Zamboanga City, Philippines  - A broadcast journalist was wounded in an attack by unidentified gunmen in a southern Philippine city, a police report said Friday.

Nilo Libares had just left the compound of Radio Agong dxCC in Cagayan de Oro City, 810 kilometres south of Manila, on Thursday afternoon when two gunmen fired at him.

Colleagues immediately rushed the victim to a nearby hospital.

Davao City, Philippines  - A daughter of a senior communist rebel leader was found dead in the southern Philippines, a day after she was abducted by unidentified gunmen, a police report said Friday.

The body of Rebelyn Pitao, 20, was fished out of a river in Carmen town in Davao Del Norte province, 975 kilometres south of Manila, late Thursday.

Rebelyn was the daughter of Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago of the New People's Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Manila  - A 54-year-old Frenchwoman was shot dead in the Philippines and three suspects, including a Frenchman, were arrested for alleged involvement in the murder, police said Thursday.

Genevieve Sonia Mas, who arrived in the country last December, was killed while riding a tricycle in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental province, 540 kilometers south of Manila, on Tuesday.

Manila  - Philippine share prices rose 2.03 per cent on Thursday buoyed by increases in Asian stock markets and on Wall Street.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index jumped 38.38 points to close at 1,924.30, from Wednesday's finish of 1,885.92.

A total of 1.31 billion shares valued at 2.76 billion pesos (56.90 million dollars) were traded.

Gainers outpaced losers 51 to 31, with 39 issues unchanged.

Cotabato City, Philippines  - Three people were injured when a bomb exploded in an amusement centre in a southern Philippine city, a regional military spokesman said Thursday.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce said the improvised explosive device went off late Wednesday inside the bathroom of the amusement centre in Cotabato City, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila - The Philippines' inflation rate inched up to 7.3 per cent in February due to higher food and fuel prices, the government said Thursday.

The February index was up from 7.1 per cent in January and 5.4 per cent in the same month in 2008, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The NSO said the higher inflation was "mainly due to the upward price adjustments in the heavily weighted food items, particularly rice, meat, corn and eggs."