Manila- Four more miners were rescued Wednesday after more than a week of being trapped in a flooded mineshaft in the northern Philippines, bringing to 10 the total number of survivors in the accident, a regional police chief said.

Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said the four miners were rescued Wednesday afternoon from the mine in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres south of Manila.

Martin said rescuers were rushing to recover three more miners still trapped inside the shaft as a new storm was threatening to cross the area later in the week.

Manila  - Thirty soldiers and eight pro-government militiamen were killed in nearly two months of clashes with Muslim secessionist rebels in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said 146 more soldiers and 10 pro-government militiamen were wounded in the fighting with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas that started on August 10.

Torres said the military is expecting an escalation of clashes with the MILF rebels as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ended on Tuesday.

Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday it extended a 250-million-dollar loan to help strengthen the Philippine government's fiscal management and reform programmes.

The Manila-based ADB said the loan will help the Philippine government in dealing with the adverse impact of the recent developments in the global economy.

It will also boost the government's efforts to implement measures to strengthen the investment climate with focus on reducing red tape, and support for infrastructure policy and rural development.

Manila - Divers from two salvage firms began to retrieve toxic chemicals from a sunken passenger ferry in the Philippines Tuesday, a senior official said.

Transportation Undersecretary Elena Bautista said about 400 packs of hazardous pesticide endosulfan was retrieved from Princess of the Stars, which sank off central island of Sibuyan, 300 kilometres south of Manila.

The passenger ferry was carrying more than 800 people and at least 10 tons of endosulfan when it capsized in June after it was battered by strong winds and huge waves at the height of a typhoon.

Aside from endosulfan, salvage divers hope to retrieve four other toxic chemicals, although in smaller volumes, stuck in the cargo bay of the ferry.

Manila - Seven soldiers including one officer were killed in clashes with Muslim secessionist rebels in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said three soldiers were killed Monday morning in combat with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

He said one officer was among the casualties.

Four more soldiers were killed when government troops clashed with another group of MILF rebels in nearby Datu Saudi Ampatuan town Monday afternoon.

Manila - Four more miners were rescued overnight after being trapped for one week in a flooded mineshaft in the northern Philippines, bringing the total number rescued alive to six, a regional police chief said Tuesday.

Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said one miner was rescued before midnight Monday while three more were found early Tuesday as rescuers work round-the-clock to take advantage of the good weather.