Vice President Jejomar Binay belittled his opponents’ ability to go around the Philippines to campaign. The opposition standard-bearer said he already covered a lot of ground since declaring his presidential bid 5 years ago. Former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Senator Grace Poe only announced their candidacies in the past month. “They cannot do in 8 months what I have already done. I have traveled to three-fourths of the Philippines,” Binay said in an interview with Reuters on Monday, September 21. Binay’s remarks come after he placed third in a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, his lowest ranking so far. Until June, he was the front-runner in surveys. The Vice President questioned the methodology of the SWS poll but insisted that it showed that his core base of supporters is still intact.

Read more on Binay talking about his edge.

In a press conference Monday night, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte told his supporters he would not seek the highest post nor endorse a candidate. Duterte said he cannot meet the demands of the presidency given his age. He also said he doesn’t have the “billions” needed for a presidential campaign. He told organizers of the September 26 Million People March meant to convince him to reconsider: “Stop it, I’m not interested. I won’t be there, and I don’t want people to think I’m doble-kara (two-faced).” Duterte said he would not be endorsing a presidential candidate now that he is out of the race. He said of the presidency: “It is not my destiny. I do not have any ambition.”

Read more on Duterte press conference.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed two former Palawan officials implicated in the murder of broadcast journalist Gerry Ortega were arrested in Thailand. Former Palawan governor Joel Reyes and his brother former Coron mayor Mario, were detained on the Thai holiday island of Phuket. The Reyes brothers are facing murder charges over the 2011 death of Gerry Ortega, a prominent Palawan environment activist who had also used a radio show he hosted to frequently accuse the Reyes brothers of massive graft. The Reyes brothers went missing in early 2012 after an arrest warrant was issued for them. The two had a P2 million bounty for their capture. In a phone interview with Rappler, Ortega’s daughter, Michaella said, “It’s a welcome surprise,” Michaella said. She said her family keeps “a guarded sense of hope.”

Read more on arrest of Reyes brothers.

A Singapore court on Monday sentenced a Filipino nurse to 4 months in prison for posting inflammatory comments on Facebook against Singaporeans and lying to police investigators. Ello Ed Mundsel Bello, 29, a former employee of government-run Tan Tock Seng Hospital wrote: “Singaporeans are loosers (sic) in their own country, we take their jobs, their future, their women and soon we will evict all SG loosers (sic) out of their own country hahaha.” After an outcry from Singaporeans, Bello took down his posts and claimed his account had been hacked. He eventually admitted writing the posts. State Courts Judge Siva Shanmugam sentenced Bello to 3 months in jail for sedition in relation to his Facebook posts, and another month for lying to police. Singaporeans who have written or published racist comments about other ethnic groups as well as foreigners have also been prosecuted.

Read more on Filipino nurse in Singapore’s sentence.

Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson said Sunday no Muslim should be president of the United States. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Carson, a retired brain surgeon and an African-Amerian who often refers to his own deep Christian faith, was asked whether a president’s religion should matter. Carson said it should if it’s “inconsistent with the values and principles of America.” Carson then added that he would “not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.” The Council on Islamic-American Relations said Carson’s comments make him unfit to be president. A Carson campaign official later suggested Carson’s comments were being overstated, and that he just “doesn’t believe the American people are ready” for a Muslim president.

Read more on Carson’s statement on a Muslim president.

Indonesia’s Joko Widodo will visit Washington and the White House on October 26 for a crucial first visit since he became president last year. The trip will be an opportunity for Widodo, who came to power in October last year, to get to know President Barack Obama at a time of geopolitical tension in South East Asia. The visit comes as Obama – who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia – presses for Jakarta to play a bigger role in its region, where there is nervousness about Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. The White House says both Obama and Widodo will “discuss plans to expand existing areas of bilateral cooperation.”

Read more on Jokowi visit to the US.

Pope Francis met with Fidel and Raul Castro, the brothers who have ruled Cuba since its 1959 revolution, after celebrating an outdoor mass attended by hundreds of thousands. The Pope chatted with former leader Fidel at his home in Havana, then held a closed-door meeting with current president Raul at government headquarters. Pope Francis was instrumental in brokering the peace between the US and Cuba in 2014. The two countries were enemies during the Cold War.

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A new biography of David Cameron by Michael Ashcroft, a former ally turned political enemy, contains claims of youthful debauchery by the future British leader, according to extracts published by the Daily Mail on Monday, September 21. Ashcroft’s book “Call Me Dave” contain lurid details about a bizarre initiation ritual for an Oxford University club made by an unnamed contemporary of Cameron’s. The lawmaker claimed that the initiation ceremony involved a dead pig and that Cameron “inserted a private part of his anatomy into the animal’s mouth.” The hashtag #Piggate quickly topped Twitter trending in Britain, with users making many pig-related puns. Downing Street declined to comment on the claims, which were repeated in other British newspapers.

Read more on David Cameron’s #Piggate.

Apple’s Watch OS2 goes live on Monday, September 21 (early Tuesday morning Manila time). In a report from CNet, Watch OS2 was supposed to be released along with iOS 9 but had to be delayed after a bug was found while testing it. Some notable updates: new watch faces, a special Nightstand mode and a Time Travel feature to look at upcoming appointments and schedules.

Read more on the Watch OS2 release.

HBO hit show Game of Thrones won the Emmy for outstanding drama series on Sunday, September 20 (Monday, September 21 in Manila.), beating Mad Men, Better Call Saul, Downton Abbey, Homeland, House of Cards and Orange is The New Black for the evening’s biggest prize. Mad Men’s Jon Hamm won best actor in a drama series for his portrayal of seductive, mysterious 1960s ad man Don Draper. Viola Davis of How to Get Away with Murder made Emmy history when she won the award for best actress in a drama series, becoming the first black woman to take the honor.

Read the full list of Emmy 2015 winners.