Philippines: Duterte says will never visit 'lousy' United StatesJuly 21, 2017 - 17:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hit back on Friday, July 21 at U.S. lawmakers opposed to the prospect of his visiting the White House, saying he would never go to the United States, which he called a "lousy" country, Reuters reports. Duterte was responding to remarks by Massachusetts Congressman James McGovern, who told a hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that he would protest against such a visit if U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on an invitation to the firebrand Philippine leader. The commission, made up of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, convened on Thursday in Washington for a hearing on Duterte's deadly, year-old war on drugs, which has killed thousands of Philippine citizens. Human rights groups say many of the deaths were executions by police, an assertion the authorities reject. "There will never be a time that I will go to America during my term, or even thereafter," said Duterte, who has made no secret of his grudge against the United States, his country's oldest ally. "So what makes that guy think I'll go to America?" he told reporters, referring to McGovern. "I've seen America and it's lousy... it would be good for the U.S. Congress to start with their own investigation of their own violations of the so many civilians killed in the prosecution of the wars in the Middle East," he added. "Otherwise I will be forced to investigate you also. I will start with your past sins." Trump came under heavy criticism in Washington when he invited Duterte to the White House during a telephone conversation in April. He did not say when. Duterte's spokesman said Trump had told his Philippine counterpart he was doing a "great job". A leaked transcript obtained by the New York Times backed that up, quoting Trump commending Duterte for his "unbelievable job on the drug problem". Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |