The political rumblings have begun, in the form of ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s birthday tears amid visits to her home by numerous supporters. She told them she was bracing herself for the court verdict in the rice scheme trial. But it’s not just Yingluck who’s preparing for the worst. The whole of Thailand is dreading the day of the ruling.

FORMER PRIME MINISTER Yingluck Shinawatra said tearfully yesterday that she hoped to thank everyone in the country personally while assuring she would not flee the country as a court ruling approached in a case stemming from her government’s rice-pledging scheme.