Thailand’s Supreme Court today agreed to hear a corruption case against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra over alleged wrongdoing in a land deal, in the top court’s first case against the exiled former premier.

THAIS voted in large numbers yesterday as the embattled prime minister urged citizens to ignore an opposition boycott of parliamentary elections marred by three bombings and a small number of arrests.

Thailand’s prime minister vowed today to declare an emergency if anti-government protesters in the capital turned violent, as tens of thousands massed near his office demanding he resign over corruption allegations.

A small bomb blast outside the residence of the Thai king’s chief adviser injured a British tourist in Bangkok today, police said, heightening tension amid weeks of protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.