Thaksin can be tried in absentia

A Thai court says the corruption trial of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife can proceed, despite the fact that they fled to Britain earlier this week.

Mr Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, are being tried on charges of malfeasance and conflict of interest for the 2003 purchase of a plot of land in central Bangkok from a government agency when he was the country’s prime minister.