Thailand

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Thai Protesters Seize Second Airport

All flights grounded; government mulls emergency rule

(Newser) - The government of Thailand is considering imposing emergency rule after protesters seized a second airport in Bangkok today, grounding all flights, reports the Telegraph. Some 3,000 members of the People's Alliance for Democracy massed at the smaller Don Mueang airport to prevent ministers from flying to Chiang Mai, where...

3K Stranded in Bangkok as PM Refuses to Step Down

Army pressures government as violence grows between factions

(Newser) - Thailand’s government today rejected a top general’s demand it dissolve parliament and hold elections, the Guardian reports, as protesters demand that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat step down entirely. Wongsawat snuck back into Thailand today and plans to meet with the king, whom protesters support; a pro-government gang killed...

Thai Gen. Demands Elections After Explosions

Hey denies move amounts to coup

(Newser) - Following a second explosion at a Bangkok airport seized by protesters, Thailand's top general today demanded that parliament be dissolved and new elections held. Gen Anupong Paochinda denied the move amounted to a coup, and insisted the government was still in control. He also ordered protesters to leave Bangkok's international...

Thai Protesters Open Fire on Opponents

Shots fired at civilians as 6-month protest turns violent

(Newser) - Protesters in Thailand seeking to bring down the government opened fire on a group of political opponents along a blockaded highway today, Reuters reports. Television footage showed at least two guards from the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy firing 6 rounds at government supporters. The incident took place along a...

Thai Protesters Shut Down Parliament

Vow 'final battle' for control of nation

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of raucous Thai protesters surrounded parliament today, forcing officials to shut it down, reports the BBC. Spokesmen for the pro-monarchist People's Alliance for Democracy vowed that the current action marks the "final battle" for the nation's government. Other groups marched on police headquarters and the foreign...

Grenade Blast Hits Thai Protesters

Anti-government group vows to topple government after fatal attack

(Newser) - Thai protesters vowed to step up their campaign to oust the government after a grenade thrown into their camp killed one and injured 23 this morning, Reuters reports. The government—and a renegade major-general who vowed to attack the protesters with bombs and snakes dropped from planes—denied involvement. Unions...

Fugitive Thai PM Divorces
Fugitive Thai PM Divorces
Nov 17, 2008 6:07 AM CST

Fugitive Thai PM Divorces

Split thought to shelter couple's assets as UK boots Thaksin; may have fled to Dubai

(Newser) - Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister of Thailand, has divorced his wife Potjaman—a fellow fugitive—after 32 years of marriage, reports the Financial Times. Thaksin is said to have left London for Dubai after the British government revoked their visas, citing their convictions on tax evasion and conflict of...

Thai Blasts Injure at Least 60

Triple explosion leaves dozens injured in Muslim south

(Newser) - Three separate bomb blasts injured more than 60 people in a Muslim region in south Thailand, reports the BBC. The explosions took place near a government office and a tea shop, appearing to target a meeting of local officials. Police accused separatist insurgents, who have targeted the area for years...

Anti-Government Thais Give That Protest a Hand

Mechanical 'clappers' become vital accessory for cheering at rallies

(Newser) - Plastic hand-shaped clappers have become a must-have among Thais trying to bring down their government, AFP reports. Hands clapped raw by months of protesting need a break, and vendors outside the occupied Government House sell hundreds of clappers daily. The clappers—used to hound the prime minister out of a...

Insult This Man, Spend 15 Years in the Pokey

Thai pols accuse foes of slighting king to hamstring them

(Newser) - The crime of insulting a king sounds like a medieval holdover—but in Thailand, an unkind word about King Bhumibol Adulyadej can land you in prison for 15 years. The country's recent political upheaval has coincided with a spike in accusations of maligning the monarch, the Wall Street Journal reports—...

Thailand, Cambodia in Firefight Over Temple

Border dispute escalates as both sides accuse other of aggression

(Newser) - Thai and Cambodian troops fought an hourlong battle today, leaving two Cambodian soldiers dead and several wounded by rocket fire in the most serious incident since the start of a border dispute. At issue is just 1.8 square miles of land next to a Hindu temple that an international...

Thai Riots Rattle Gentle Anteaters

Zoo officials move sensitive animals away from noise and tear gas

(Newser) - Violent clashes in Bangkok between police and protesters have produced two unlikely refugees—anteaters in the city's Dusit Zoo. Two 4-year-old anteaters who arrived from the US last year have been moved to another zoo where they won't be traumatized by the noise of rioting or tear gas, the BBC...

Thai Deputy PM Quits as Clashes Injure 100

Protesters barricade government inside parliament after police tear-gassing

(Newser) - Thailand's deputy PM has resigned after fierce clashes between anti-government protesters and police outside the country's parliament injured at least 100 people and killed one, Reuters reports. Police fired tear gas canisters into a crowd of 5,000 people protesting new prime minister Somchai Wongsawat's first policy speech, causing serious...

Thai Police Nab Protest Leader
 Thai Police Nab Protest Leader 
Oct 3, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Thai Police Nab Protest Leader

(Newser) - Thai police detained an anti-government protest leader on insurrection charges today in the first arrest since demonstrators stormed the grounds of the prime minister's office in late August. Police arrested the leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy when his car stopped at a highway toll booth. Thousands of members...

Bangkok Pol Assaults Host on Live TV

Strip-club owner turned candidate irked by probing questions

(Newser) - A Thai politician, vexed by an interviewer’s questions, pummeled the man on live TV today, Reuters reports. Chuvit Kamolvisit, a strip-club magnate turned Bangkok gubernatorial contender, did not deny the charges. “What I did was a petty crime,” he said. “I am happy to pay the...

Thais Take Coffin Naps to Fix Karma

$5 buys a few minutes in monastery's gaudy pink boxes

(Newser) - As Thailand's economy slows and its government falters, growing numbers of deeply superstitious citizens are jostling into a pink coffin to "die," the Telegraph reports. At about $5 a head, monks in a monastery outside Bangkok officiate over the "dead bodies" in the coffins, before ushering in...

Thaksin Relative Elected Thai Prime Minister

Protesters vow to reject brother-in-law of exiled leader

(Newser) - The No. 2 figure in Thailand's ruling party and the brother-in-law of exiled leader Thaksin Shinawatra was easily elected prime minister today. Somchai Wongsawat will take office after he receives the endorsement of the king. But the People's Alliance for Democracy, whose protest outside the prime minister's office continues, have...

Politics, Stars Align for Thai Fortunetellers

Mr. Luck's upbeat, automated predictions on love, life big business in tumultuous times

(Newser) - Fortunetelling, always a big part of Thai culture, is bigger business than ever now, the Wall Street Journal reports. As political unrest buffets the country, an automated telephone astrology service run by a seer known as Mr. Luck is flourishing. "Every time there's a crisis in Thailand, it's a...

Thaksin In-Law Nominated to Lead Thailand

Choice of husband of ousted PM's sister infuriates protesters

(Newser) - Thailand's ruling party has chosen a brother-in-law of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra to step into his old job, Reuters reports, sparking a firestorm among protesters who charge the pick will let Thaksin retain control from exile in London. Somchai Wongsawat has been acting PM since last week, but his accession...

Thai PM: I Won't Return to Power

After party battle, Samak will not seek renomination

(Newser) - Thailand's ousted prime minister will not seek reelection, possibly paving the way for an end to the country's political crisis. Samak Sundaravej was forced from office Tuesday after the country's supreme court ruled that his appearances on a TV cooking show violated the constitution. "He said he did his...

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