Word: thais
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...Buddhist-majority Thailand displays what may be the world's most tolerant attitude toward what locals call kathoey, loosely translated as "ladyboys." The term, which does not have an exact counterpart in English, refers to people who are born physiologically male but, as one Thai saying goes, "have a female heart." Kathoeys include everyone from occasional cross-dressers to those who have completed gender-reassignment surgery...
...parliamentary no-confidence vote; although Samak's six-party coalition, which controls two-thirds of the lower house, shot down the motion by a vote of 280-162, there's no end in sight to Thailand's political crisis. Investors, spooked by the continuing turmoil, have fled the Thai stock market, which has swooned more than 10% since the anti-government protests began in late...
...Shinawatra, the military deposed him in a bloodless coup. (Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon, was subsequently banned from politics and now faces corruption charges, which he denies.) A year of uninspired army junta rule followed. In elections last December, voters, who had once handed Thaksin the largest mandate in recent Thai history, brought to power right-wing firebrand Samak, who through his People Power Party (PPP) openly campaigned as Thaksin's proxy. Although Samak has in recent weeks distanced himself from his polarizing predecessor, his cabinet teems with Thaksin acolytes. Thaksin's former spokesman is now Foreign Minister, while his brother...
...Seven members of Samak's cabinet also faced no-confidence motions; all of them survived the vote. But the fact that the ruling coalition held together doesn't mean that Thai politics are returning to normal. Coup rumors abound. Street protesters vow to continue their rallies, especially if Samak continues with plans to scrap the constitution passed by Thailand's military rulers last year. One of the most contentious parts of the charter is a provision that a political party can be dissolved if one of its executives is convicted of wrongdoing. In February, Thailand's election commission found...
...first constitutional amendments the P.M. pushed for is a reversal of the party-dissolution rule. Speaking to TIME, Samak scoffed at the possibility of a court case derailing his leadership and vowed to serve out his four-year term. But Thaksin is the only elected Prime Minister in modern Thai history to complete a full term. Unless Samak can channel Thaksin's once-mighty political skills, the occasional TV chef may be returning to stirring the wok full-time...