Philippines

Man facing fraud case in Germany arrested in Philippines

PhilippinesManila- A German man wanted for internet fraud in his home country was arrested in the Philippines, a senior immigration official said Monday.

Peter Uwe Muller was arrested Friday in the northern city of Angeles, 75 kilometres south of Manila, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

Libanan said Muller is facing a string of fraud cases in Dresden, Germany, after being accused of cheating European investors through internet trading.

Two strong earthquakes jolt the Philippine capital

Manila - Two strong earthquakes jolted the Philippine capital and nearby provinces Saturday but no injuries or damages were reported, a government agency said.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the first earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 rocked Manila and the nearby provinces of Mindoro, Bataan and Pampanga before noon.

Five minutes after the first earthquake occurred, a stronger quake with a magnitude of 6.5 also jolted the same area, the agency said

Both quakes were tectonic in origin and with the epicentre located off Mamburao town in Mindoro Occidental province, 165 kilometre south-west of Manila.

Eight civilians injured in Muslim rebels' attack in Philippines

Manila -Eight civilians injured in Muslim rebels' attack in Philippines Eight civilians were injured when Muslim secessionist rebels attacked an army outpost in the southern Philippines, an army brigade commander said Saturday.

Colonel Marlou Salazar said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels fired rocket-propelled grenades at an army outpost in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province, 
960 kilometres south of Manila, late Friday but the grenades hit nearby houses of civilians.

Philippine activists remember violent Myanmar protests

Manila - Filipino activists held on Friday a silent protest in front of the Myanmar Embassy in the Philippine capital to remember the first anniversary of a bloody crackdown by the military junta against pro-democracy protesters in Yangon.

The protesters donned crimson sashes and lighted incense sticks to offer solidarity and support to the Myanmar people in their fight for democratic reforms.

An estimated 100 people, including a Japanese journalist, were killed when Myanmar soldiers opened fire at more than 100,000 protesters in the streets of Yangon on September 26-27 last year. More than 3,000 people have been arrested in the subsequent crackdown.

11 killed in clash between soldiers and communists in Philippines

Manila - At least 11 people were killed Friday in a clash between government troops and communist guerrillas in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokesman said.

Major Armand Rico said the three soldiers were killed and 14 more were wounded when they raided a guerrilla camp in Lingig town in Surigao del Sur province, 825 kilometres south of Manila.

Rico said eight communist guerrillas were killed in the fighting.

He said the soldiers were able to seize the guerrilla camp after three hours of fighting.

Rico said the three soldiers died after stepping on landmines planted by the fleeing rebels. More troops have been dispatched to the area to pursue the guerrillas.

Rescue operations drag on for trapped miners in Philippines

Manila - Rescue operations for miners trapped in a flooded mineshaft in a northern Philippine mining town entered their fourth day on Friday with still no success in finding survivors, and three dead bodies recovered, officials said.

Neoman dela Cruz, an official of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said the three bodies of the 16 trapped miners were recovered Thursday in the mineshaft in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres north of Manila.

The three bodies were found floating in floodwaters inside the shaft.

"We are having a hard time moving inside the mineshaft because of strong currents of floodwaters," he said. "We are still hoping to find some survivors."

Pages