The Thai Constitutional Court yesterday accepted a petition by a group of senators seeking to remove Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on ethical grounds, but allowed him to perform his duties until it ruled on the case.
The court is to scrutinize the plea by 40 Thai senators that Srettha’s decision to appoint Pichit Chuenban as a Cabinet minister last month had constituted a serious violation of ethical standards under the constitution, the court said in a statement.
The court voted six to three to accept the petition for consideration whether Srettha should be removed from duties, while voting five to four against suspending his duties in the meantime. It gave Srettha 15 days to submit his defense from when he is formally notified of the court decision.
Photo: Blooming
A former lawyer for the influential Shinawatra family, Pichit was appointed as a minister attached to the prime minister’s office in a reshuffle last month, but lacked the qualifications required to take up such a post, the group of senators said.
Pichit on Tuesday resigned as minister, saying he wanted to save Srettha from any legal troubles.
The resignation acquitted him of further scrutiny in the case, the court said.
Pichit was sentenced to six months in jail in 2008 for contempt of court after he attempted to bribe Thai Supreme Court officials while representing former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a corruption trial.
The move poses a fresh challenge for Srettha’s coalition government that was cobbled together with a group of pro-royalist parties after the military-appointed Thai Senate thwarted the winner of last year’s general election from taking power. The prime minister has struggled to pull Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy from a decade of sub-2 percent annual growth rates.
SURVEYED CONCERN: A poll showed 74 percent of respondents believe Australia is too economically reliant on China and 71 percent say Beijing is a security threat Regional security concerns are expected to overshadow lucrative trade ties when Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) visits New Zealand and Australia this week, with the mood markedly different from the Chinese premier’s visit seven years ago. Li is to arrive in New Zealand today, before traveling to Australia at the weekend, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Australia is the top supplier of iron ore to China, its largest trading partner, but there is competition for Australia’s rare earths needed for electric vehicles and defense from Western security allies. New Zealand was the first Western nation to strike a free-trade agreement with
Down a Tokyo street lined with bright signs, up narrow stairs and behind a windowless door is a “snack bar” long cherished by regulars but hidden from tourists — until now. Snack bars are cozy, retro establishments found across Japan, often crammed into small buildings and equipped with karaoke systems that echo late into the night. They are typically run by a woman nicknamed “mama” who chats to customers while serving drinks with nibbles such as nuts, dried squid or simple cooked dishes. Despite being a fixture of Japanese nightlife since the post-war era, the tucked-away bars’ tight space can be intimidating, especially
‘FRESH INFILTRATION’: A man was killed in a gun battle with security forces and later suspected rebels lobbed grenades and fired at a checkpoint in the Doda area A suspected militant was killed and seven members of security forces were wounded in clashes in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said yesterday. The first incident occurred late on Tuesday night in Hiranagar, a village near the frontier with Pakistan, which, like India, claims the Himalayan region in full. Security forces rushed to the border village, with a man killed in the resulting gunfight who police believed had crossed over from the Pakistan side. “This appears to be a fresh infiltration in which one terrorist was killed and the search for one more is ongoing,” Anand Jain, a top police officer, told reporters. Hours later, suspected
A brief boat ride from the thrumming nightclubs of Mykonos lies the UNESCO heritage site of Delos, one of the most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek and Roman world. Surrounded by piercing azure waters, Delos’ 2,000-year-old buildings offer a microcosm of information on daily life during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. However, the site known for its temples guarded by stone lions could be gone forever in half a century, scientists warn. “Delos is condemned to disappear in around 50 years,” said Veronique Chankowski, head of the French archeological school of Athens, which has been excavating the site for the past 150