Eighteen months ago, tycoon-turned-politician Thaksin Shinawatra won a landslide election victory and became a rising star on the regional stage. Today, he is out of a job after a coup d’etat and considering life in exile.

The European Union today condemned the coup in Thailand and demanded a return to a "democratically elected government."

The military leader who ousted Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today the coup was necessary to end mounting rifts within Thai society and Thaksin's efforts to undermine democracy.