Manila - Fighting between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, which has displaced nearly 160,000 people, were expected to end soon, a senior aide of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Wednesday.

Presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels were moving out of the villages they occupied in North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, due to intensified military airstrikes and ground assaults.

Manila  - The Philippines and East Timor signed on Tuesday three agreements to boost cooperation on marine and fisheries, education and foreign service training.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and visiting East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta witnessed the signing of the pacts during their bilateral meeting.

The agreement on marine and fisheries would increase consultations and cooperation in the sustainable development and responsible management of fisheries resources.

Manila - The death toll in fighting between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines has risen to at least 28 as the military vowed Tuesday to intensify its offensives against the guerrillas.

Troops have so far flushed out hundreds of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels from two of 15 villages they have illegally occupied in the province of North Cotabato, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

Seven MILF rebels, one soldier and one civilian were killed in the fighting in North Cotabato, the military said.

Manila  - Switzerland's President Pascal Couchepin on Monday expressed hope that the Philippine Congress would soon pass a law compensating nearly 10,000 victims of human rights abuses under the dictatorship of late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Couchepin, who was in Manila for a two-day state visit, conveyed to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo "the firm expectation of the Swiss government that the Philippine Congress may soon enact the Human Rights Compensation bill," a government statement said.

The statement noted that Arroyo "assured Couchepin that her administration attaches great importance to the speedy passage of the law so that human rights victims may be justly compensated."

Phnom Penh  - Cambodian border officials Monday accused Thailand of disregarding agreements to move back from three border temples in northern Oddar Meanchey province, but said they would not act until after bilateral ministerial talks in a week.

After negotiations Tuesday, Thai troops agreed to pull back from the Ta Moan group of temples, but moved back into the area Saturday, said a senior border official who asked not to be named.

Manila  - Communist rebels Monday ransacked a police station in an eastern Philippine town and seized several firearms, an army brigade commander said.

No casualties were reported in the raid on the police station, which was located inside the municipal hall compound of the town Panukulan in Quezon province, 105 kilometres east of Manila.

Colonel Tristan Kison said about 30 to 40 heavily armed rebels, wearing army uniforms, swooped down on the police station and disarmed the officers who were not able to fight back.