Duterte meets Obama after calling him a 'son of a bitch'

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has met informally with President Barack Obama in a holding room before attending a gala dinner at a regional summit, officials said.

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has met informally with US President Barack Obama in a holding room before attending a gala dinner at a regional summit, officials said.

The brief meeting today took a little sting out of the soured relations caused by Mr Duterte's

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That caused Mr Obama to cancel a formal meeting scheduled for yesterday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Pefecto Yasay told reporters: "I am confirming that they met."

Mr Yasay said: "I am happy. This shows that the relationship between the two allies is strong."

Mr Obama and Mr Duterte are in the Laotian capital along with other regional leaders for the summit.