Cotabatao City, Philippines - Philippine troops clashed with Muslim separatist rebels Friday in a southern province where additional security forces were dispatched to secure areas occupied by the guerrillas, officials said.

The firefight erupted when a group of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked an army outpost in Midsayap town in North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, said Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando, an army spokesman.

Ando said there were no immediate reports of casualties in the fighting, which occurred as additional soldiers and police officers were deployed in the province to ensure that MILF rebels leave communities they had illegally occupied.

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 - 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.

Cotabato City, Philippines - One soldier was killed in a clash with Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, where the guerrillas are reportedly gathering following a setback in peace talks with the government, officials said Tuesday.

The firefight erupted Tuesday when about 50 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels stormed a sugarcane plantation in Aleosan town, North Cotabato province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, said army Major Randolph Cabangbang, a regional military spokesman.

Cabangbang said government troops responded to the attack, triggering a firefight that killed one soldier.

He said the rebels raided and burned the 10-hectare plantation.

General Santos City, Philippines - A 38-year-old Filipino broadcast journalist was in critical condition after being shot by unidentified gunmen in the southern Philippines, police said Tuesday.

Dennis Cuesta was on his way to a mall with a colleague when two suspects aboard a motorcycle opened fire at him in General Santos City, 1,065 kilometres south of Manila, on Monday.

Senior Superintendent Robert Po, city police director, said Cuesta suffered three gunshot wounds, including one to the head. Cuesta's companion was unhurt.

Doctors were able to remove the bullet from the head wound, but Cuesta remained in critical condition, according to surgeon Orlando Mirabueno.

Kuala Lumpur - The Philippine government remains confident of reaching a peace agreement with Muslim separatist rebels despite a court ruling which temporarily blocked the inking of the long-awaited pact, the Philippines' Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said Tuesday.

Romulo was confident that the "temporary setback" would be resolved quickly, adding that both Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had the political will to continue with the signing of the agreement.