In Thailand, five soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb blast in the southern Narathiwat province. The paramilitary troops were on a night patrol when their vehicle drove over the explosive device. Insurgents then opened fire on the men and seized their weapons. At least 4,000 people have died in the past six years in the south, which is a scene of long-running insurgency. The government is considering whether to renew a three-month-old state of emergency which covers the capital and much of the country, but not the south.