Philippines quits International Criminal Court
MANILA— Denouncing what he called efforts to paint him as a “heartless violator of human rights,” President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that the Philippines was withdrawing from the treaty that established the International Criminal Court.
The Hague-based court said last month that it was opening a preliminary inquiry into allegations that Philippine officials committed mass murder and crimes against humanity in the course of Mr. Duterte’s crackdown on narcotics. Thousands of people have died at the hands of police officers or unknown gunmen since Mr. Duterte took office in 2016 promising to kill drug dealers and addicts.
Mr. Duterte’s angry words were a sharp departure from February, when he said he welcomed the court’s inquiry as a chance to prove his innocence. “If they want to indict me and convict me, fine,” he said at the time. “I will gladly do it for my country.”
There was no immediate reaction from the court in The Hague.
Myanmar denies cleansing
BANGKOK— Senior Myanmar officials denied Wednesday that the country’s military had committed any crimes against Rohingya Muslims, one day after a United Nations expert suggested that the government was implicated in “the crime of genocide” against the persecuted Muslim minority.
“There is no ethnic cleansing or genocide in our country,” said Aung Tun Thet, chief coordinator of the Myanmar government body dedicated to the Rohingya crisis. “Accusations are very easy to make, but we are not involved in anything at all.”
Some 700,000 Rohingya, a mostly stateless ethnic group from Rakhine state in western Myanmar, have fled a violent military campaign that began last August after Rohingya insurgents attacked government security posts. The military’s scorched-earth tactics resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings and rapes of Rohingya, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.
Broadcom drops bid
NEWYORK — Broadcom is officially withdrawing its $117 billion bid to buy U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, two days after President Donald Trump blocked the Singapore company’s ambitions over national security fears.
Wednesday’s move is a formality since the presidential order issued Monday had ensured the deal would be killed in any U.S. regulatory review.
Broadcom Ltd. said Wednesday that it was disappointed with Mr. Trump’s decision. The company withdrew its proposed candidates for Qualcomm’s board, but still plans to move its headquarters to the United States. Broadcom had its headquarters in Irvine, Calif., until a Singapore-based company bought it in 2015. Qualcomm had rejected Broadcom’s unsolicited offer in February before the government stepped in.
Well before Qualcomm confronted a hostile takeover bid from Broadcom, the San Diego-based chipmaker laid the groundwork for support in Washington by outspending its rival by nearly 100 to 1.
Qualcomm spent $8.3 million in 2017, while Broadcom spent $85,000, according to federal lobbying disclosures. Qualcomm disclosed spending on issues including immigration, international trade, taxes and antitrust, among others, showing how it amassed clout in Washington. It’s unclear how much of Qualcomm’s money paid for lobbying against Broadcom’s bid.