Thai Senate suggests interim PM

Thailand's Senate said on Friday it was ready to choose an interim PM to end a political deadlock but stopped short of throwing out a beleaguered caretaker government and risking a violent backlash by its supporters.

The caretaker administration loyal to Yingluck Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister by a court last week, wants to organise a fresh election it would likely win.

But anti-government protesters backed by the royalist establishment want to see a new "neutral" interim premier to oversee electoral changes to end the influence of Yingluck's brother, ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.