Manila - More than 80,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in a southern Philippine province due to fighting between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels who occupied several villages, a disaster relief agency said Sunday.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council said it has launched relief efforts for 16,057 families or more than 80,000 individuals displaced by the hostilities in North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila - A close aide of senior al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf leaders has been arrested in a southern Philippine city, a navy spokesman said Thursday.

The suspect, Usman Asari Aldani, was arrested Monday in the public market of Isabela City in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, Marine Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said.

Manila - Hundreds of Muslim separatist rebels have occupied several towns in a southern Philippine province whose officials have opposed a controversial land deal between the guerrillas and the government, officials said Thursday.

More than 1,500 families have been forced to leave their homes as Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels took over the towns in North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said.

Manila - Philippine share prices soared 3.64 per cent on Wednesday as investors cheered sliding oil prices and Wall Street's overnight gains.

The 30-share composite index of the Philippine Stock Exchange added 94.83 points to close at 2,697.21, from Tuesday's finish of 2,602.38.

A total of 4.53 billion shares worth 3.66 billion pesos (83.56 million dollars) were traded.

Advancers led decliners 107 to 21, while 39 issues were unchanged.

Manila - The Philippines inflation rate in July surged to 12.2 per cent - the highest since December 1991 - amid continued increases in prices of basic commodities, the government said Tuesday.

The National Statistics Office said the July rate was up from 11.4 per cent in June. Inflation in July last year was 2.6 per cent.

"This was the highest rate since December 1991 (when the inflation rate was 13.2 per cent)," the agency said. "Higher annual inflation rates were registered in all commodity groups."

"The overall annual inflation rate for food alone further climbed to 18.6 per cent in July from 17.4 per cent in June," it added.

Manila - An agreement to expand a Muslim autonomous region in the southern Philippines will have to be approved through a plebiscite, a government official said Sunday.

The agreement is scheduled to be signed on Tuesday by the Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Amid opposition to the expansion of the existing six-province Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon stressed that the agreement is only preliminary.