Court forces Thai PM, Cabinet from office

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's prime minister and part of her Cabinet have been forced out of office by a Constitutional Court ruling finding her guilty in an abuse of power case, pushing the country deeper into political turmoil.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was charged with abusing her authority by transferring a senior civil servant in 2011 to another position, and found Cabinet members in office at the time complicit in the decision.

The court ruled that the transfer was carried out with a "hidden agenda" to benefit her politically powerful family and, therefore, violated the constitution, an accusation she has denied.

The ruling forces Yingluck and nine members of her current caretaker Cabinet from office. It was not immediately clear who would become the new acting caretaker prime minister.