Pita’s PM bid fails

BANGKOK—Thailand’s caretaker prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called for calm Thursday after a popular progressive candidate’s bid to succeed him was thwarted by military and pro-royalist lawmakers.

Pita Limjaroenrat’s party won the most seats in May elections, but on Wednesday he was dramatically suspended from parliament, which then refused to grant him a second vote to become the kingdom’s next premier.

About 1,000 people gathered for a protest that night to express their anger over the Harvard-educated liberal leader’s foiled bid for power, before dispersing peacefully.

Thailand is no stranger to political unrest, and Prayut -- who took power in a 2014 coup -- “understood” the frustration of Pita’s supporters, his office said. But he also implored the public to “move Thailand forward in a democratic way alongside the monarchy”, spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said.

BEIJING—Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger as an “old friend” as the two met in Beijing on Thursday.

10 killed in India landslide

MUMBAI, India—At least 10 people were killed after a landslide triggered by heavy rains smashed into their village in India’s Maharashtra state with dozens more feared trapped, officials said Thursday.

Rescue teams were battling lashing rain in the remote, hilly and forested Raigad district, with people scrambling at mounds of earth and rubble.

Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, said 10 people had died in the landslide, which overwhelmed the village overnight.

“More than 200 people reside there, we have rescued about 70 people so far—out of those, 21 are injured,” Fadnavis said on Thursday morning.

Police officer Harish Kalsekar told AFP that nearly 50 people were feared still buried under the debris.

“It is raining and the terrain is hilly, so heavy equipment can’t be moved there,” Kalsekar said.

Interior Minister Amit Shah said the priority was “to evacuate people from the scene and treat the injured immediately”.

India has been battered by rains since the start of the annual monsoon season in June, and flooding and landslides have killed scores of people.

Monsoon rains are vital to replenishing rivers and groundwater, but the deluge also causes widespread destruction every year. AFP

“The expressions of opinion and political activities need to be peaceful, without violence, and without destroying the economy, trade and investment.”

Pita’s Move Forward Party (MFP) has ridden high on the support of young and urban Thais frustrated by nearly a decade of army-backed rule, but Thailand’s establishment vehemently opposes its agenda.

The party has refused to compromise on its pledge to revise the kingdom’s strict royal defamation law, which can allow convicted critics of the monarchy to be jailed for up to 15 years.

Its reformist platform also poses a threat to family-owned business monopolies that play an outsized role in the kingdom’s economy.

Pita was suspended from parliament by the Constitutional Court when it decided to proceed with a case that could see him disqualified as an MP altogether for owning shares in a media company. AFP