Thai PM hospitalised with food poisoning

Thailand: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, grappling with a devastating flood crisis, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday with food poisoning, her government said.

"She is in Praram 9 Hospital because she is suffering from diarrhoea due to food poisoning," government spokeswoman Titima Chaisang told reporters, adding that Yingluck had asked her deputy to chair a cabinet meeting in her place. The 44-year-old leader, the younger sister of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was a political novice before taking office in August and has struggled to get a grip on Thailand's worst floods in half a century.

The government has faced criticism for its slow response and confusing public advice about the disaster, which has left more than 600 people dead. Bangkok, Tuesday, AFP