Vientiane, Sept 6 (Reuters): US President Barack Obama cancelled what would have been his first meeting with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday, after Duterte described Obama as a “son of a bitch”. Obama learned about the insult as he emerged from the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. ”I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting, that it's actually productive and we're getting something done,” Obama told reporters. The White House had earlier said Obama did not plan to pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuses in the Philippines, its treaty ally, when meeting Duterte. Duterte won the presidency in May as he promised to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers.

Source: The Telegraph September 06, 2016 08:48 UTC