Yingluck allowed to leave

The military junta, which is formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), announced on Thursday that it had approved the former prime minister's request to be allowed to leave the country, as she had complied with orders to stay out of politics.

"The NCPO yesterday approved Prime Minister Yingluck's request to leave the country because since the coup she has never shown that she was against the NCPO's work," army spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said. "She has kept a low profile ever since," he added.

Yingluck was among hundreds of politicians, activists, journalists and academics detained shortly after the May 22 coup. Some remain in custody, while many of the others who were released are subject to restrictions such as bans on political activity or travel abroad.

The former prime minister was removed from office in a controversial court ruling shortly before the army moved in to oust her party from government.

The coup followed months of mass street protests against her government, after it attempted to pass legislation that would have extended an amnesty to her older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. He fled the country two years later - and has been in self-imposed exile ever since - to avoid serving a jail sentence after being convicted on corruption charges.

Yingluck is expected to travel to Paris next week to attend Thaksin's 65th birthday party.

pfd/tj (AFP, Reuters, AP)