06/14/2013 11:59 GMT

by Julia Zappei

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14, 2013 (AFP) - Rebels from Thailand's restive south Friday said securing lasting peace could take years, acknowledging some insurgents were trying to undermine ongoing talks through continued violence.

More than 5,500 people have died in the near decade-long insurgency in the Muslim-majority region bordering Malaysia.

Talks between the Thai government and representatives of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) began on March 28 but have so far failed to halt near-daily violence.

CHIANG MAI, Thailand—The UN refugee agency has met with high-ranking Burmese officials in the Karen State capital to discuss plans of repatriating more than 140,000 Burmese refugees over the border in Thailand.

The discussions in Pa-an focused on the Burmese government’s desire to repatriate the refugees and its plan to provide shelters for them in Mon State and Karen State, Thai news agency Nation Channel reported on Monday.

On 4 June 2013, Mr. Manasvi Srisodapol, Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke to the press on the Rohingyas’ living conditions in Thailand, gist as follows:

06/12/2013 05:34 GMT

by Amélie BOTTOLLIER DEPOIS

BANGKOK, June 12, 2013 (AFP) - After nearly a decade of conflict that has left thousands dead, Thailand is considering handing over limited powers to its Muslim-majority south in an effort to persuade rebels to lay down their arms.

Thai officials will meet with the two main insurgent groups on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur for a third round of talks that have so far failed to end near-daily violence in the region bordering Malaysia.

BANGKOK, 10 June 2013 (NNT) – Nearly 1,800 people in Chiang Mai have caught dengue fever and the number is on the rise every day. The Chiang Mai mayor has, therefore, urged all related agencies to keep a close watch on the situation.

06/04/2013 08:54 GMT

BANGKOK, June 04, 2013 (AFP) - Thailand said Tuesday that it was unable to find any other country willing to accept about 2,000 Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar who have been detained for several months.

"There is no third country ready to take them," foreign ministry spokesman Manasvi Srisodapol told AFP. "They are worried that if they receive one group, tens or hundreds of thousands of others will follow."

RANONG, 3 June 2013 (NNT) - According to police, at least twelve bodies of Myanmar nationals were found floating in the sea off the coast of Ranong province.

Following the discovery, local police said they believe the twelve bodies belonged to Myanmar refugees and the boat carrying them might have sunk during a bout of bad weather.

Marine authorities had previously retrieved another six male bodies and three female bodies near an island in Ranong. Their boat is also believed to have capsized amid rough seas.

By Saw Yan Naing

More than 140,000 Burmese refugees in Thailand are facing mounting pressure to leave their camps on the border and return to their homeland, with many refugees saying they are not ready or willing to return.

Refugees in camps in northwest Thailand say they have been given three options: move elsewhere in Thailand, return to Burma or resettle in a third country. They say they have been asked to select a choice on a form delivered by Mae Fah Luang Foundation, a Thai organization under royal patronage that is based in Chiang Mai Province.

New FAO book explores edible insect sector in Thailand

"Six-legged livestock: edible insect farming, collecting and marketing in Thailand"