Yangon  - Myanmar's military supremo Senior General Than Shwe met with Thailand's army-commander-in-chief who is on an official visit to discuss border issues and the Rohingya refugee problem, state media reports said Wednesday.

Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, met Thai Army Commander-ion-Chief General Anupong Paojinda and his "goodwill delegation" Tuesday at the Myanmar's military's new capital of Naypyitaw, 350 kilometres north of the former capital of Yangon, The New Light of Myanmar daily reported.

Bangkok - The state-run Export-Import Bank of Thailand on Tuesday opened a branch in Moscow to facilitate Thai-Russian trade.

The Moscow branch, the Thai EXIM International Co, is to provide Thai exporters with advance payment bonds, trade facilitation, business-matching services and act as a middleman in "arranging proper protection for undeliverable Thai export goods left unattended at a Russian port," Thai Deputy Finance Minister Pruektichai Damrongrut said in a statement.

The state-owned Export-Import Bank was set up to promote Thai trade abroad, especially in new markets.

Bangkok  - Thai police arrested a female teacher for having sex with a 13-year-old boy whom she was tutoring in her room, media reports said Tuesday.

Police arrested Thanawan Klongsinchai, a 29-year-old English teacher, Monday on charges of molesting a minor, the Khao Sod newspaper said.

Thanawan denied the charge, claiming the sex was consensual.

Parents of the 13-year-old, who was big for his age group, pressed charges against the teacher after the boy told his friends of the affair, the newspaper said.

Bangkok - Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will attend the upcoming G-20 summit in London in his capacity as chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), foreign ministry officials confirmed Monday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was reportedly impressed by the Oxford-educated 44-year-old Thai premier when they met in Davos at the World Economic Forum last month, personally invited Abhisit to attend the G-20 meeting in London on April 2.

Bangkok - Thailand's Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the air force's plan to buy six more Grippen fighters next fiscal year, completing a squadron of the Swedish-made jets.

Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the procurement, to be spaced over over five years, would be allocated from the Air Force's budget and not burden government spending, reported The Nation online news.

The Thai military has been enjoying steadily increasing budgets for arms purchases and other expenditures since staging its latest coup on September 19, 2006.