Manila - Philippine share prices rose 2.19 per cent on Wednesday as investors snapped up bargain stocks on positive news that crude oil prices were easing.

The 30-share composite index of the Philippine Stock Exchange gained 52.96 points to close at 2,462.94, from Tuesday's finish of 4,209.98.

A total of 1.36 billion shares worth 2.50 billion pesos (56.8 million dollars) were traded.

Advancers led decliners 69 to 29, while 42 issues were unchanged.

Manila - Philippine troops have recovered a "motorcycle bomb" in a southern province after suspected Muslim militants abandoned the bike due to a flat tire, a regional military spokesman said Wednesday.

Major Armand Rico said army soldiers set up checkpoints in two villages in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometres south of Manila, after receiving intelligence reports about an abandoned motorcycle packed with explosives on Tuesday.

"The motorcycle was on its way to Davao (City) when it experienced a flat tire along the village of Saniag," he said. "The suspected terrorists later abandoned the motorcycle bomb."

Manila - The Philippine military has dispatched additional troops to the country's troubled south in the wake of increasing attacks by communist rebels on businesses, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

Major Armand Rico said about 700 troops, additional armoured vehicles and tanks arrived in the southern city of Davao at the weekend to augment forces in areas where guerrillas have recently attacked businesses.

"These criminal acts have seriously threatened the livelihood of the people, as the communist terrorists attack the businesses and industries that provide jobs for our people," he said.

Manila - Communist rebels attacked a provincial jail in the southern Philippines in a bid to free a detained comrade, but the attempt was foiled by security forces, the country's military said Thur

Manila - Philippine government and Muslim rebel negotiators began a two-day meeting in Malaysia Wednesday in a bid to resolve disagreements that have stalled formal peace talks for months.

Manila - Four suspected kidnappers, including a former vice mayor and a policeman, have been arrested in the Philippines after they collected ransom for hostages they already killed, police officia