Philippine Coast Guard

Thousands of Filipino and American troops kicked off joint military exercises in the Philippines on Monday, as Beijing's growing assertiveness in the region raises fears of a conflict.

China has warned the Philippines that it "must act with caution", Beijing's foreign ministry said, following a string of incidents in the disputed South China Sea as Manila increasingly stands up to Chinese assertiveness in the region.

The Philippines has summoned China's envoy, the foreign ministry said Monday, following the most tense confrontations between the countries' vessels in years at flashpoint reefs in the disputed South China Sea.

The Philippines condemned the China Coast Guard Sunday for allegedly firing water cannon at its vessels in the disputed South China Sea, describing the actions as "illegal" and "dangerous".

The death toll from a storm that battered the Philippines has jumped to 98, the national disaster agency said Monday, with little hope of finding survivors in the worst-hit areas.

Just over half of the fatalities were from a series of flash floods and landslides unleashed by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which destroyed villages on the southern island of Mindanao on Friday.

Moderate to heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in central Philippines as tropical storm Kai-tak made landfall Saturday afternoon, and may hit more areas while moving westward, the weather bureau said Saturday.

A Bulgarian man suspected of hacking the bank account of Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 2011 was arrested at the Zamboanga City port area on Wednesday afternoon after he failed to present travel documents, ABS-CBN reported.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Zamboanga identified the suspect as Konstantin Simeonov Kavrakov, 33.