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Thai PM Survives No-confidence Vote


Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has easily survived a no-confidence vote in parliament, where her party controls the majority of seats.

Lawmakers in Bangkok voted 297 to 134 Thursday against a measure that would have unseated her because of allegations of corruption.

Meanwhile, opposition protesters expanded their demonstrations across the capital Wednesday, vowing to take over every government ministry until Prime Minister Yingluck resigns.

The protesters have already taken over parts of the finance and foreign ministries and surrounded the interior ministry.

Prime Minister Yingluck has refused to step down and has called for dialogue to resolve the situation. She has vowed not to use violence to stop the protests.

The street protests are the largest in Thailand since 2010, when more than 90 people were killed in a military crackdown on an opposition protest.

The latest protests were triggered several weeks ago by an amnesty bill that would have allowed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Mrs. Yingluck's brother, to return home and avoid a two-year jail term for corruption. That amnesty bill was rejected by the Senate, but opposition-led protests have continued.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra came to power in 2011. Thaksin, was toppled by street protests in 2006 and convicted of corruption. He has lived in exile to escape the charges, which he says were politically motivated.
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