Thai junta allows deposed PM to leave country

Thailand's deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. (AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul)

BANGKOK: #Thailand's junta has given permission to ousted former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to leave the country for the first time since a May 22 coup, a military spokesman said Thursday. Yingluck is expected to travel to Paris next week to attend the 65th birthday party of her elder brother, the fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Her request was approved because she has stayed out of politics since the military seized power, according to the junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

"The NCPO yesterday approved prime minister Yingluck's request to leave the country because since the coup she has never shown that she was against the NCPO's work," army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said. "She has kept a low profile ever since," he added.

Yingluck, Thailand's first female premier, was removed from office in a controversial court ruling shortly before the army toppled the remnants of her elected government. She was among hundreds of people summoned and temporarily detained by the junta afterwards.

Her brother Thaksin was ousted in an earlier coup in 2006 and later fled Thailand to avoid prison for a corruption conviction that he insists was politically motivated. The billionaire tycoon turned populist politician, who clashed with the royalist establishment before his overthrow, lives in Dubai but remains a hugely divisive figure in his homeland.

An attempt by his political allies to push through a political amnesty that could have led to his return sparked months of opposition street protests leading up to the May coup. A military source said Yingluck must inform the Thai authorities of her whereabouts through overseas embassies while travelling.

Army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha seized power after nearly seven months of political street rallies and related violence that left 28 people dead and paralysed Yingluck's government. The junta has ruled out holding new elections before around October 2015, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union for a return to democracy. Channel News

Thailand's dengue fever victims number nearly 12,000

Dr Narong Sahametapat, permanent secretary for public health: File Photo

BANGKOK, July 14 - Public health officials throughout Thailand have been instructed to be on alert for the possible spread of dengue fever, especially during the current rainy season, after 13 persons died since the beginning of the year, according to Dr Narong Sahametapat, permanent secretary for public health.

Ministry statistics showed that 11,881 patients have been found in the country, and that 13 of them died from between January 1 and July 8.

The dead were aged between 15 and 24, Dr Narong said.

Although the number of patients this year was about 80 per cent less than the corresponding period of 2013, Dr Narong said the ministry ordered officials at public health offices nationwide to be alert to the fever's carrier which is the mosquito.

Hospitals, schools and homeowners are asked to destroy mosquito larvae to prevent any outbreak of the disease, he added. MCOT

Thailand, Cambodia to hold talks on reopening of border pass at Chong Sai Taku

BURI RAM, June 4 -  Thai authorities in this northeast province have discussed preparations for talks with Cambodia to reopen the border pass at Chong Sai Taku.

Buri Ram governor Seri Seehatrai on Wednesday chaired a meeting with the border committee to explore conditions for the reopening of the border pass.

The meeting was aimed at preparing for the negotiations with Cambodian authorities on June 6 on the reopening of the Chong Sai Taku temporary border pass in Ban Kruat district opposite Chup Koki village in Cambodia.

The temporary border pass has been closed for two weeks due to an order by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) which staged the May 22 coup, in order to prevent the smuggling of arms or people into Thailand.

Prolonged closure could have had negative effects on the border trade. The value of cross border trade had risen from Bt300,000-400,000 to Bt2 million per week before the closure.

Buri Ram authorities said if the Thai and Cambodian authorities could mutually agree on conditions then the border pass could reopen.

Thailand and Cambodia earlier agreed to extend the open days of the border pass at Chong Sai Taku from two days up to three days each week, from Friday to Sunday, starting June 14. (MCOT online news)