Manila / AFP Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday he planned to meet a fugitive Muslim rebel wanted over a deadly siege, promising to ignore an arrest order in an effort to forge peace. The announcement was the latest dramatic attempt by the firebrand leader to end decades-long insurgencies with Muslim and communist rebels that have claimed more …

  Caracas / AFP Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed to jail opposition leaders if they incite violence during upcoming protests seeking a referendum on removing him from power. Maduro, blamed by opponents for a devastating economic crisis, accused opposition leaders of plotting a “terrorist coup” against him before Thursday’s nationwide protests. “We must defeat the coup d’etat without impunity,” he told …

  Washington / AFP The United States rebuked Israel on Wednesday over what it said was its accelerated building of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in the face of mounting international concern. “We are deeply concerned by the government of Israel’s announcement today to advance plans for over 500 new settlement units in the West Bank,” a senior …