And this was the top pick news from at Pravda.RU.

Philippine Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Seguis said that the Phillipines are to withdraw their forces from Iraq “as soon as possible,” in a statement,he read out on al Jazeera television.

This statement is very much contrasting to Sunday’s President Gloria Arroyo’s blunt statement in which she rejected terrorists’ demand.

Chalk up another win for Al Qaida.

Corrected my spelling, no wonder Pravda came up on top. Anyway, more news from Bloomberg.

The Bush administration warned the Philippines government that its statements about leaving Iraq in the face of a death threat against a captured Filipino fuel truck driver risk encouraging more terrorism.

“A decision by the Filipino government to withdraw their 51 troops ahead of schedule would send the wrong signal to terrorists,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with President George W. Bush in Michigan.

The U.S. State Department called for “clarification” of Philippine intentions after Foreign Secretary Delia Albert said his government will pull its forces from Iraq “as soon as possible” to spare the truck driver, Angelo de la Cruz, from beheading.

Wonder if he has already been beheaded? They have been known to do that. Irregardless, it was dumb to negotiate. Now will the terrorists turn over de la Cruz before the troops are withdrawn or after with head attached preferably?