Thaksin Shinawatra

Jailed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be freed, the kingdom's justice minister said Tuesday, possibly as soon as the weekend — just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile.

Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned from 15 years in exile on Tuesday and was immediately jailed, but his time behind bars could be cut short with his party on the cusp of winning back power.

Thailand's progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) claimed victory in the country's election Monday after a result that decimated military-backed parties that have ruled the kingdom for nearly a decade.

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared her innocence and asked for "kindness" from a court Aug. 1 during her final statement in a criminal negligence trial that could land her in prison for 10 years if she is convicted.

Montenegro has granted 203 honorary citizenship to "prominent" figures in summary procedures since 2008, report says.

According to the same report, of that figure, 195 were proposed by Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic .

Montenegro's government plans to offer citizenship to foreign investors who are willing to invest money in the undeveloped north of the country, media reported on Tuesday.

The Tourism Ministry is preparing an "economic citizenship" package designed for foreign investors but has not specified a date when the scheme will begin.

Thailand's ousted prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra insisted on her innocence May 19 at the start of a trial that could see her jailed for a decade, part of what observers say is a vendetta against her family.

Thailand's junta-picked national assembly on Thursday chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenched the military's hold on power.
      
Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the army chief, who ousted an elected government in a bloodless takeover on May 22.