Manila  - At least five people were killed in an explosion Thursday that rocked a firecracker factory just outside the Philippine capital, local officials said.

The blast occurred shortly before noon inside the Starmaker Fireworks factory in the village of Conchu in Trece Martires City in Cavite province, 25 kilometres south of Manila, according to Mayor Melencio de Sagun.

De Sagun said only two bodies of those killed remained intact while the other three bodies were found torn to pieces.

Manila  - The Philippines' economic growth slowed down to 4.6 per cent in 2008 as the country began to feel the impact of the global economic crisis, the government said Thursday.

The 2008 gross domestic growth (GDP) was down from 7.2 per cent posted in 2007, a three-decade high, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board
(NSCB).

The country's gross national product (GNP), which includes remittances from Filipinos abroad, grew 6.1 per cent in 2008, down from 8 per cent the previous year.

Zamboanga City, Philippines - Three abducted staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were visited on Wednesday by a local official on the southern Philippine island where they were being held by Muslim militants.

Vice Governor Lady Anne Sahidula of Sulu province, which covers Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, said she met with Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba and their kidnappers.

Cotabato City, Philippines - Muslim rebels attacked two villages in a southern Philippine province, wounding two civilians, a regional military spokesman said Wednesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels first attacked Lower Dado village in Alamada town in North Cotabato province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, wounding a 19-year-old woman.

Ando said the rebels were driven back by army troopers stationed in the village.

Manila - The Philippines will dispatch 320 soldiers to be part of the United Nations' peacekeeping missions in the strife-torn countries of Haiti and Liberia next month, the country's military chief said Wednesday.

Armed forces chief of staff General Alexander Yano said the contingent was part of the Philippines' "continuing commitment to comply with peacekeeping activities in countries other than our own."