By Jim Gomez, Associated Press MANILA, Philippines — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte rejected proposals Wednesday for him to declare a state of emergency on a violent southern island to more rapidly defeat Abu Sayyaf extremists, who killed 15 soldiers in his government’s largest single-day combat loss so far. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures with a fist bump during his visit to the Philippine Army’s Camp Mateo Capinpin at Tanay township, Rizal province east of Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. President Duterte’s threat to withdraw the Philippines from the United Nations, later cushioned by his foreign secretary, is the latest flamboyantly irreverent utterance from a politician who has disparaged the pope, human rights advocates, the United States and other countries who controvert his worldview. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) Duterte also announced that government troops and police would not enforce an arrest warrant for prominent Muslim rebel leader Nur Misuari, who leads one of two large Islamic insurgent [...]
