Manila, July 25 : Melbourne-bound Qantas Boeing 747 with a large gash i

Sydney - A Qantas Boeing 747 made an emergency landing in the Philippines capital Manila on Friday after a tear in the plane's undercarriage.

The plane, which was on its way from Hong Kong to Melbourne, diverted to Manila.

There are no reports of injuries.

Speaking from Manila airport, June Kane from Melbourne said she heard a loud bang from underneath the plane and saw debris fly through the cabin.

Manila - Forty per cent of Filipinos do not expect Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to tell the truth in a key speech in Congress next week, a nationwide survey showed on Friday.

Pulse Asia Inc, which conducted the poll, said there was an 11-point increase in the proportion of people anticipating Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday to be untruthful.

Manila - The Philippine military plans to deploy 320 troops for UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Haiti, the Armed Forces chief of staff said Thursday.

General Alexander Yano said 165 Filipino soldiers would be dispatched to Liberia while 155 would be assigned to Haiti for six-month missions.

The Liberia contingent is to leave August 1 while the soldiers going to Haiti are to depart about two weeks later, Yano said.

Manila - A village official was killed and three police wounded Thursday in a landmine explosion as they responded to an attack by communist rebels on a banana plantation in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said.

A group of guerrillas barged into the plantation owned by Dole Philippines in Luna Norte village in Makilala town, North Cotabato province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, and burned heavy equipment, Major Armand Rico said.

Manila - Four "Robin Hoods" were arrested in a Philippine city where they were giving away money they allegedly robbed from a drugstore, police said Wednesday.

The four suspects were arrested in separate operations on Tuesday and Wednesday in Manila's suburban city of Mandaluyong.

City police commander Senior Superintendent Carlos de Sagun said police got suspicious when the four men started handing out 500-pesos-bills (11.36 dollars) to neighbours.

"They were reported to have been giving away money," he said. "There is nothing wrong with that, what is wrong was the money they were giving away was not theirs."