Contact with missing Briton

A Briton who went missing in the Philippines has made contact with an associate, the Foreign Office said.

James David Rowe, believed to be a 35-year-old businessman, disappeared from a hotel in the southern port city of Zamboanga where he was staying in a hotel.

There were fears he had been kidnapped by Islamists who are known to target Westerners in the area.

But Mr Rowe has been tracked down in San Carlos City in the central island of Negros, Zamboanga police said.

The alarm was raised on Thursday by a businessman from Hong Kong, who said he had arranged to meet Mr Rowe at Amil's Hotel in Zamboanga on his return from a trip to the capital, Manila.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat ordered police to search for Rowe amid fears he had been kidnapped by Muslim extremists.

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