Et Cetera

In a delicate move, Thailand's King last week tiptoed past a military-backed contender and, after consultations with political leaders, appointed Anand Panyarachun, 59, a former diplomat and businessman, to be interim Prime Minister for the second time. Initially installed by the military following a February 1991 coup, Anand ran Thailand's most honest and competent government in decades before stepping down last March. His sensitive task now: to organize new elections and extricate the military from politics in response to last month's bloody pro-democracy street clashes.