THAI JUNTA UNDER FIRE FROM ALLIES OVER YINGLUCK ESCAPE
Thailand’s junta has come under fire from conservative allies following ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s escape overseas, with many questioning how the military could have let her flee given she was heavily monitored. Yingluck pulled a dramatic disappearing act before a scheduled court judgment on Friday in a criminal negligence trial. Analysts say Yingluck most likely cut a secret deal with the junta to exit the country—a charge the military has denied. The junta says it does not yet know how the country’s first female prime minister managed to slip the net. “It was clear that security officials followed her closely and took photographs of her everywhere she went, all the time. But she still was able to escape,” Panthep Puapongpan, one of the leaders of 2014 protests against Yingluck’s government, told reporters. “With Yingluck now escaped, the government, the security forces and the NCPO has to take responsibility,” he added, using the official acronym for the junta.
TWO DEAD, 25 MISSING IN CHINA LANDSLIDE
BEIJING: A landslide struck some 34 homes in southwest China on Monday, killing two people and leaving another 25 missing in the latest natural disaster to hit the country, state media reported. Rescuers pulled six people out of the rubble, including two who died, in Bijie, Guizhou province, city authorities told the official Xinhua news agency. Search efforts are ongoing and local authorities sent tents, quilts and camp beds to the site, the agency said. Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly after heavy rain.
INDIA SAYS TROOPS ‘ DISENGAGING’ FROM STAND- OFF WITH CHINA
NEW DELHI: India said Monday it had agreed with China to end a months-long military standoff at a strategically important disputed area in the Himalayas and troops had begun disengaging. India’s foreign ministry said it had reached an “understanding” after talks with Beijing about the tense confrontation in an area near the Indian border that is claimed by both China and Bhutan. Its statement suggested that both sides had agreed to pull back, although the Chinese foreign ministry said only that Indian troops were withdrawing. “India and China have maintained diplomatic communication in respect of the incident at Doklam,” New Delhi said in a statement referring to the standoff that began on June 16. “During these communications, we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests.” India does not claim Doklam for itself but is closely allied with Bhutan, which it regards as a buffer against rival China to the north.