Thai watch

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s list of political firsts has one more entry. He is now wanted as a "terrorist," becoming the first former Thai leader to be slapped with that charge. But this fourth mark of distinction – following his becoming the first prime minister to complete a four-year term in this kingdom, the first premier to be re-elected for a consecutive term and the first former Thai leader to be convicted on corruption – carries with it a sense of irony.