Zamboanga City, Philippines  - Five soldiers and 12 Muslim rebels were killed in separate clashes in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokeswoman said Monday.

Fighting broke out Sunday between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters, backed by al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels in Albarka town, Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila  - The Philippines on Sunday hailed the stunning victory of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao over Oscar De La Hoya, who gave up after the eighth round for their "Dream Match."

Filipinos watching the fight all over the country erupted in celebration De La Hoya's corner threw in the towel before the start of the ninth round.

De La Hoya's left eye was closed shut after the eighth round, prompting the ring doctor, referee and his cornermen to decide that he had enough.

"You're still my idol," Pacquiao told De La Hoya after the fight in Las Vegas.

"No, you're my idol," De La Hoya said.

Manila - Seventeen people, including a 7-year-old girl, were killed in a running gunbattle between police officers and suspected robbers in the Philippine capital, a police report said Saturday.

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Dec. 4 - A New Jersey woman has filed a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania bar, claiming that a faulty toilet seat caused her to fall into the commode.

Manila  - The Philippines' inflation rate eased to 9.9 per cent in November as price increases of food and fuel products slowed down, the government said Friday.

The National Statistics Office said the November inflation rate was lower than the 11.2-per-cent rate posted in October. The inflation rate in the same month a last year was 3.2 per cent.

"The continued deceleration in the annual rates of the heavily weighted food, beverages and tobacco index, together with those of fuel, light and water and services resulted to the downward trend," the agency said in a statement.

"The inflation rate for food alone continued a downward trend as it settled at 14.5 per cent in November from 15.6 per cent in October," it added.