Philippines

Philippine shares rise more than 2 per cent

Philippine shares rise more than 2 per centManila  - Philippine shares rose 2.3 per cent Friday after world leaders vowed to pump in more money into the International Monetary Fund to help troubled countries.

The Philippine Stock Exchange 30-share composite index gained 45.71 points to finish at 2,028.59, from Thursday's close of 1,982.88.

A total of 1.33 billion shares valued at 2.87 billion pesos (59.79 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers outpaced losers 82 to 20, with 30 issues unchanged.

Small plane with seven people goes missing in Philippines

Small plane with seven people goes missing in Philippines   Manila - A twin-engine plane with seven people on board went missing on Thursday in the northern Philippines, a senior aviation official said.

Ruben Ciron, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said the missing Islander aircraft came from Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province, 330 kilometres north of Manila.

Ciron said the plane was bound for the nearby town of Maconacon, just a 35-minute flight away, but it did not reach its destination.

Filipino immigrants keep jobs in New Zealand

Filipino immigrants keep jobs in New Zealand Wellington  - Six Filipino immigrants will keep their jobs at a New Zealand factory despite a row that broke out after 28 local workers were made redundant, news reports said Thursday.

The immigrants were recruited by MCK Metals Pacific Ltd of Bell Block in Taranaki province in October 2007 to do specialized aluminium welding and polishing after the company was unable to get skilled New Zealand workers to fill the vacancies.

Three soldiers killed in communist rebel ambush in Philippines

Three soldiers killed in communist rebel ambush in Philippines Manila  - Three government soldiers were killed in an ambush by communist rebels while they were on their way to a market in the eastern Philippines, an army spokesman said Thursday.

Two soldiers were also wounded while one was able to flee unharmed from the attack that occurred Wednesday, Major Chris Morales said.

Morales said the soldiers were aboard four motorcycles when ambushed by the guerrillas in Ragay town in Camarines Sur province, 210 kilometres south-east of Manila.

China arrests 11 in Philippine-linked gambling network

China arrests 11 in Philippine-linked gambling network Beijing  - Police in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou have arrested 11 suspects in an illegal gambling network linked via the internet to a casino in the Philippines, state media said on Thursday.

A local businessman, identified only by the surname Li, set up the network last March after meeting representatives of the unidentified casino during a gambling trip to Macao, the official China Daily quoted police as saying.

Singaporean terror suspect linked to Philippine hostage takers

PhilippinesManila - A Singaporean terrorist suspect has been working with Muslim militants holding captive three Red Cross workers on a southern Philippine island, officials said Thursday.

The Singaporean suspect has been with the Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels since the start of the hostage crisis on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, more than two months ago.

"We confirmed that a Singaporean terrorist is with the group," National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said. "We identified the Singaporean in one of the cellular phone conversations."

Pages