Bangkok  - Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on Tuesday secured the full backing of the People Power Party to become the country's next premier after a party rift failed to scuttle his nomination.

"The People Power Party has reached a consensus to nominate Somchai as the next prime minister," said PPP spokesman Kuthep Saikrachang.

The PPP was scheduled to meet with its five coalition partners Tuesday night to get their backing for Somchai's nomination, which is scheduled for a confirmation vote in Parliament on Wednesday.

Bangkok  - Thai shares lost 2.8 per cent of their value Tuesday as the Bangkok bourse felt the full impact of Wall Street's declines.

Bangkok - Thailand's Supreme Court for political office holders on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra for failing to appear in court to face abuse-of-power charges.

The court case, involving a 4-billion-baht (116-million-dollar) soft loan to the Myanmar government in 2004 by Thailand's state-owned EXIM Bank when Thaksin was still prime minister, has been suspended.

Thaksin has been living in self-exile in London since August 10.

Bangkok - Thailan

Bangkok - Thailand's Parliament on Friday postponed a vote on a new prime minister after a court sacked premier Samak Sundaravej this week for moonlighting as a television cooking show host.

Samak had been renominated for the job he lost Tuesday, but the failure by many of his own People Power Party (PPP) members to show up for Friday's vote demonstrated the strong opposition to his reinstatement.

Bangkok- Thailand's largest political party on Thursday nominated ousted prime minister Samak Sundaravej to retake the premiership after he was sacked just days ago by a court ruling.

Samak, 73, has accepted the nomination, meaning that the end of Thailand's political crisis is nowhere in sight, according to analysts.