A Muslim woman casts her ballot in a referendum at the Marawi Sagonsongan elementary school-turned polling station in Marawi, Lanao del Sur province, southern Philippines, Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. Muslims in the southern Philippines voted Monday in a referendum on a new autonomous region that seeks to end nearly half a century of unrest, in what their leaders are touting as the best alternative to a new wave of Islamic State group-inspired militants. (Bogie Calupitan/Associated Press)MANILA, Philippines — Muslims in the southern Philippines voted Monday in a referendum on a new autonomous region that seeks to end nearly half a century of unrest, in what their leaders are touting as the best alternative to a new wave of Islamic State group-inspired militants. Bangsamoro replaces an existing poverty-wracked autonomous region with a larger, better-funded and more powerful entity. Overall, the conflict has left about 150,000 people dead over several decades and stunted development in the resource-rich but underdeveloped southern region that is the country’s poorest.

Source: Washington Post January 21, 2019 00:54 UTC