Section: The Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines)
Sacked security adviser says Trump tied Ukraine funds to Biden probe
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told his national security adviser he wanted to maintain a freeze on military assistance to Ukraine until it aided political investigations into his Democratic rivals, according to a report in The New York Times on Sunday. The newspaper said John Bolton’s description of his exchange with Trump appears in...
Impeachment trial to begin with rules fight, long days
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is set to unfold at the Capitol, a contentious proceeding to render judgment on his Ukraine actions as Americans form their own verdict at the start of an election year. As the Senate reconvenes with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding over the rare impeachment court, senators sworn...
Distortion in Trump’s impeachment defense
WASHINGTON — In his first formal response to impeachment charges, President Donald Trump misrepresented the testimony of a key witness who described an exchange of favors in the Ukraine matter. The claim marked a week of frequent exaggeration and distortion by the president heading into the opening statements of his impeachment trial. Just as his...
Ukrainian prime minister resigns after recordings published
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s prime minister says he has submitted his resignation, days after he was caught on tape saying the country’s president knows nothing about the economy. In a Facebook post Friday, Oleksiy Honcharuk said that he has given his resignation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “I took this post to implement...
Canada seeking official status in Iran plane downing probe
OTTAWA, Ontario – Canada’s transport minister said Wednesday his country is demanding official status in Iran’s investigation of the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines jet in Tehran last week. Iran admits its air-defense forces shot the plane down, having not identified it as a commercial airliner. All 176 people aboard were...
Iran says ‘unintentionally’ shot down Ukraine passenger jet
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Saturday it “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found “missiles fired due to human error” brought down the […] The...
Ukraine demands punishment, compensation for airliner downed by Iran
KIEV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Saturday that Iran punish those responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner and pay compensation. “We expect Iran… to bring the guilty to the courts,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on Facebook, calling also for the “payment of compensation” after Tehran admitted accidentally downing the...
Ukraine in national mourning after deadly airliner crash
KIEV — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a day of national mourning Thursday, promising to find the “truth” about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran which killed all 176 on board. “January 9 has been decreed a day of national mourning,” the Ukrainian leader said in a video address posted on his official […] The post...
Giuliani pals leveraged GOP access to seek Ukraine gas deal
KYIV, Ukraine — In a back corner of the swank H Bar in Houston, near a huge photo of Brigitte Bardot with a dangling cigarette and a deck of cards, two Russian-speaking men offered a Ukrainian gas executive what seemed like an outrageous business proposal. Andrew Favorov, the No. 2 at Ukraine’s state-run gas company […] The post Giuliani...
Democrats seek Bolton, Mulvaney for impeachment trial
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats are proposing a weekslong Senate impeachment trial seeking testimony from four new witnesses including John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney over President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine, according to a detailed outlined released Sunday. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York proposed the structure for a...