Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte made the remarks on Monday before flying to Laos, where he will attend a regional summit. Photo: ReutersVientiane, Laos: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called off a planned meeting with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte even as the latter expressed regret over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to Obama. He had been scheduled to meet with Obama separately, but that meeting has now been postponed. Earlier on Tuesday, President Obama called off a planned meeting with Duterte, seeking distance from a US ally’s leader during a diplomatic tour that’s put Obama in close quarters with a cast of contentious world figures. Duterte managed to do both just before flying to Laos for a regional summit, warning Obama not to challenge him over extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

Source: Mint September 06, 2016 05:35 UTC