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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday over his "son of a bitch" remark while referring to President Barack Obama, in a rare display of contrition by a politician whose wide arc of profanities has unabashedly targeted world figures including the pope and the U.N. chief. In a statement read out by his spokesman, Duterte said that while his "strong comments" in response to questions by a reporter "elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the U.S. president."
Barack Obama cancelled what would have been his first meeting with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte had publicly described Obama in vulgar terms on Monday.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the National Convention Center for scheduled bilateral meetings with ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits and other related summits Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016 in Vientiane, Laos.
US President Barack Obama is greeted with an honor guard and red carpet as he arrives aboard Air Force One, ahead of the ASEAN Summit, at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos September 5, 2016. Photo: Reuters Duterte, a plain-spoken populist known for his colourful remarks and his campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died, used the term in front of reporters on Monday, a day ahead of the planned meeting in Laos, where Southeast Asian leaders are meeting for annual summits.
5, 2016. . Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Sept.
Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Laos in office, touching down in Vientiane Monday for a summit of East and South East Asian leaders. Obama arrived in the capital, where the tropical rain did not prevent a large number of airport workers coming out to greet him and cheering -- before being hushed by an official.
The light was fading over Vientiane on a cool December evening when a Jeep was stopped at a traffic light. CCTV video later showed the occupant of the car being pulled out and taken away in a pickup truck, never to be seen again.
VIENTIANE, Aug 28 The secretive communist government of Laos, a country with a population of less than 7 million, rarely causes a ripple on the diplomatic circuit. And yet its sleepy capital will spring to life next week when global leaders arrive for an Asian summit.
Southeast Asian nations overcame days of deadlock on Monday when the Philippines dropped a request for their joint statement to mention a landmark legal ruling on the South China Sea, officials said, after objections from Cambodia. Beijing publicly thanked Cambodia for supporting its stance on maritime disputes, a position which threw the regional block's weekend meeting in the Laos capital of Vientiane into disarray.