Policeman killed in Thailand clashes

One policeman died on Thursday in clashes between security forces and protesters in the first instance of violence in two months of anti-government demonstrations in Thailand which called for the resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the postponement of elections scheduled for February next year. The policeman, badly wounded in the clashes which erupted after protesters tried to break into a sports stadium in capital Bangkok where officials were registering candidates for the February 2 vote, died and 60 people were wounded, said a police spokesman. Police fired tear gas canisters and used rubber bullets to disperse protesters trying to storm the sports stadium. Protesters hurled stones at the police, according to witnesses. Three officials of the Election Commission were wounded and others were airlifted by a helicopter, said a police spokesman. Several protesters and security forces were also wounded. Amid clashes the Election Commission called for a delay in the election schedule, and said in a statement that the government should consider postponing the early elections due to ongoing tension in the country. The government had yet to respond to the commission's call. Thailand has the second largest economy in southeast Asia after Indonesia. Anti-government protests started after the country's lower parliament approved a proposed law which would allow Thaksin Shinawatra, currently in exile, to return toThailand. Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's brother, was removed by a military coup in 2006 for corruption and left Thailand after being sentenced to two years in prison.