Also receiving Thaksin were his wife and two daughters, Interior Minister Chalerm Yubambrung, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama, Transport Minister Santi Prompat, Justice Minister Somchai Wongsawat.

After stepping out of the VIP room around 10:10 A.M. (0310GMT), Thaksin prostrated and kissed the ground to pay respect to his motherland, before greeting his supporters with a "wai", the way to greet people in Thai tradition by putting the palms together.

Since the coup, which took place when Thaksin was attending the United Nations Assembly in New York, the telecom-tycoon-turned-politician has been traveling around the world in a self-exile, mostly residing in Britain, where he owned a house in London and bought the Manchester City Football Club.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2008)