Former Thai leader Thaksin makes first public appearances after release from detention

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s paroled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has launched a series of public appearances with an early morning visit to a holy shrine in the capital Bangkok before flying to his home province of Chiang Mai in the country’s north. The controversial billionaire former leader, who was toppled in a coup in 2006 but remains influential in politics, arrived before dawn at Bangkok’s historic City Pillar accompanied by his youngest daughter Paetongtarn. Thaksin returned to Thailand last year after years in self-exile to avoid a jail term for corruption. a charge he always denied. His eight-year sentence was commuted to one year and he was released on parole last month after serving all his time in a hospital. His appearances Thursday were his first in public since then.