Duterte tempers his first UN speech

President Rodrigo Duterte defended his drug crackdowns in the country and dismissed criticism from human rights advocates as the sometimes aggressive critic of the United Nations addressed its annual gathering of world leaders for the first time.

But with Covid-19 taking a human and economic toll on the Philippines, the often brash Duterte also struck a somewhat conciliatory tone about the organisation he has often criticised and at times threatened to leave.