Thailand's caretaker PM remains in Northeast

LOEI, THAILAND, December 23 (TNA) - Caretaker Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is still in the Thai Northeast, an important vote base of her Pheu Thai Party, to avoid confrontation with anti-government demonstrators in Bangkok. Yingluck has been in the Thai Northeast for seven days and she was in Chiang Khan District of Loei Province on Monday morning, when she was also monitoring disturbance during party-list candidates' applications in Bangkok, while a number of pro-government red-shirt people gave a warm welcome to her amid tight security. Yingluck was then briefly reported by her Pheu Thai Party's leader, Caretaker Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan, that her party could eventually file its application. The caretaker prime minister later visited a customs checkpoint in Loei's Tha Li District on Monday afternoon, as it is under her government's 2.2 trillion-baht infrastructure development projects to facilitate transport connectivity with neighboring countries. The caretaker premier then visited the Phra That Sri Song Rak pagoda, a sacred place of Thai and Lao people, where she also pushed for bilateral tourism promotion. The caretaker prime minister was then traveling to Phetchabun Province, where she is likely to spend a night. The caretaker prime minister will probably continue visiting other provinces until the end of this year to relieve tension in Bangkok, where anti-government demonstrations have persisted.(TNA)