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A former Etonian and Oxford graduate was today elected prime minister of Thailand by a majority of 37 after a special vote in parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE Thai government fell today after prime minister Somchai Wongsawat accepted a court order to step down over allegations of corruption. The ruling came eight days after thousands of yellow-shirted anti-government protesters took over Bangkok's two main airports and stopped all flights. Others had mounted a three-month occupation of government buildings in Bangkok in demonstrations over what they claim were unfair elections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THAILANd'S embattled prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, declared a state of emergency today at Bangkok's two main airports as anti-government demonstrators refused to end their occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Thai government was today considering imposing emergency rule to restore order as protesters shut down a second international airport, cutting off the capital from air traffic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THAILAND appeared on the verge of civil war today after anti-government protesters seized control of Bangkok airport, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded. The violence intensified this morning when grenades were thrown at demonstrators on the approach road to Suvarnabhumi airport, wounding at least three people. The grenade attack appeared to be in retaliation for a shooting last night in which 11 pro-government supporters were injured after being fired on by supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy. Hundreds of PAD supporters, some wearing masks and armed with metal rods and baseball bats, stormed past police and into the country's main airport overnight, taking control of the passenger lounges and the control tower. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TWO Britons hailed for their bravery in breaking out of the burning wreckage of the Thai air crash today insisted they were not heroes and had acted instinctively. Peter Hill, 35 and Ashley Scott Harrow, who had sat next to each other on the flight, saved at least eight people by forcing open a jammed emergency exit. But speaking from their beds in Bangkok-Phuket hospital, the injured holidaymakers said their "only thought was to get off the plane". At least six Britons were among the 89 people killed when the plane exploded after it landed in bad weather in Phuket. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A SURVIVOR of a plane crash in Thailand told today how he was pulled from the blazing wreckage as fellow passengers burned around him. Out of 130 aboard, 90 have died -- 10 of them are thought to be Britons. Robert Boreland, an Australian, said today: "It is impossible to describe how lucky I was." He recalled how the One-Two-Go budget airline flight had tried to land at Phuket before pulling out and trying a second time in terrible conditions. Property developer Mr Boreland, who is now recovering in hospital after suffering relatively minor injuries, said: "As we approached Phuket airport it seemed we were coming in too fast. I think the pilot decided conditions were not right because he accelerated and pulled up. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is drug trafficker David McMillan buying a newspaper in Fulham Road while on the run from a death sentence in Thailand. McMillan, 51, escaped from the notorious "Bangkok Hilton" prison 11 years ago. Ten years earlier, he paid £250,000 in a failed attempt to be helicoptered to freedom from Pentridge Prison in Australia. Today, he makes a daily trip from Kensington to Dorking to pack health food nutrients in tins for a living. The Evening Standard tracked down McMillan, who is still wanted in Thailand for heroin trafficking and in Australia for breaching parole. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

GORDON Ramsay's drug addict brother faces 10 years in a "hellish" Indonesian prison after going on trial over heroin possession today. The celebrity chef's brother Ronald is accused of having 100mg of the drug - enough to be sentenced to a decade in Denpasar prison on the holiday island of Bali. The jail is notorious for its harsh conditions. A sprawling maximum security facility, it has cramped cells, appaling sanitation and no showers for inmates, many of them Western tourists arrested over drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The military commander behind the bloodless coup in Thailand today vowed to "return power to the people" as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE THAI woman who arranged for her English ex-husband to be barbecued and had his remains scattered around a tiger sanctuary was jailed for life today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE TWO Thai fishermen who raped and murdered 21-year-old Reading University student Katherine Horton were sentenced to death today - nine days after their arrest. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE key role of a British couple in catching the killers of student Katherine Horton was revealed in court today at the start of a hearing over her murder. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Police today began a murder inquiry into the death of British student Katherine Horton whose body was found floating in the sea on the Thai island of Ko Samui. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TWO British backpackers were shot dead in cold blood today near the bridge over the river Kwai. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]