The city is a hub in the country's poor agricultural northeast, where support for exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is high.

VOA: standard.2010.05.25

The demonstrators, known as the "red shirts", are supported by exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted from power in a 2006 military coup.

VOA: standard.2009.04.13

However,rights groups and exiled politicians say the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, along with more than 2,000 other political prisoners, is the real barrier to peace.

VOA: standard.2009.06.19

But the report says the number of attacks with high-powered roadside bombs provided by Iranian forces declined in recent months, and many leaders of Iraqi groups allied with Iran have been killed, captured or exiled, or have gone into hiding.

VOA: standard.2009.03.31