Lao's first casino is to be opened on the border with Thailand in Savannakhet. The complex will include a casino, a five-star hotel with 160 rooms, restaurants, an amusement park, an aqua-park and a traditional spa service centre.

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in 2006, has returned to his country. Thousands gathered at the international airport in Bangkok to greet him, but he has to deal with criminal charges dating from his time in office, and analysts say his return ushers in a new period of political instability in the kingdom. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.

A Thai official says former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return from exile on Thursday, nearly 18 months after being ousted in a bloodless military coup.

Military leaders who staged a 2006 coup in Thailand say they failed to achieve their goals after sending former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra into exile. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.

Thailand's new cabinet has been approved, putting in place the first elected government since the military ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. As VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok, the new cabinet is stacked with Mr. Thaksin's supporters, who are taking steps to prevent any new intervention by the military.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Thursday sent a message of congratulations to Samak Sundaravej on his election as Thailand's new prime minister.

Thailand's governing coalition in parliament has chosen former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej as the country's new prime minister. Mr. Sundaravej is a close ally of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Bangkok.

Samak Sundaravej, an ally of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has been elected as Thai's new Prime Minister after winning a majority of votes in parliament.

Despite protests the coalition government has given the approval to sell Gripen jet fighters to Thailand.

South and Southeast Asian countries are grappling with new outbreaks of bird flu as winter weather sweeps across the region. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the latest outbreaks are still confined primarily to poultry, but one new human death has been reported in Vietnam.

The wife of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra says her husband will return to Thailand in May to face corruption charges, after more than a year of living in exile.

Mangroves in coastal Thailand are the main protection against deadly flooding from tsunamis, so it might seem wise to protect them at all costs.