MANILA (AFP) -- The Philippine government has formally invited a United Nations rights rapporteur to investigate the thousands of killings during President Rodrigo Duterte's war on crime, a presidential spokesman said Wednesday."The (presidential) palace has sent the invitation to UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard and is awaiting her response," spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.Since July Duterte has overseen a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs that has left more than 3,300 people dead

Samsung's corporate car-crash over its exploding Note 7 smartphones has shone a spotlight on South Korea's "chaebol" business culture -- the family-run empires whose rigid corporate structure and opaque governance style aren't always best suited to a crisis.Giant conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai were widely credited with driving the stellar growth that transformed South Korea from a war-ravaged backwater to Asia's fourth-largest economy in a matter of decades.Their business style was a top

The head of the country's main opposition party was indicted Wednesday on charges of illegal electioneering as the statute of limitations for crimes committed during April's general elections is slated to expire later this week.The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office said Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the Minjoo Party of Korea is suspected of spreading false information to get elected ahead of the polls for the 20th National Assembly.The 57-year-old lawmaker held a press conference in March and said

DAVAO, Philippines (AFP) -- Philippine authorities on Saturday blamed a notorious group of Islamic militants for the bombing of a night market in President Rodrigo Duterte's home town that killed at least 14 people.An improvised explosive device tore through the bustling market in the heart of Davao city and close to one of its top hotels just before 11:00pm (1500 GMT) on Friday.Authorities said the Abu Sayyaf, a small band of militants that has declared allegiance to the Islamic State group, mo

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a new era in ties hampered by a territorial dispute dating back to WWII."Let's put an end to this abnormal situation, which has lasted 70 years and together start to build a new epoch in Russia-Japan ties that will last the next 70 years," Abe told Putin during a speech translated into Russian after the pair met for talks in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok. Tokyo-M

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- NASA published Friday the first-ever images of Jupiter's north pole and its southern aurora, taken during the Juno spacecraft's first orbital flyby of the gaseous giant.Juno came within 2,500 miles (4,200 kilometers) of Jupiter on August 27 during a six-hour transit from the north pole to the south."It looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before," said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio."The largest planet

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday banned several key chemicals in antibacterial hand soap, warning of health risks and saying they were not more effective than ordinary soap.The FDA move took aim at 19 ingredients including the two most common, triclosan and triclocarban, which are widely included in liquid and bar antibacterial soaps despite fears they damage the immune system."Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread o

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- SpaceX is scouring computer and video data for clues to the devastating launch pad explosion that destroyed a rocket and satellite. Thursday's accident occurred during a prelaunch test, eight minutes before the engines on SpaceX's Falcon rocket were supposed to briefly fire. The rocket was being fueled when a huge fireball erupted. On Friday, SpaceX said it has begun reviewing 3,000 channels of computer and video data, covering a time period of just 35 to 55 millisec

BEIJING (AP) -- China announced on Saturday that it has ratified the emissions-cutting agreement reached last year in Paris, giving a big boost to efforts to bring the accord into effect by the end of this year.  The United States was also expected to announce that it was formally joining the Paris Agreement in advance of the Group of 20 summit that starts Sunday in in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. The White House announced President Barack Obama would speak about climate change shortly

HONOLULU (AP) -- Opening his final trip to Asia, President Barack Obama is expected to join Chinese leader Xi Jinping in announcing their countries are formally taking part in a historic global climate deal. Yet thornier issues like maritime disputes and cybersecurity shadow Obama's visit. The president departed Friday for Hangzhou, China, where he will meet on Saturday with Xi ahead of a summit of the Group of 20, a collection of industrial and emerging-market nations. Environmental groups and