World datelines

Philippines: 47 freed

MANILA — Tribal gunmen freed 47 hostages in the southern Philippines on Sunday, but the region continued to be wracked by violence as suspected Islamic radicals staged a deadly jail break in which dozens of inmates were freed, including comrades accused of beheading marines.

The three-day hostage standoff in Agusan del Sur province and the jail raid on Basilan island come on the heels of a political massacre last month in a nearby frontier region in which 57 people were killed. The back-to-back crises underscore the complexity of conflicts raging in the country's south, an impoverished region awash with firearms, outlaws, political warlords and Muslim insurgents.

Israel: Settlements

JERUSALEM — The Israeli Cabinet voted Sunday to pour millions of dollars of new funding into Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including several hard-line communities that have put up fierce resistance to government-imposed construction restrictions.

The vote caused an uncharacteristic rift in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet, with centrist members accusing the Israeli leader of caving in to pressure from Israeli extremists.

Netanyahu announced his spending plan last week, saying it would grant funds for transportation, education and health care to distressed areas throughout the country. But the inclusion of some Jewish settlements, particularly isolated communities known for their hard-line populations, drew accusations that he is trying to buy off settlers who are furious over the new limits on construction in their communities.

Iraq: Warning

BAGHDAD — Iraq's top security chiefs said Sunday that the U.S. military had warned them in advance about an imminent attack but the tip came too late to act on before last week's deadly Baghdad bombings against government sites.

An Interior Ministry official, meanwhile, said 13 al-Qaida-linked suspects have been detained in connection with last week's bombings, the third of their kind since August.

At least 127 people were killed and more than 500 wounded in the bombings.

Sudan: Released

Two civilian members of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur who were held hostage for more than 100 days have been released, the U.N. said Sunday.