COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/08 May) – Civil society groups and election watchdogs have laid out plans for a better monitoring of the August 11, 2008 polls in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, amid calls for postponement from other sectors.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/08 May) – Two children were among five persons injured when an improvised explosive device went off 3 p.m. today inside an L300 van parked at the terminal in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/08 May) — “Earth’s Whisper” as the English translation of the title of Arnel Mardoquio’s film about war and peace in Mindanao easily cues us on how to read this story about a clutch of deaf-mute children in a mountain community consisting of Christians, Muslims and Lumads, and the teacher from the city who introduces them to the alphabet and numbers. War between rebels and the military has devastated the community of Hinyok, its most telling casualty being children born without the ability to speak and hear whose fathers are now intent on training them to become fighters to defend their land. Vigo Cruz, artist and toy-maker, answers a posted notice about Hinyok’s need for a teacher, and his work with the children brings joy and hope to the young war victims and their mothers.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/08 May) – The New Peoples' Army (NPA) has admitted responsibility for the ambush last Monday of the 39th Infantry Battalion in a village in Arakan, North Cotabato that left three soldiers dead and 21 others wounded.
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/08 May) — A farmer and his horse died after being swept away by floodwaters when they tried to cross Nuangan River here 9 p.m. Tuesday.
CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews/08 May) — When news broke out that the Korean company Hanjin Heavy Industries Corporation was withdrawing its U$2-billion shipyard project from the Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan and Villanueva towns, everyone quivered. U$2-billion is U$2-billion and it needs no more explaining that it would create jobs for impoverished residents of this beloved beleaguered side of Pinas.
CHIBA, Japan (MindaNews/08May) – A historic global conference on peace ended here May 7 affirming support for the Mindanao peace process and echoing civil society calls for the Malaysian International Monitoring Team contingent to stay on.
