Section: The Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines)
West presses Putin to back ‘last-chance’ Ukraine peace bid
MUNICH, Germany — Western leaders challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday to prove he wants peace in Ukraine, warning both sides a new Franco-German peace drive may be a “last chance” to stop all-out war. In a dramatic gesture at a gathering of world leaders in Germany, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko brandished...
NATO official: alliance to beef up response force
BRUSSELS — NATO’s chief says the alliance is set to more than double the size of its Response Force in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine and the challenge of Islamic extremism. NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday’s meeting of defense ministers in Brussels is expected to boost the size of the force from...
Ukraine troops fight to avoid being surrounded by rebels
DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine — As Ukrainian troops fought Monday to defend a strategic railway hub, Russian-backed separatists pledged to boost the size of their force. President Barack Obama has so far opposed sending lethal assistance, but an upsurge in fighting in eastern Ukraine has spurred the White House to take a fresh look at supplying...
Global officials meet on safety after aviation calamities
WASHINGTON — Government and aviation industry officials from dozens of countries are meeting in Montreal this week to try to find consensus on how to keep from losing airliners like the one that vanished in Asia and another shot down in Eastern Europe. It is only the second high-level safety conference in the 70-year history of the...
Ukrainian separatists advance, force mass flight
SVYATOHIRSK, Ukraine — As fighting escalates around the town Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine, a growing wave of civilians are fleeing their homes, taking the risk of being struck by stray projectiles on their way, and often leaving family members behind. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that around 1,000 of Debaltseve’s residents...
New Ukraine peace talks fail—Kiev envoy
MINSK, Belarus — Peace talks to thrash out a truce agreement between pro-Russian rebels and Ukraine ended without a deal Saturday, Kiev’s representative at the talks in Minsk said. Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma told Interfax Ukraine news agency the talks had been “thwarted” after top rebel leaders stayed away...
12 people, including 7 civilians, killed in east Ukraine–officials
KIEV, Ukraine–Twelve people, including seven civilians, were killed in the past 24 hours in clashes between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine, officials said Friday. The city administration of the rebel stronghold Donetsk said 23 people were also wounded in shelling across the industrial province. The Kiev military...
Putin defiant after more threats from West over Ukraine
MOSCOW, Russia — A defiant President Vladimir Putin on Monday called the Ukrainian army a “NATO foreign legion,” reflecting his readiness to stand up to the West regardless of rising economic costs, as Standard & Poor’s rating agency downgraded Russia’s credit rating to junk. While the Russian ruble tumbled...
Colombians celebrate long-awaited Miss Universe title
BOGOTA, Colombia — Carnival has come a few weeks early to the Caribbean city of Barranquilla where residents took to the streets on Monday to show their hometown pride after local beauty queen Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe. Even President Juan Manuel Santos took time out during an official visit to France to congratulate Vega for...
Miss Colombia Paulina Vega is new Miss Universe
MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-two-year-old Paulina Vega from Colombia was crowned the winner of the 63rd Miss Universe in Doral City, Florida, Monday morning (Philippine time). Wearing a silver gown, Vega bested 87 other candidates to win the crown. Other candidates with Vega in the top 5 were: 1st runner up—Miss USA Nia Sanchez 2nd...
