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Barack Obama cancels meeting with new Philippine President Duterte US President  Barack Obama  has cancelled what would have been his first meeting with Rodrigo Duterte, according to a White House spokesman, hours after the Philippine leader described his American counterpart in vulgar terms. Duterte called Obama a "son of a whore", saying that he would not be lectured by the US leader on human rights, according to AFP news agency. Inside Story - Can Rodrigo Duterte win the war on illegal drugs? Duterte's tirade came as he bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president at their scheduled meeting over his war against drugs in the Philippines, which has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. "You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit on Monday. "We ...

PM leads fight against safe havens at G20 The   G20   leaders on Monday committed to roll back protectionist measures by end-2018 to boost free trade but the Summit, held in the shadow of Britain's vote to exit the European Union, fell short of taking concrete measures in defence of globalization and against isolationism. On the concluding day of the two-day summit, Prime Minister   Narendra Modi   asked fellow G20 leaders to act decisively to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, unconditionally extradite money launderers and end excessive banking secrecy. In a reference to Pakistan, Modi said "one single nation in South Asia" was spreading terror in the region. In another of the thematic sessions at the Summit, the PM spoke about India's support to a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) for services, a move that will help in movement of professionals. In his meeting with UK PM Theresa May, their first after the Brexit vote, Modi said her country'...

Clashes between forces, putschists at Turkish air base Turkish security forces and putschists briefly clashed at an air base in the central city of   Konya today, a Turkish official said. "We are able to confirm that there are clashes at the air base in Konya between the security forces and putschists resisting arrest," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity. The state-run news agency Anadolu later reported the fighting had come to an end and said six military personnel were arrested. Seventy generals and admirals were taken into custody across the country, the agency added, as the authorities cracked down on suspected backers of Friday's failed military coup. The   Turkish   Air Base official also confirmed an incident at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, where police fired warning shots at putschists who were resisting arrest. They eventually surrendered. Earlier today, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said around 6,000 people had been detained i...