00:01Thailand's parliament was dissolved on Friday for new elections set to be held early next
00:05year as the country continues its cross-border skirmishes with Cambodia.
00:10Thai Prime Minister Anutin Chornviraku dissolved the House of Representatives, the parliament's
00:15lower house, after obtaining approval from King Mahavijera Longkorn.
00:19New elections must be held within 45 to 60 days after the royal endorsement, a period
00:25which would see Anutin continue to head the government in a caretaker capacity.
00:30Anutin rose to power in September after gaining support from the main opposition in exchange
00:35for a promise to dissolve parliament within four months and deliver a referendum on drafting
00:40a new constitution.
00:42The move comes at a tricky political moment, as Thailand is engaged in large-scale combat
00:46with Cambodia over long-disputed border claims.
00:50Around two dozen people were reported killed in the fighting this week, while hundreds of
00:54thousands have been displaced on both sides.
00:57The renewed fighting comes despite an existing truce, brokered by US President Donald Trump
01:02in late October.
01:04Trump has vowed to make peace between the two nations again and end the decades-long border
01:09dispute.
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