Nit says political pressure too much as talks with US mired in dispute. Nit Pibulsongkram is to resign as head of the Thai team negotiating a free-trade agreement with the United States because of the tremendous political pressure weighing on him, according to a source at Government House.

KL sparks confusion over Thai refugees’ fate

Confusion arose yesterday over the fate of 130 Muslim-Thais who have sought refuge in Malaysia since August after senior officials in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok released conflicting re-ports regarding their repatriation. Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, of Malaysia’s prime minister’s department, incorrectly reported that the group held in northern Terengganu state were released and sent home, according to the state-run Bernama news agency.

PM’s case-by-case approach will fix nothing, say critics

While Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was mingling with his rural audience on the second day of his anti-poverty mission in Roi Et’s At Samat district, academics and politicians lamented his case-by-case approach to the problem and said it was unlikely to bring about an effective solution. Due to his authority, it appears he has managed to easily solve the problems of individual villagers by just issuing instructions to local officials and state agencies.