out fifth of Assad air force, Mattis says
WASHINGTON: The US strike on a Syrian air base destroyed a fifth of the Damascus regime’s remaining warplanes, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Monday as Washington fired a fresh salvo of warnings at President Bashar al-Assad. The public assessment of Friday’s missile strike and the forceful rhetoric came as G7 ministers met in Italy to...
Ukraine’s IMF-backed central bank chief quits
KIEV: Ukraine’s IMF-backed central bank chief Valeriya Gontareva submitted her resignation on Monday after coming under intense pressure from tycoons and lawmakers who wanted to throw her in jail. Her departure leaves President Petro Poroshenko with a tough decision to make about the fate of one of crisis-hit Ukraine’s most...
Trump sees Russia as ‘problem’—US envoy
NEW YORK: President Donald Trump does consider Russia a problem, his ambassador to the United Nations and rising US administration star Nikki Haley insisted before an often-hostile New York audience Wednesday. “I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count and it’s because if they do something wrong we’re going to call...
Trump does sees Russia as ‘problem’ – US envoy
NEW YORK: President Donald Trump does consider Russia a problem, his ambassador to the United Nations and rising US administration star Nikki Haley insisted before an often-hostile New York audience. “I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count and it’s because if they do something wrong we’re going to call them out on...
