Prosecutors in the Philippines are set to charge four U.S. Marines with sexual assault over an alleged incident from November.

An excerpt:

Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni is seeking an arrest warrant and jurisdiction over the marines.

The four, who are in the custody of the US embassy in Manila, deny the charges.

Mr Jalandoni is due to file his charges at a court in the town of Olongapo, north-west of Manila, near where the alleged rape took place on 1 November.

The Americans have denied participating in or witnessing the incident, which allegedly took place inside a van at Subic Bay free port, a former US naval base.

At least one of them did acknowledge having sex with the woman but said it was consensual, Mr Jalandoni said.

The van driver was first seen as a key witness but was later considered as a "co-conspirator", having apparently done nothing to stop the alleged rape, the prosecutor added.

While the US embassy has said it will co-operate with the investigation, it is unclear whether it will hand over the marines.