Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte accused drug traffickers Wednesday of funding the Islamic State uprising in the nation’s south, where affiliates Abu Sayyaf and the Maute group are attempting to conquer the city of Marawi.
The Islamic State has released a hostage video from the southern Philippines in which kidnapped Catholic priest Father Teresito “Chito” Suganob pleads with President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw troops from the area, suggesting the lives of some 200 hostages are at stake, including children.
Over the weekend, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked several Muslim separatist and Communist groups to fight alongside government troops against the Islamic State. The groups have not yet agreed to a formal alliance, but they have reportedly exchanged gunfire with ISIS militants.
Civilians who have escaped the besieged city of Marawi in the southern Philippines say the Islamic State-affiliated jihadis fighting to establish a caliphate there are largely teenaged, with some as young as thirteen participating in the killing.
The Islamic State terrorists overrunning southern Marawi, Philippines, are reportedly forcing Christians and Muslims alike to recite Muslim prayers or face certain death, a tactic jihadists have employed in similar raids around the world.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte joked in an address to soldiers this weekend that he would protect them if they raped up to three women–but not four–a remark that has aroused the ire of feminist groups and recalled a major controversy during his presidential campaign.
The battle to prevent Islamic State-affiliated jihadists from establishing a Caliphate in the southern Philippines has begun, as President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine military to overtake the city of Marawi Thursday and wipe out all elements of the Maute group.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that Islamic State insurgents rampaging around the city of Marawi ambushed and beheaded a local police chief.
TEL AVIV — The Intercept news website and a Philippine news outlet that collaborated to publish an alleged transcript of President Donald Trump’s private phone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte are both directly tied to liberal billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to expand a 60-day state of emergency in southern Mindanao to the whole country should the Maute group, a terrorist organization that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), expand its killing spree beyond the island.
Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant-General Vincent Stewart told senators at an Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday that North Korea is currently on an “inevitable” path to acquiring a nuclear missile that can hit the United States.
A group of heavily armed fighters from the terrorist group “Maute,” also known as the Islamic State of Lanao, attacked the city of Marawi in the southern Philippines on Tuesday.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has landed in Russia for what was planned as an extensive visit including one-on-one talks with President Vladimir Putin, but the trip has been cut short following a jihadist attack in the Philippine’s south.
On Thursday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano suggested the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should reach a “gentlemen’s agreement” on South China Sea waterways because there is no legal authority to enforce a binding contract for navigation through the region.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has caused a stir by appointing Margaux Justiniano Uson, a blogger known for posting “sexy” videos on social media, his new assistant secretary of the Presidential Communication Operations Office. “Mocha,” as she is known, will run the federal government’s social media.
A national poll released Monday showed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s popularity holding steady, with 80 percent of respondents saying they have “much trust” in the controversial strongman.
The United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings Agnes Callamard made an unannounced visit to the Philippines where she gave a speech at a policy forum in Quezon City on Friday.
Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, told reporters Monday that he could not yet accept an invitation from his American counterpart Donald Trump to the White House because he is unsure of whether he has the time to make it.
Last month, North Korea’s foreign minister drafted a letter to the Association of ten Southeast Asian Nations – known collectively as ASEAN – warning them of a “nuclear holocaust” if it refuses to join forces with the Hermit Kingdom in opposition to the United States.
Contents: Philippines President Duterte seeks to appease China at ASEAN meeting; The phrase ‘Code of Conduct’ is the new code word for appeasement
The New York Times’ editorial board published a commentary focused on a Philippine lawyer’s request to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to charge the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, with mass murder and crimes against humanity for his crackdown on drug traffickers.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an extended military operation against the Islamic State affiliate Abu Sayyaf and assured civilians that any violent action they take to subdue local terrorists will be forgiven in a court of law, following the arrest of a policewoman with ties to the group and the beheading of a soldier.
On Saturday, two high-ranking Philippine officials visited the island of Pag-asa in the South China Sea, drawing a protest from China, which claims ownership of the entire region.
Speaking at a news conference in Qatar, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte compared himself to U.S. President Donald Trump as a leader criticized for bold speech, but he praised Trump as “a realist and a pragmatic thinker.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte told leaders in Qatar and Bahrain during a regional visit this weekend that he would deploy Philippine troops to the region if necessary, promising that his soldiers are “very disciplined.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte shocked international observers last week with a call to occupy the uninhabited islands of the South China Sea before China colonized them, an apparent about-face from his months-long campaign to improve bilateral relations with China.
Contents: President Trump orders missile strikes on Bashar al-Assad’s Syria; Philippines president Duterte orders military to occupy South China Sea islands; Philippines sends warship to Benham Rise to protect from China
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman denied the existence of Chinese-made artificial islands in the South China Sea on Thursday, a bizarre development given the open construction of such islands and promotion of their newly-installed assets in Chinese media.
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton paid a visit to Breitbart News Daily with SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Thursday to offer his thoughts on some top news items of the day.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte once again criticized the United States for not acting with sufficient boldness to keep China from usurping the Philippine waters of the South China Sea, questioning why Washington did not send an “armada” to the Spratly Islands.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said “in jest” during a speech Thursday that he believed China was seeking to turn his country into “a province” of theirs, after condemning the United States for not doing enough to stop China from building artificial islands on Philippine territory in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has threatened to protest the launch of a building project on the Scarborough Shoal, a land formation within the Philippines’ sovereign territory that also falls within China’s “nine-dash line,” a territorial claim struck down by an international tribunal.
In a speech that lasted over an hour to the Filipino community in Myanmar, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to “give all” to support President Donald Trump and berated the European Union for opposing his use of extrajudicial killing, asking, “why do you have to f*ck with us?”
Contents: Taiwan says it must defend against increasingly threatening China; China responds harshly to Taiwan’s defense report; Taiwan’s government responds to China’s threats; China begins construction on Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal
An opponent of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who was reportedly complicit in two separate coup attempts against a previous president, has filed a motion to impeach Duterte, accusing him of violating the constitution through the rampant use of extrajudicial killing and corruption.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte walked back concerns about China’s presence in an undisputed Philippine South China Sea territory on Monday, calling reports of tension “exaggerated” while demanding the navy “tell them straight that this is ours” by constructing new “structures” meant to ward off Chinese territorial challenges.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its anger that the regional German daily newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a list of “The Seven Craziest Leaders in the World.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s office has announced the official commutation of sentences for 27 prisoners deemed too ill or elderly to justify keeping in prison, the first of what the president’s office hopes will be more than 100 such pardons.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced the launch of Operation “Double Barrel Reloaded,” the next phase in a highly-controversial drug war that its critics say has left thousands dead without due process.
Contents: Vietnam protests China’s fishing ban in the South China Sea; China’s fishing ban related to food security in times of war; North Korea fires four ballistic missiles into sea near Japan
