Zayn Malik flies home from One Direction tour with stress

LONDON  — One Direction is one man down on its world tour.

The boy band's publicist says a stressed Zayn Malik is flying home to Britain.

Publicist Simon Jones said Thursday that "Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the U.K. to recuperate."

He said the band will continue with upcoming performances in Manila, Philippines, and Jakarta, Indonesia, as part of the "On the Road Again" tour.

It was not clear whether Malik would rejoin the tour for three scheduled dates in South Africa starting March 28.

Malik's departure comes a day after he hit back on Twitter at rumors of trouble in his relationship with fiancee Perrie Edwards of the band Little Mix after he was photographed with another woman. He tweeted: "I'm 22 years old ... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards."

This week, authorities in the Philippines said they were imposing a $5,000 "weed bond" on Malik and fellow band member Louis Tomlinson, with the money to be forfeited if they are caught using or promoting illegal drugs.

Malik and Tomlinson appeared in a video, which circulated online last year, in which they appeared to smoke cannabis and joke about drug use.