* Â Islam, the gift that keeps on giving…
Tens of thousands of displaced Filipinos have returned to their homes, or what is left of them, after fierce fighting broke out between government soldiers and Muslim separatists in the south of the country earlier this week. The government says at least 10,000 houses were destroyed in North Cotabato province, which forced huge numbers of poor farmers to return to refugee camps.
Government soldiers attacked positions held by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels holed up in about 15 Christian villages in North Cotabato. Dozens of people were reportedly killed in the fighting and around 160,000 people fled their homes and farms to escape the bloodshed.