Philippine lawmakers reject impeachment complaint against President Duterte

Philippine lawmakers on Monday rejected an impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte that accused him of a crime against humanity over the deaths of thousands of people killed in his war on drugs.

The complaint alleged Duterte had adopted a state policy of extrajudicial killings that led to more than 8,000 deaths in his first eight months as president, and was involved in mass murder as well as widespread corruption in his previous stint as a mayor of a southern city.

The congressional justice committee quickly dismissed the complaint in its first day of hearings on the issue, overwhelmingly voting that it was "insufficient in substance".

"The complaint filed was frivolous. How can you proceed if the complaint has no basis," committee chairman Reynaldo Umali, who is a member of Duterte's ruling party, told reporters afterwards.

The committee vote effectively ends the impeachment case, which even Duterte's opponents conceded had little chance of prospering with the president enjoying a commanding majority in the lower house of congress.

A plenary of the lower house still needs to endorse the committee's decision, although political observers and lawmakers said there was zero chance of Monday's vote being overturned.

"We have nowhere to go (but) we will find a way to get justice," opposition lawmaker Gary Alejano, who filed the impeachment case, told reporters.
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India to play Champions Trophy, confirms BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday ended the speculations surrounding India's participation in the upcoming Champions Trophy, and confirmed that the Men in Blue would participate in the 50-over pinnacle event, beginning January 1st in England and Wales.

The decision comes unanimously after the BCCI's Special General Meeting held in the national capital today (May 7).

The board unanimously also authorised acting BCCI Secretary Amitabh Choudhary to continue negotiations with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the best interest of the country's cricket board while keeping its legal options open.

The All-India Senior Selection Meeting will now be held on Monday, May 8, in New Delhi to pick the team for the Champions Trophy.

Earlier, a day ahead of the SGM, acting BCCI president C. K. Khanna had said that the team would not withdraw from the tournament.

"The meeting may be called on Monday. The BCCI secretary is going to take the call after the SGM. My view is that India must take part in the Champions Trophy," Khanna told ANI.

In the wake of the ICC proposing a new financial model which reduces the BCCI's revenues from $570 million to $293 million, the latter had deliberately missed the April 25 deadline for submission of the squad and that there were speculations that they might pull out of the tournament.

On Friday, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), in a strongly worded statement, ordered the BCCI to refrain from taking any decision that might harm the interests of Indian cricket.
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