Manila - Philippine shares dr

Zamboanga City, Philippines  - Gunmen on Thursday seized a fishing boat with 17 crew members in the sea off the southern Philippines, a navy official said.

Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag said the fishing boat and its crew

were seized by unidentified gunmen off Taganak Island in Tawi-Tawi province, 1,095 kilometres south of Manila.

Marayag said the fishing boat was owned and operated by Manila-based Irma Fishing Co.

"We cannot provide more details about the incident because the owner is not coordinating with us.

Manila  - Rescuers recovered overnight four dead bodies of miners trapped inside a flooded mineshaft in the northern Philippines, ending a frantic 10-day search and rescue operation, a regional police chief said Thursday.

Rescuers recovered two dead bodies before dawn on Thursday while two more bodies had been recovered late Wednesday from the shaft in Itogon town in Bengue province, 225 kilometres south of Manila, Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin said.

Martin said the recovery of the four bodies brought to six the total number of fatalities in the accident while 10 other miners were rescued alive.

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.