Philippines’ Duterte cancels US rifle order

Firebrand Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he would cancel an order for about 27,000 American-made assault rifles, in his latest display of defiance against the United States.
The rifles were due to be provided to the Philippine police but Duterte said he would look for cheaper alternatives.
“The (rifles) that were ordered already, I am ordering the police to cancel it. We’ll just have to look for another source that is cheaper and maybe as durable and as good,” Duterte said.
The status of the order had become cloudy over the past week after the Philippine media reported the US government would not deliver the weapons because of concerns about Duterte’s war on drugs and other crime, which has claimed more than 4,100 lives in four months.
Duterte’s spokesman said last week those reports were not accurate, and the US arms would be delivered as promised. But the president also made comments last week which appeared to indicate he believed the Americans had canceled the planned delivery.
Since taking office on June 30 Duterte has launched repeated tirades against the United States for criticizing his drug war and said he wants to loosen the Philippines’ dependence on its former colonial ruler.

Militants abduct German, kill woman
A German kidnapped by Somali pirates eight years ago may now be held captive by militants in the southern Philippines, the country’s military said Monday after finding the man’s yacht and a woman’s body inside.
Regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said Abu Sayyaf spokesman Muamar Askali claimed the militants kidnapped Jurgen Gustav Kantner and killed his female companion while the couple were cruising off neighboring Malaysia’s Sabah state.
It’s not clear why the woman was purportedly killed, but it’s possible she may have fought back or tried to escape, Tan and another military official said.
Villagers reported finding a dead woman lying beside a shotgun on board a light blue yacht with the German flag and marked “Rockall” off Laparan Island in Sulu province, Tan said.

Source: Arab News