Thailand's former PM Thaksin freed from prison

BANGKOK, May 11 (Reuters): Thailand's billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was released from jail on parole and met by cheering crowds on Monday, eight months after a court ordered him to do the prison time he tried to dodge with a prolonged stay in hospital.

The 76-year-old tycoon remade and dominated Thai politics for a quarter-century, but his influence has waned of late following his jailing and his once formidable Pheu Thai Party's worst election performance on record earlier this year.