Bangkok  - Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thursday officially endorsed the premiership of Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of coup-ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Thai parliament voted 298 to 163 in favour of Somchai's nomination as prime minister on Wednesday but under Thailand's constitutional monarchy the appointment is not official until it is approved by King Bhumibol, who is head of state.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob flew to Bhumibol's palace in Hua Hin, 150 kilometres south-west of Bangkok, Thursday afternoon to present Somchai's appointment to the king, who endorsed it.

Bangkok  - The Thai stock market staged a sudden rebound Thursday after falling 5.08 per cent by the midday break, apparently inspired by a similar resurgence on the Hong Kong market.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index was at 574.42 points when trading ended for the midday break, or 5.08 per cent, but it ended the day at 600.38, down 4.76 points or 0.8 per cent.

"Everyone is confused about what happened," said Mongkol Phuangphaetha, a stock analyst at Adkinsons Securities. "Brokers were advising people to sell all morning and then suddenly Hong Kong staged a rebound and local investors followed their lead."

Bangkok - The Th

Bangkok - Thai shares shed 3.2 per cent of their value Wednesday on ongoing worries about the prospects for financial and oil-related stocks.

Phnom Penh - Cambodia said Wednesday that it was concerned about Thailand's ability to host the upcoming summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in December

Cambodia sympathized deeply with Thailand during its period of political turmoil and was suggesting a contingency plan for the scheduled summit of leaders of the 
10-member bloc, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, said in an official clarification issued by the Information Ministry.

Bangkok - Thai Parliament opened a special session Wednesday to vote in a new prime minister, slated to new Somcahi Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of coup-ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Somchai on Tuesday secured the nomination of his People Power Party and its five coalition partners, who together hold 306 of the 480 seats in the Lower House.

Somchai, 61, is married to Yaowapa, the younger sister of Thaksin who was toppled by a military coup on September 19, 2006, after holding the premiership since 2001.