Manila - An official of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday urged South-East Asian countries to prepare programmes to mitigate the negative impact of the global financial crisis on food security.

Purushottan Mudbhary, chief of the Policy Assistance Branch of the FAO regional office, said food supply would not be a problem as production was expected to be "quite good" for the rest of the year and 2009.

But he warned that "the problem is the access."

Manila - More than half of Filipinos distrust Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo amid unresolved political and economic controversies, a survey showed on Wednesday.

According to an October poll by Pulse Asia Inc, 51 per cent of 1,200 respondents nationwide have "small or no trust" in Arroyo, who has been struggling with low ratings for the past three years.

Only 24 per cent have "big trust" on Arroyo, while the rest were undecided, Pulse Asia said.

The distrust rating was down from 57 per cent in October 2007 and 53 per cent in March 2008. The rating was the same in July 2008.

Zamboanga City, Philippines - Two people were killed in a clash between government troops and communist rebels in the southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday.

Major General Jogy Leo Fojas, an army division chief, said the firefight occurred on Monday in Laak town in Compostela Valley province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

He said the soldiers encountered about 50 communist guerrillas while they were searching for a junior army officer believed abducted by the rebels last week.

One communist rebel and one government militiaman were killed in the two-hour fighting, Fojas said.

Zamboanga City, Philippines - Two people were killed in a clash between government troops and communist rebels in the southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday.

Major General Jogy Leo Fojas, an army division chief, said the firefight occurred on Monday in Laak town in Compostela Valley province, 930 kilometres south of Manila.

He said the soldiers encountered about 50 communist guerrillas while they were searching for a junior army officer believed abducted by the rebels last week.

Manila  - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a leftist activist as he opened the door of his home in the southern Philippines, a human rights group said Tuesday.

The victim, Rolando Antolihao, was a coordinator for the left-wing Bayan Muna (People First) party in Davao del Norte province, some 990 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila  - Sixteen Muslim separatist rebels were killed in clashes with government troops in the southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Arevalo, an army commander, said the military did not suffer any casualties during the two clashes with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels on Monday.

But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the rebel group recorded 23 soldiers dead in the fighting in Wao town in Lanao del Sur province, 810 kilometres south of Manila.