Manila / AFP President Rodrigo Duterte has said his threat to pull the Philippines out of the United Nations for criticising his deadly crime war was just a “joke”, while attempting a light-hearted wordplay on genocide. Duterte on Sunday said he may withdraw the Philippines from the world body after a UN human rights expert said last week his encouragement …

  New York / AFP Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Hillary Clinton as her campaign battled to silence suggestions that donors to her family’s charity paid for access when she was America’s top diplomat. The Democratic nominee, looking to make history as America’s first female commander-in-chief, is polling well ahead of her Republican rival but has hit choppy waters …

  Karkamis / AFP Turkish tanks and hundreds of opposition fighters thrust deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday in a lightning operation that within hours ousted IS extremists from a key Syrian border town. The air and ground offensive—the most ambitious launched by Ankara in the Syria conflict—made rapid progress towards Jarabulus with rebel fighters already proclaiming victory by the late …