Asia in 3 minutes: From Duterte’s middle finger to Rio Ferdinand pricking national culinary sensitivities, all the week’s big stories

Duterte gives EU the finger in defence of his bloody anti-drugs crackdown

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gave a profane tirade against the European Union in his latest response to critics of his anti-drug crackdown. The European Parliament last week said it was concerned about the “extraordinarily high numbers killed during police operations” and insisted Duterte must “put an end to the current wave of extrajudicial executions and killings”. Singling out France and Britain, Duterte said the parliament’s members were “hypocrites” whose colonial-era ancestors killed “thousands” of Arabs and others. “They’re taking the high ground to assuage their feelings of guilt. But who did I kill? Assuming it to be true, 1,700, who are they? Criminals,” he said. “Now the EU has the gall to condemn me. F**k you,” he said, raising his middle finger.

What next? The EU called for an investigation into the alleged excessive use of force. Instead, pro-Duterte boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao called for the president’s harshest domestic critics to step down from leading a parliamentary inquiry into the anti-drug sweep.

Japan’s defence minister reveals husband’s shares in arms firms

Eyebrows have been raised in Japan over the scale of personal assets reported by Tomomi Inada, the hawkish new defence minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet, as well as the shares her husband holds in defence companies. The 57-year-old declared 181.78 million yen (HK$13.84 million) in assets, the largest of the 120 members of the cabinet. Included are stocks in three major defence contractors under her husband’s name. Of the Inadas’ 260,000 shares in 41 companies, 8,000 are in IHI Corp, 6,000 in Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and 3,000 in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.