MANILA - THE Philippines is poised to resume peace talks with Muslim separatist rebels, months after fresh fighting left more than 300 dead, an official said on Sunday.

BANGKOK - FUGITIVE ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a Valentine's Day phone call broadcast to supporters from a mystery location, vowing to return one day to Thailand.

'I want to commend you on your love for democracy. Today is the day of love,' Thaksin told a Saturday evening rally of thousands of supporters still angry over the 2006 coup that ousted him.

YANGON - AN ETHNIC rebel group in Myanmar has attacked a town bordering Thailand, state media reported on Sunday, hours before a key visit to the area by a United Nations human rights expert.

The New Light of Myanmar, a mouthpiece for the junta, said insurgents from the Karen National Union (KNU) had fired heavy weapons at the town of Myawady in Kayin State early on Saturday, but caused no casualties.