BANGKOK: Thailand’s government has returned the Thai passport of the fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and is preparing to welcome him from exile, stoking renewed political tensions in the country.

Mr Thaksin, a divisive figure, missed a self-imposed deadline to be in Bangkok for the wedding of his daughter Pinthongta two weeks ago.

But supporters of the telecommunications tycoon, who has lived in exile since 2008, believe he will be home within months.

Read more: smh.com.au