SINGAPORE, May 30 — Thailand's new finance minister has caught investor attention with a more conciliatory approach to the central bank, opening a window for policy coordination to support battered markets.

BANGKOK, Dec 26 — Torrential downpours have unleashed widespread flooding across southern Thailand, displacing nearly 20,000 households as rising waters swamp homes and cut off villages in five provinces — Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, Songkhla, and Satun.