ONE man wanted to know where he could watch rugby in Thailand while a woman sought advice on how long to sunbathe safely on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Then there was the mother with the slightly more pressing concern: whether her son’s girlfriend was cheating.

A KIDNAPPED Irish priest freed after over a month in captivity in the Philippines has vowed to remain in the Asian islands and continue his work.

GUNMEN in the Philippines have kidnapped three more people, raising renewed fears for the safety of abducted Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott.

A special prayer rally has been held in Dublin calling for the safe return of kidnapped Irish priest Father Michael Sinnott.

Gunmen opened fire on a commuter bus in the southern Philippines, killing two and wounding eight passengers, authorities said today.

THE superior of kidnapped Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott has said he was happy that video footage showed the 79-year-old alive but concerned as to how long his health can hold out.

The Philippine government rejected a US$2m (€1.3m) ransom demanded by the kidnappers of an Irish priest Michael Sinnott in the country's volatile south and said today that efforts would continue to safely secure his freedom.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that no effort will be spared in securing the release of kidnapped Irish priest Father Michael Sinnott.

KIDNAPPED Irish priest Michael Sinnott is in critical condition due to malnutrition and lack of medicine for his heart condition.

FEARS are growing about the wellbeing of kidnapped Irish priest Fr Michael Sinnott, who is entering his third week of captivity in the Philippines today.

A rally will be held in the Philippines later today to demand the release of an Irish priest being held captive there.

President Mary McAleese tonight paid tribute to the courage and strength of aid worker Sharon Commins, who suffered almost four months in captivity in war-torn Sudan.

RELEASED GOAL aid worker Sharon Commins’s thoughts were for the need to continue humanitarian work and for the people of Sudan who helped secure her release, when she spoke just hours after the end of her 107-day captivity.

Prayers have been said at masses across the country for Fr. Michael Sinnott who is being held by an armed gang in the Philippines.

THE Philippine military said yesterday it knows where a kidnapped elderly Irish priest is being held on a remote southern island and contact had been made with his abductors to get the hostage lifesaving medicine.

The Philippine government today asked a large Muslim rebel group to help secure the freedom of an ailing Irish priest kidnapped by outlaws, as troops surrounded a jungle logging area where he was being held.

Troops and navy gunboats in the Philippines tried to encircle suspected Muslim militants to pressure them into releasing kidnapped priest Michael Sinnott, a military general said today.

Missionaries tonight pleaded with a kidnap gang who took an ailing Irish priest hostage to allow him access to vital heart medication.

The Irish ambassador to Singapore is travelling to the Philippines to help secure the release of Fr Michael Sinnott, who was abducted by armed men yesterday.

Fears were growing today for the health of an elderly Irish missionary who was dramatically kidnapped in the Philippines by armed raiders who burst into his home.

A 79-YEAR-OLD Irish priest has been kidnapped in a southern region of the Philippines after he was bundled into the back of pickup truck.

FEARS were growing last night for the health of an elderly Irish priest who was dramatically kidnapped in the Philippines by armed raiders who burst into his home.

An Irish priest was kidnapped by an armed gang in the Philippines tonight.