Manila mayor to apologize over HK deaths

But Philippine President Aquino refuses to make a formal apology

The mayor of the Philippine capital will formally apologize over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 hostage crisis, an aide said on Wednesday, despite the president insisting no apology should be given.

Joseph Estrada, a graft-tainted ex-president who was elected mayor of Manila in May, will go to Hong Kong this week to present the apology in the form of a resolution passed by the city council, a city official said.