Philippines rebel signing

Representatives of the Philippine goverment and of the communist National Democratic Front of the Philippines NDFP have signed the first part of an agreement on human rights as part of their peace negotiations.

Both sides described the accord as a big step forward.

They will resume talks -- which are being held in the Netherlands -- on human rights on January 26 before moving on to economic, political and constitutional reform.

The communist insurgency began in the Philippines in the 1960s and peace talks have been held sporadically since 1992 in Holland, where many of the communist leaders live.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service