Manila  - A boat with more than 100 passengers capsized in the northern Philippines, killing 22 people, the coast guard said Monday.

While 46 people survived, 34 were still missing from the sinking of the MB Maejan on Sunday off Ballesteros town in the province of Cagayan, 420 kilometres north of Manila.

Elena Bautista, chief of the Maritime Industry Authority, said the boat was already near the pier when it was suddenly battered by large waves.

Manila  - A pa

Manila - Three drug suspects were killed in a shootout with police officers in a southern Philippine town, a police report said Saturday.

Manila - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo left Saturday for a three-day official visit to Qatar in a bid to attract investments to boost the Philippine economy.

Arroyo was also expected to meet with executives of Middle East companies employing hundreds of thousands of Filipino workers, to seek assurances of their employment amid the global economic crisis.

She will also meet with the different Philippine ambassadors to the Middle East countries in order to assess the impact of the crisis on the Filipino migrant workers in the area.

Manila  - Philipine shares slipped 2.03 per cent on Friday tracking a fall on Wall Street over continued uncertainty over a rescue package for US carmakers.

Manila  - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cancelled a scheduled trip to the strife-torn southern Philippines Friday due to a series of bombings and clashes in the area.

Presidential spokesman Jesus Dureza said military commanders prevailed upon Arroyo not to push through with her visit to Shariff Kabunsuan province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, due to bomb attacks.