Political ally says Thai ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra to return from exile Feb. 14

taksin.jpgBANGKOK (AP): Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted by a military coup last year, will return from exile Feb. 14, a political ally said.

Chalerm Yoobamrung, a parliamentary candidate of the People’s Power Party, made the announcement Friday at a campaign rally ahead of Sunday’s general election. The party is led by Thaksin’s loyalists, who regrouped after his Thai Rak Thai Party was disbanded by a court order earlier this year.

Read Details »

 

Bird flu resurfaces in Asia, human deaths and poultry outbreaks reported

flu_burung.jpgHANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Bird flu has resurfaced in parts of Asia, with human deaths reported in Indonesia and China and fresh poultry outbreaks plaguing other countries during the winter months when the virus typically flares.

Indonesia, the nation hardest hit by the H5N1 virus, announced its 93rd death on Friday after a 47-year-old man died a day earlier in a Jakarta hospital, said Health Ministry spokesman Joko Suyono. He fell ill on Dec. 2 and was admitted with flu-like symptoms, becoming Indonesia’s 115th person infected with the disease.

Read Details »