Thailand lifts emergency decree in 3 provinces

BANGKOK — Thailand's government lifted a state of emergency in three provinces Monday but kept the decree in place in Bangkok and six other provinces. Emergency rule was lifted in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai and the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, said Tawin Pleansri, head of the National Security Council. The state of emergency was initially declared in April in Bangkok during anti-government protests. It was later extended to cover almost one-third of the country's 76 provinces. A state of emergency allows the government to impose curfews, prohibit public gatherings, censor and ban publications, detain suspects without charge, confiscate property and tap telephones, among other provisions. The government has kept the decree in place in Bangkok and elsewhere citing security concerns in the wake of the protests, which ended in an army crackdown on May 19. Some 90 people were killed and 1,400 injured in the two months of protests. — AP