Thai PM faces new dismissal threat in court

BANGKOK, Apr 2 (AFP):- Thailand's Constitutional Court agreed Wednesday to consider a petition to remove Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office for transferring a top security official-the latest in a volley of legal challenges by her opponents.

The case was filed by a group of senators who argued that the replacement of then-national security chief Thawil Pliensri after Yingluck was elected in 2011 was for the benefit of her party.

Under the constitution-drawn up in the wake of a 2006 coup that ousted Yingluck's brother Thaksin Shinawatra as premier-such an offence could lead to her sacking.

Yingluck must present her defence within 15 days of receiving a copy of the petition, according to the ruling.

The Supreme Administrative Court last month ordered Yingluck to reinstate Thawil, saying his transfer was unlawful.

Five months of political street protests have failed to achieve their goal of forcing Yingluck to resign to make way for an unelected interim leader to oversee reforms.

With attendance at the rallies dwindling, Yingluck's opponents have stepped up their legal moves, accusing her family of abusing their political dominance for personal gain.

Yingluck has been charged by the National Anti-Corruption Commission with neglect of duty in connection with a flagship rice subsidy scheme that critics say fostered rampant corruption.

Meanwhile: At least seven people died and 19 others were injured Wednesday when a massive World War II bomb exploded at a scrap metal warehouse in Bangkok as workers tried to cut it open, officials said.

The 225-kilogram (500-pound) shell was found at a construction site by builders who then sold it to a suburban scrap metal merchant believing the bomb had been defused.

"The workers at the warehouse thought the bomb was no longer active so they used a metal cutter to cut into it causing the explosion," said local police commander Virasak Foythong, adding the ordnance was probably left over from the war era.

Meanwhile:  Three government officials were shot dead on Wednesday in Thailand's insurgency-stricken south-among them a woman who was then beheaded, police told AFP.

The trio, a village chief and two women assisting him, were gunned down as they drove on a remote road after attending a meeting in a notorious security 'Red Zone' in Yala province, a hotbed of the insurgency.