Manila - Four communist rebels were killed in separate clashes with government troops in the southern Philippines, a military report said Wednesday.

Three communist rebels were killed in a running gunbattle with soldiers in Columbio town in Sultan Kudarat province, 960 kilometres south of Manila.

Another communist guerrilla was also killed in a clash with government security forces in San Miguel town in Surigao del Sur province, 810 kilometres south of Manila.

Manila - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will push ahead with a trip to the United States she cancelled earlier due to escalating violence in the country's troubled south, her press secretary said Wednesday.

According to Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, Arroyo decided to proceed with the visit to New York to attend the 63rd United Nations General Assembly and other meetings with global leaders.

Manila - The European Union (EU) on Tuesday called for an early resumption of stalled peace talks between the Philippine government and Muslim separatist rebels, as it expressed alarm over escalating violence in the country's troubled south.

The EU also urged the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to "show restraint and genuine respect for the rule of law" to avoid further inflaming the violence in the southern region of Mindanao.

"The EU believes strongly that the conflict in Mindanao can only be resolved through dialogue," it said in a statement.

Manila - Philippine shares plunged more than 4 per cent for the second straight day on Tuesday following a meltdown in Wall Street amid concerns over the US financial system.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index lost 114.44 points, or 4.51 per cent, to close at 2,421.72 from Monday's finish of 2,536.16.

On Monday, stocks fell by 4.15 per cent.

A total of 1.76 billion shares valued 2.56 billion pesos (54.00 million dollars) were traded on Tuesday.

Manila - Australia announced Monday a 12-million-peso (255,863-US dollar) grant of humanitarian assistance to thousands of people affected by fighting between Muslim separatist rebels and the military in the southern Philippines.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said the fund would help address the needs of people "uprooted from their homes and separated from their means of livelihood" because of the ongoing conflict in the southern region of Mindanao.

"Assistance will include essential items like water and sanitation facilities, food and counseling services in evacuation centers," he said.

Manila - Remittances from overseas Filipinos rose 18.17 per cent in the first seven months of the year as more Filipinos found employment abroad, the Philippine central bank said Monday.

The central bank said remittances from January to July reached 9.60 billion dollars, higher than 8.13 billion dollars in the same period last year.

In July alone, remittances from overseas Filipinos rose 24.64 per cent to 1.36 billion dollars from 1.09 billion dollars in the same month last year.

There are estimated to be more than 8 million Filipinos working abroad. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said that from January to July this year, an additional 761,836 Filipinos left for jobs abroad, a jump from 594,445 last year.