The Tuesday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories
Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, Nov. 14
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TRUDEAU CONFRONTS AND ANGERS PHILIPPINE LEADER DUTERTE: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directly raised human-rights concerns with Rodrigo Duterte — including extrajudicial killings carried out by security forces in his country — in a confrontation Tuesday that the Philippine president later derided as a “personal and official insult.” Speaking to reporters in Manila after a summit of Southeast Asian countries, Trudeau said he told Duterte about the need for the rule of law in the Philippines, and also made a friendly offer of support to help the Philippines move forward. Trudeau said Duterte — whose violent crackdown on drug dealers and drug users by his government’s forces has left thousands dead — was receptive to the comments during what the Canadian prime minister called a very cordial and positive exchange. Duterte, however, seemed to remember it differently. “I said, ‘I will not explain. It is a personal and official insult,’” he told a news conference later Tuesday of his discussion with Trudeau. “‘It angers me when you are a foreigner, you do not know what exactly is happening in this country. You don’t even investigate.’” Duterte is highly sensitive to such criticism, and in the past called then-U.S. president Barack Obama a “son of a bitch” after the State Department publicly expressed concern over the Philippine anti-drug campaign.
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