Thailand: 'Protests force Thai PM to stand down in face-saving compromise. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra stunned the nation last night by crumbling under mounting pressure to quit and agreeing to relinquish power, despite winning Sunday's snap election with 57 per cent of the vote. Mr Thaksin, twice elected prime minister by landslide margins, dropped his post-election bombshell in an abruptly announced speech on national television. "I am sorry that I will not accept the premier post," he said in a subdued voice. But the man referred to by Bangkok's metropolitan elite as a "square-faced tyrant" will not be leaving office immediately.'(Independent)