Thai police Tuesday ruled out three Myanmar workers in connection with the murder of two young British tourists, as Thailand's military ruler appeared to call into question the "behavior" of the victims themselves.

The bodies of David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, arrived in Bangkok late Tuesday for forensic examination.

Typhoon Kalmaegi swept out of the Philippines on Monday after causing chest-deep floods in some rural areas but largely leaving the storm-prone country unscathed, authorities said.

The storm, with winds of 160 kilometers (100 miles) an hour, struck the northeast of the main Philippine island of Luzon on Sunday evening, then moved west across land before heading into the South China Sea on Monday.

Philippine communities on Sunday prepared for flashfloods, landslides and possible storm surges as Typhoon Kalmaegi rushed towards the country, bearing powerful winds and heavy rains, authorities said.

The typhoon, with maximum winds of 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour, is expected to hit the northeastern side of the main island of Luzon around sundown with residents prepared for the worst, government agencies said.

Three people were killed as rescuers searched for at least three others still missing with more than a hundred rescued after a ferry sank in waters off the central Philippines, the government said Sunday.

At least 110 people have been rescued after the sinking of the Maharlika II ferry on Saturday night, said President Benigno Aquino's spokeswoman Abigail Valte.

At least 39 people are missing after a ferry lost control of its steering and was hit by huge waves in waters off the central Philippines on Saturday night, the government's civil defense office said.

The Maharlika II ferry, carrying at least 84 people lost control and was carried away by the current and waves, forcing those onboard to abandon ship off the central island of Leyte, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a statement.

China on Friday warned its nationals to avoid visiting the Philippines, citing a foiled bomb plot against the Chinese embassy in Manila and the danger of criminal gangs.

Two Philippines soldiers and an unknown number of guerrillas opposed to the government's peace deal with the country's largest Muslim rebel group were killed in a clash Thursday, the military said.

A Canadian Islamic preacher has been detained in the Philippines, where authorities deemed him a potential threat to national security, the immigration bureau said Thursday.

Jamaican-born Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, who grew up in Canada, was arrested in the southern Philippine city of Davao on Sunday shortly after his arrival there and would now be deported.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino sent to parliament Wednesday a proposed law to grant autonomy to minority Muslims, a crucial step in his attempt to end one of Asia's longest rebellions.

Thousands of people displaced by a Muslim rebel assault on a major Philippine city are enduring squalid conditions in an evacuation camp where dozens have died, while the guerrilla leader remains free one year on.