Gemstone portrait of ousted Thai PM stranded in Hanoi

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

HANOI (AFP) — The fate of a portrait of deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, lovingly crafted in gemstones for a key regional summit, hangs in the balance after he was ousted in a bloodless coup. Thailand's new foreign minister said there was no room in the delegation's official plane for the likeness of the billionaire businessman, and Thaksin's current globetrotting has left him without a permanent address.

Artist Dao Trong Cuong prepared the colourful portraits of leaders attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi, rendering the likes of George W. Bush and Russia's Vladimir Putin in rubies and sapphires. But the unexpected September 19 Thai coup left Cuong scrambling to put together a new masterpiece. "Before the coup, we had...

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