Philippines leader calls US ambassador ‘gay son of a whore’ prompting summons

The Philippines’ firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte has sparked a fresh diplomatic row with his colourful language, calling the US ambassador “gay” in comments that prompted Washington to summon Manila’s envoy to complain. In the latest of series of tirades, Duterte used a local Tagalog language homophobic slur to express his displeasure with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg in televised comments made Friday. “As you know, I’m fighting with (US Secretary of State John Kerry’s) ambassador. His gay ambassador, the son of a whore. He pissed me off,” Duterte said. Duterte, 71, surged to power with a landslide in May following an incendiary campaign in which he gleefully used foul language to disrespect authority figures, from his local political rivals to the pope. He first came into conflict with US envoy Goldberg on the campaign trail, after he said he wanted to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary who was sexually assaulted and...