Shinawatra family

The Thai king on Sunday formally appointed Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old daughter of controversial billionaire ex-premier Thaksin, as Thailand's new prime minister.

Jailed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be freed, the kingdom's justice minister said Tuesday, possibly as soon as the weekend — just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile.

Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned from 15 years in exile on Tuesday and was immediately jailed, but his time behind bars could be cut short with his party on the cusp of winning back power.

Following news that former Thai prime minister Tingluck Shinawatra - who has fled a prison sentence in Thailand for corruption - obtained Serbian citizenship in June, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said he does not see this as a problem, calling also for ways to make it easier to get a Serbian passport.

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared her innocence and asked for "kindness" from a court Aug. 1 during her final statement in a criminal negligence trial that could land her in prison for 10 years if she is convicted.

Thailand's ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra insisted on her innocence May 19 at the start of a trial that could see her jailed for a decade, part of what observers say is a vendetta against her family.