Meanwhile, former prime minister Banharn Silapa-archa has accepted an AEC invitation to give information, but a date has yet to be set.

The AEC on Tuesday said it wanted to probe a plot of land on Ratchadaphisek Road that Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra had bought and needed to ask three former prime ministers - Banharn, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Chuan Leekpai - about the land, because its history can be traced back 10 years to their tenures.

They will also be questioned about their government's lottery policies and whether they had ever used GLO revenues for their political campaigns. - The Nation.

Campaign counter-claims: Court throws out defamation case

The Criminal Court yesterday threw out a defamation action involving Thai Rak Thai and Democrat "campaign bickering" during the 2004 general election.

In its ruling the court said the complainant Democrat Party had not been defamed by the defendants, which included the Thai Rak Thai Party.

It said the remarks complained about - on campaign stickers - were too general for the public to interpret them as smears.

Key defendants included deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, party spokesman Sita Divari, police investigator Maj General Kosin Hinthao and the Daily News, which reported the remarks. - The Nation.

Retirement blues: Elderly want to keep on working

After discovering that more and more people over 60 are working, the National Committee for the Elderly yesterday instructed related agencies to provide senior workers with career information.

A meeting presided over by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula was told there were 6.4 million senior citizens in Thailand last year, forming 10.2 per cent of the population. The number who remained at work rose from 30.3 per cent in 2001 to 37.1 per cent last year. - The Nation.

Phetchabun: Arrested Hmong deny spying

Two ethnic Hmong from Laos were arrested yesterday while filming Hmong refugees sheltering in Phetchabun's Ban Huay Namkhao camp. Lee Tu, 35, from the northern province of Xiang Khuang, and Loh Jer, 40, from Vientiane, were being detained at Lomsak district police station without charge as they have valid travelling documents and entered the Kingdom via the proper channels, police said.

Military officers at Ban Huay Namkhao camp nabbed the two on suspicion of spying on Hmong refugees. Lee Tu denied the allegation, saying he and Loh Jer entered Thailand to search for his wife, who has been detained in Lomsak for nearly a year on a charge of illegal entry.

Police said the two would be released soon, unless the military could prove they are a security threat. - The Nation.