Hat Yai (Thailand): A 17-year-old stole a gun from police and opened fire at a public high school in southern Thailand, briefly taking people hostage Wednesday in a two-hour attack that killed one person and injured two others, police and local officials said.

Bhumjaithai's rise on surging nationalism unleashed by the Thai-Cambodia conflict - alongside the decline of Pheu Thai after its travails last year - has triggered a rash of defections and reshaped political battlegrounds, including vote-rich agrarian belts.

Vote counting was underway in Thailand's early general election on Sunday, seen as a three-way race among competing visions of progressive, populist and old-fashioned patronage politics.

By Orathai Sriring and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Thailand faced a realignment of conservative politics on Monday, with coalition talks expected to start soon after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's party clinched a stronger-than-expected general election victory.

With nearly 95% of polling stations reporting, preliminary results released by the election commission showed the Bhumjaithai Party winning about 192 seats.

The Bhumjaithai Party of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is on track to win the most seats in Thailand’s general election, according to unofficial results.

Thailand has approved Bitcoin and digital assets for use in derivatives trading, targeting institutional investors and regional crypto hub status.

HONG KONG/BEIJING, Feb 12 (Reuters) - More Chinese tourists are ⁠expected ⁠to travel overseas during next week's extra-long Lunar ⁠New Year break, with top destinations ranging from Russia and Australia to Thailand and South Korea, travel ​agencies say, but Japan has lost some sheen.