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Typhoons Leave 55 Dead, Filipinos Trapped on Roofs

Back-to-back typhoons left at least 55 people dead and rescuers scrambling on Sunday to deliver food and water to hundreds of villagers stuck on rooftops for four days because of flooding in the northern Philippines.

Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore in northeastern Isabela province Saturday then barreled across the main Luzon Island's mountainous north and agricultural plains that were still sodden from fierce rain and wind unleashed by a howler just days earlier. Nalgae left at least three people dead Saturday while Typhoon Nesat killed 52 others in the same region before blowing out Friday.

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Second Typhoon in Week Lashes Rain-Soaked Philippines

The second typhoon in a week battered the rain-soaked northern Philippines on Saturday, adding misery to thousands of people, some of whom still perched on rooftops while several other Asian nations also reeled from flooding.

Typhoon Nalgae slammed ashore midmorning Saturday south of northeastern Palanan Bay in Isabela province with winds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour and dangerous gusts of 121 mph (195 kph).

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Flood Chaos in Philippines after Deadly Typhoon

Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines battled neck-deep floodwaters on Wednesday in a chaotic aftermath to a ferocious typhoon that claimed at least 23 lives.

With some areas on the outskirts of Manila deluged with floods up to 1.5 meters (five feet) deep, authorities sent out boats to rescue people stranded on the roofs of their houses.

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Seven Dead as Typhoon Nesat Strikes Philippines

At least seven people were killed as Typhoon Nesat smashed the Philippines on Tuesday, authorities said, with the capital Manila enduring waist-deep floods, blackouts and dramatic storm surges.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 major storms annually, many of them deadly, but the government said Nesat was one of the largest the country had faced this year, with its rain and wind path twice as big as average.

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15 Killed as Filipino Troops Clash with Islamic Militants

Thirteen assailants and two soldiers were killed when a little-known Islamic militant group attacked a military outpost in the lawless southern Philippines on Sunday, the army said.

About 50 men attacked the Marine outpost on the strife-torn island of Jolo before dawn but the troops fought back, driving them off, said regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang.

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UNHCR Says 'Sex Strike' for Peace in Philippine Village

Women in the southern Philippines brought peace to their strife-torn village by threatening to withhold sex if their men kept fighting, the U.N. refugee agency reported Friday.

The "sex strike" in rural Dado village on the often lawless southern island of Mindanao in July helped end tensions and bring some prosperity to the 102 families living there, said UNHCR national officer Rico Salcedo.

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Super-Typhoon Leaves Seven Dead in Philippines

Super-typhoon Nanmadol killed at least seven people and left flattened bridges and blocked roads in its wake as it slowly moved away from the Philippines, officials said on Sunday.

The toll of dead and missing is likely to rise as officials assess the full impact of the storm, the strongest to hit the country this year, said Emilia Tadeo of the civil defense damage report section.

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‘Blasphemous' Philippine Art Show Closed Under Pressure

An art show featuring a poster of Jesus Christ with a wooden penis glued to his face was closed Tuesday after President Benigno Aquino intervened amid threats, vandalism and claims of blasphemy.

The closure came as a church group in the mainly Catholic country announced it was filing charges against the Cultural Center of the Philippines over the installation by local artist Mideo Cruz, which it said violated religion.

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Philippine Marines Kill 3 Abu Sayyaf Militants in New Clash

Philippine troops killed three Abu Sayyaf gunmen in a clash with the al-Qaida-linked militants blamed for killing seven marines and wounding 26 others in a recent gunbattle, officials said Monday.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said a soldier was wounded in Sunday's brief but fierce clash with about 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Patikul town in the mountains of southern Sulu province. Troops have been scouring the jungle area in search of the militants who killed seven marines in a July 28 clash, including two who were beheaded.

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'Blasphemous' Philippine Art Riles Catholics

An art exhibit featuring a Jesus Christ poster with a wooden penis glued to His face has sparked protests in the mainly Catholic Philippines.

Bishops and lay groups have demanded the state-run Cultural Center of the Philippines close the exhibit on grounds it is blasphemous, immoral, illegal and offends the country's Catholic majority.

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