Philippine security forces claim to have identified three Bangladeshi nationals among the 89 suspected Islamist militants who hole up in southern town Mindanao since May 23.

The president of the Philippines wants to liberate his country from a "shackling dependency" on the United States which cannot guarantee its help when Philippine sovereignty is under threat, its foreign minister says.

A bustling shopping mall forms an unlikely monument to the "Thrilla in Manila", but Muhammad Ali's most brutal fight made its biggest impression on the minds of those who witnessed it and still speak of it with awe.

Chinese construction on a South China Sea islet claimed by the Philippines would prompt "actions being taken" by the United States and other nations, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warns.

Hackers who stole $81 million from Bangladesh's central bank have been linked to another cyber attack, this time on a bank in the Philippines, in addition to the 2014 hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, cyber security company Symantec Corp says.

More than three months have passed since $81 million was stolen in a brazen cyber-heist from Bangladesh's central bank and sent to Manila - yet authorities in the Philippines appear no closer to nabbing those who laundered most of the money through a bank and casinos.

Almost half or a total of $38 million of the $81 million funds allegedly stolen from Bangladesh are still missing, an official of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) tells a Philippine Senate hearing.

Abu Sayyaf of the Philippines has releases a video of Canadian hostage John Ridsdell being beheaded by their militants. The harrowing 52-second video shows four militants and Ridsdell in jungle surroundings.

Three hostages being held by militants in the Philippines have appeared in a video pleading for their governments to meet the captors' demands.

Philippine banks are seen to reexamine vulnerabilities to potential fraudsters in order to avoid a repeat of the $81-million money-laundering scandal that has now become a global spectacle.

The globally publicized US$81-million money-laundering scandal is enough international embarrassment for the Philippines. The least the Philippine Government can do now is to return the money as fast as the legal process will allow.

The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemns the killing of a Canadian hostage kidnapped by Islamist militants in the Philippines.

Bangladesh Bank may have to wait longer before it gets the amount turned over by casino junket operator Kim Wong to the Anti-Money Laundering Council of the Philippines for safekeeping, although the court has already asked authorities to preserve the money.

A video of leading Philippines presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte joking about a murdered Australian rape victim provokes a storm of protest.

The Philippines must make sure casinos are covered by anti-money laundering legislation, the World Bank says, joining calls for the government to better regulate its gambling industry after stolen millions from Bangladesh found their way to Manila.

The Philippines military says 18 soldiers have been killed in fierce fighting with Islamist militants in the south of the country.

It will "take a little time" before Bangladesh central bank gets back a portion of its missing millions.

Chinese hackers are possibly behind one of the world's biggest cyber heists, the theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank, a senator in the Philippines says.

A three-member team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will visit Philippines tomorrow night to coordinate with Philippine authorities on the money-laundering case over heist at Bangladesh Bank reserve account.

For Kim Wong, the Chinese casino owner in the Philippines entangled in one of the world's largest bank heists, there are two golden rules for dealing with wealthy punters: always demand to see their money, but never ask where it came from.