Cotabato City, Philippines - One soldier was killed in a clash with Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, where the guerrillas are reportedly gathering following a setback in peace talks with the government, officials said Tuesday.

The firefight erupted Tuesday when about 50 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels stormed a sugarcane plantation in Aleosan town, North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, said army Major Randolph Cabangbang, a regional military spokesman.

Cabangbang said government troops responded to the attack, triggering a firefight that killed one soldier.

He said the rebels raided and burned the 10-hectare plantation.

General Santos City, Philippines - A 38-year-old Filipino broadcast journalist was in critical condition after being shot by unidentified gunmen in the southern Philippines, police said Tuesday.

Dennis Cuesta was on his way to a mall with a colleague when two suspects aboard a motorcycle opened fire at him in General Santos City, 1,065 kilometres south of Manila, on Monday.

Senior Superintendent Robert Po, city police director, said Cuesta suffered three gunshot wounds, including one to the head. Cuesta's companion was unhurt.

Doctors were able to remove the bullet from the head wound, but Cuesta remained in critical condition, according to surgeon Orlando Mirabueno.

Singapore - Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India emerged as the most optimistic in Asia, a survey of Asia- Pacific business confidence said Wednesday.

HSBC's commercial banking unit in Singapore commissioned the biannual survey, regarded as an indicator of economic health.

Fifty-nine per cent of the SME's queried in India expect rapid growth, up from 58 per cent last year, according to findings published in The Straits Times.

South Korea, with only 6 per cent of SME's forecasting positive growth, was the least optimistic.

Singapore - North Korea signed on Thursday a non-aggression pact with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as Asia's main security forum pressed for full denuclearization of the hermetic state.

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun inked the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation following the annual meetings of the 27-country ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

While delegates watched, Pak signed the document and turned it over to Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, the outgoing ASEAN chairman.

Singapore - Asia's top security forum said Thursday a disaster-hit country should facilitate assistance from other nations and international organizations for "prompt and effective disaster management and relief" where needed.

The foreign ministers from the 27-member Association of South-East Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) also agreed that external assistance should be provided with the consent of the affected country.

"Disaster relief efforts should be under its overall control and supervision," said the recommendations included in a "chairman's statement."

Singapore - Stampedes of reporters and photographers covering diplomatic meetings at Singapore's Shangri-La Hotel have triggered complaints from guests and delegations, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) said Wednesday.

"Some delegations have been swarmed by the media while entering or exiting the lobby, resulting in them being pushed and jostled," ASEAN's media subcommittee said in an advisory.

"A senior member of a visiting delegation was accidentally hit with a video camera by a photojournalist," it said. "A child was almost trampled on by a group of media personnel chasing some delegates into a lift."