An Iranian man wounded by an explosion in Bangkok lobbed a grenade at police that rebounded and blew off his leg in a series of blasts Israel said were an attempted terrorist attack by Iran.

Soldiers, public works crews and volunteers raced to repair a key barrier protecting Bangkok’s northern suburbs from approaching waters today.

THAI and Cambodian troops clashed for a third straight day yesterday over their disputed border, with gunfire and explosions echoing through mountainous jungle for several hours despite a call for a ceasefire by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.

The Thai government has invoked special security powers in seven Bangkok districts, including the capital’s main shopping districts ahead of protests by rival anti-government groups.

The Thai government agreed today to lift a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, eight months after it was imposed during sometimes violent anti-government protests in the capital.

Thailand’s ruling Democrat Party staved off possible dissolution today when a court refused to accept a case accusing it of illegal financing.

The Thai government today extended for three months a state of emergency in the capital and 18 provinces in the wake of bloody, anti-government demonstrations which pushed the country close to chaos.

Thailand’s government must hold elections soon to prove it has a public mandate after protests that left 90 dead in the nation’s capital, a lawyer for fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today.

Central Bangkok became a battleground today as the army stormed a barricaded protest camp and the Red Shirt leadership surrendered, enraging demonstrators who fired grenades and started fires that cloaked the skyline in a black haze.

The Thai government has claimed that the army was successful in its initial push to clear a protest zone in central Bangkok.

THE Thai government rejected a proposal yesterday for peace talks with leaders of the Red Shirt protesters to end the deadly mayhem gripping Bangkok, saying negotiations cannot start until the demonstrators disperse.

The Thai government today rejected peace talks with Red Shirt protesters to end the deadly chaos in Bangkok, demanding the demonstrators disperse first.

The Thai government today rejected peace talks with Red Shirt leaders, demanding protesters in Bangkok disperse first.

Thailand's government has demanded an end to the spiralling violence in Bangkok - but as yet neither side has laid down their arms.

Thailand’s Red Shirt protest leaders said today they are willing to negotiate with the government if the army ends its crackdown immediately to put an end to four days of street fighting that has killed 25 people.

Thai authorities today announced they plan to impose a curfew in parts of Bangkok that have been wracked by clashes between Red Shirt protesters and the army.

A Red Shirt aide has said a military strategist involved with protestors in Thailand had been shot in the head as gunfire and explosions echoed through central Bangkok today.

Tens of thousands of protesters riding motorcycles and crammed into trucks and cars rolled through the streets of the Thai capital today to rally residents to their “class war” against the government.

Protesters in Thailand today donated blood they plan to splatter at the Thai government headquarters in Bangkok in a symbolic sacrifice if their demands for new elections are not met.

Thailand moved today to close a refugee camp and send 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to Laos, despite concerns about their safety.

Angelina Jolie has issued an emotive plea to the Thai government urging officials to free thousands of Burmese refugees who have been held in camps for up to 20 years.

Ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra accused the new Thai government of exploiting popular policies he had introduced.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the main party in the ruling coalition and banned the prime minister and 36 party executives from politics for five years.

The official death toll from Burma's killer cyclone nearly doubled to 78,000 today as aid workers shackled by the country's uncooperative military regime struggled to get even the most basic data about the needs of up to 2.5 million desperate survivors.

A BURMA state radio station yesterday said close to 4,000 people were killed and nearly 3,000 others are unaccounted for in a single town after the devastating Tropical Cyclone Nargis swept through.

Asian countries today proposed forming an OPEC-style group to gain control over spiralling rice prices.

Pakistan’s government has banned access to the video-sharing website YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies users have posted on the site, an official said.

Pakistan's government has banned access to the video-sharing website YouTube because of movies that the authorities consider 'anti-Islamic', an official said today.

Next week’s Royal Trophy in Bangkok – a match play tournament between teams from Europe and Asia – has been postponed after the country entered a period of mourning following the death of the King’s sister.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thailand’s pursuit of him was politically motivated and insisted all his assets were acquired legally, a Swiss newspaper reported today.

Thaksin Shinawatra’s lawyer has demanded the Thai government and human rights organisations provide “solid evidence” if they are to continue accusing the Manchester City owner of wrongdoing.

THE Thai government is seeking closer links with Muslim countries, part of a two-pronged strategy to end separatist violence in three of its southern provinces.

The Thai government will freeze an additional €12.1m in assets believed to be controlled by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been accused of corruption, an official said today.

Prospective new Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has gone on the offensive against the Thai government and its agencies.

There is a “fair chance” of Sven-Goran Eriksson becoming the next Manchester City manager, according to the man brokering Thaksin Shinawatra’s takeover of the club.

THE credibility of former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s bid to take control of Manchester City was thrown into question yesterday when £830m of his assets were “frozen” by the Thai government.

A bomb exploded in the centre of Bangkok today, wounding one person, Thai police said.

The Thai government has retained a ban on the popular YouTube video website despite the removal of a short film deemed insulting to the country’s beloved monarch.

Thailand's military-backed government today pledged tighter security in the South of the country after bombings and shootings by suspected Muslim insurgents killed eight people and wounded almost 70.

The Dow Jones industrial average reached another record close today as investors largely looked past economic and earnings reports that had stirred concerns about the health of the US economy.

Tesco said today it will highlight the “benefit of modern retail” when it meets the Thai government to discuss plans to block the supermarket’s expansion in the country.

It’s time for the Thai government to drop its refusal to negotiate with leaders of a bloody Muslim insurgency in the country’s south, the powerful army chief said today, a day after 22 bombs exploded at banks, killing one and wounding 27.

Police arrested two Britons and a Thai government official today for alleged extortion, money-laundering and illegal land deals on the popular resort island of Koh Samui.