Word: parliament
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Thousands of protesters swarmed Thailand's parliament Nov. 24, disrupting a legislative session and calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. The demonstrators, who call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, surrounded government buildings, cut electrical lines and declared the rally to be the "final push" of their six-month campaign to oust the ruling party. The protests came at the same time as an announcement that Thailand's economy, which has been badly hit by the global financial crisis, is in even worse shape than had previously been predicted...
...strange thing to say about anything that leads to brawls in parliament, angry demonstrations and fiery rhetoric from the Prime Minister. But the deal between the U.S. and Iraq over the future presence of American troops has unified Iraq in unexpected ways. Politicians agree that the U.S. military must withdraw, and soon--and while they disagree fiercely about whether the end of 2011 is soon enough, the debate has brought together some unlikely bedfellows. Sunni hard-liners joined Shi'ites loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in opposing the deal, while Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki won enthusiastic backing from...
...restaurants and cafés across Baghdad, TV screens normally featuring music videos and Arabic soap operas were instead tuned to Iraqi news channels that seemed at times to be devoted exclusively to the story. It was democracy as reality TV. Iraqis watched as politicians denounced each other across the parliament floor and as Maliki griped at a press conference that failure to ratify the pact would leave the U.S. in control of Iraqi airspace, giving Americans "the right to cancel even my flights...
Hollywood, the land of ultimate battles and last stands, doesn't have a monopoly on dramatic endings. On Nov. 24, thousands of anti-government protesters swarmed Thailand's parliament in what they called - drumroll please - the "final showdown...
This was, in fact, one of several self-proclaimed final showdowns by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which has long been intent on erasing from government any influence of billionaire populist Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed as Prime Minister in a 2006 army coup. After surrounding Parliament and forcing lawmakers to abandon their work, the PAD moved on to Bangkok's old airport, where a VIP lounge now serves as the makeshift headquarters of current Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. A brother-in-law of Thaksin, Somchai was evicted from his real office by the protesters, who have besieged...