BANGKOK: Thailand's influential former premier Thaksin Shinawatra flew out of the country on Thursday (Sep 4), police said, a day before a parliamentary vote for the next prime minister and ahead of a court ruling that could see him jailed. The departure of the billionaire Thaksin, who spent a total of 15 years in self-imposed exile, comes as the coalition government of the ruling Pheu Thai party he founded is in turmoil, facing a major challenge from a rival party ahead of Friday's vote. On