The Philippines has deployed a fresh batch of marines and supplies to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea, where a Chinese warship and surveillance vessels appeared last month and triggered a new standoff in the strategic waters, the Philippine defense secretary said Wednesday.

Philippine navy divers battled strong ocean currents Sunday in a desperate hunt for seven missing passengers of a ferry that sank with dozens onboard.

A sinewy man covered in thick soot stands in a grey cloud of smoke, watching over a slow-burning pile of wood that sustains his life but may also eventually kill him.

Fishermen and rescue workers hauled dozens of people out of the sea after a ferry sank in the central Philippines on Friday, but at least two passengers drowned, authorities said.

Muslim rebels in the Philippines said Wednesday they had protested at the arrests of four guerrillas, warning it could affect talks aimed at ending the decades-long insurgency.

The Philippine Navy deployed a gunboat and a surveillance plane to a World Heritage-listed marine sanctuary after a suspected Vietnamese fishing vessel was seen there, authorities said Monday.

A dog that lost half its face saving two girls returned to a hero's welcome in the Philippines on Saturday after undergoing a series of operations in the United States.

One of the Philippines' most influential newspapers said Thursday it had suspended a popular comic strip for a homosexual joke that angered some conservatives in the mainly Catholic country.

An earthquake jolted the southern Philippines late Saturday, injuring at least 33 people and damaging more than 140 houses.

It looked like a hoot, with six coast guards laughing as they fired at the Taiwanese fishing boat.