Three explosions shake Bangkok; Iranian link suspected

REPORTING FROM NEW DELHI -- Three explosions reportedly linked to Iranian nationals rattled downtown Bangkok on Tuesday, a day after an Israeli diplomatic vehicle was bombed in India in an attack that Israel attributed to Iran. Four Thai nationals were reportedly injured slightly in the Bangkok blasts, according to authorities.

Security was stepped up throughout the Thai capital as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged caution in the wake of the blasts, which occurred around 2 p.m.

"I would like to ask the people not to panic," Shinawatra said. "The authorities have now arrested an attacker."

According to Bangkok Police Deputy Commissioner Pisit Pisutsak, a bomb exploded in a house rented by Iranian nationals, at which point two occupants fled. A third man followed and tried to flag a taxi. When the taxi refused to stop, given the man's bloodied condition, the suspect reportedly threw a grenade at the taxi, damaging the vehicle and injuring the driver.

The suspect then threw a second grenade at police on the Sukhumvit 71 road, which detonated near him and seriously injured his legs, according to Bangkok's The Nation newspaper. Police identified the man as Saci Morabi, 50, and said he had been taken to a hospital, where he would be questioned.

A manhunt is on for the other two suspects.

Last month, a foreign national allegedly linked to Hezbollah militants led Thai police to a warehouse filled with over 8,800 pounds of urea fertilizer and several gallons of liquid ammonium nitrate, key bomb-making ingredients.

In response, the U.S. Embassy and Israel issued emergency alerts to their citizens, warning of a possible terror threat in Bangkok. 

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-- Mark Magnier

Photo: A Thai official examines a backpack left by a suspected bomber on Tuesday as police investigate three blasts in Bangkok they say may be linked to Iranian nationals. Credit: Apichart Weerawong / Associated Press

American gets 2 1/2 years in prison for defaming Thai king

 

REPORTING FROM BANGKOK, THAILAND -- A U.S. citizen on Thursday received a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for insulting Thailand's king, prompting the American Embassy to issue a rare rebuke, saying that the punishment was too harsh and was a violation of free-speech rights.

The case involving Thailand's controversial lese majeste laws was complicated by citizenship and jurisdiction issues. The violation by Thai-born Lerpong Wichaikhammat, 55, involving an Internet posting deemed disrespectful, was written several years ago while he was living in Colorado.

In addition to his blog writings, Lerpong was accused of posting a Web link to a banned site featuring an unofficial biography of the king. Lerpong, whose American name is Joe Gordon, was arrested in May while visiting Thailand for medical treatment. He pleaded guilty to the charges in October.

Thailand has some of the world's toughest lese majeste, or "injured majesty," laws protecting its extremely popular monarch, Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84. In recent years, the number of cases has jumped and sentences have become tougher. Critics and political scientists argue that the laws violate free expression and are often used by people close to the ailing monarch who are trying to protect their own interests or undermine rivals during a period of political turbulence.

Flooding continues torrent of destruction in Thailand

Floodwaters in Thailand have crept closer to central Bangkok, forcing new evacuations and the closure of one of the country's largest shopping malls as the deluge threatened to swamp the Thai capital’s subway system, according to international news agencies.

Bloomberg news service reported Friday that Thai officials had built more barriers around Bangkok, including a wall of sandbags along a canal north of the city, and dikes were being further reinforced.

Officials from Bangkok's subway system were closely monitoring three stations in the area, but so far all of them remained open, the Associated Press reported. The agency said local media reports put the water’s depth at 15 inches.

The monsoonal floods, which began in late July, have killed more than 400 people, and thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate. More than a quarter of Bangkok's 50 districts had been ordered evacuated, and nationwide the homes of some 10 million residents had been flooded.

International journalists honored with courage awards

  Journalist Adela Navarro Bello of Mexico clutched nervously at the midsection of her orange dress. Parisa Hafezi, from Iran, admitted feeling short on the courage she required. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, from Thailand, needed a deep breath and lots of water.

For a few seconds at Monday's gathering in a ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel, these women seemed uncertain in the face of pressure, except for the fact of why they were there in the first place.

The three are this year’s recipients of the Courage in Journalism awards given by the International Women's Media Foundation, which staged its annual banquet to honor the winners.

"I am just a reporter, and my job is to write and not to speak much," said Hafezi, explaining her anxiety at the acclaim that accompanies the award. She's been unflinching in her work as the bureau chief for the Reuters news agency in Iran, where journalists have been jailed, harshly interrogated or worse in the wake of the contested 2009 election that returned a hard-line president to power.

Flooding forces Thailand to close one Bangkok airport

Authorities suspended all flights from one of Bangkok's two main airports after flood waters breached its northern perimeter, news agencies reported Tuesday.

The suspension was imposed at Don Muang airport, used mainly for domestic flights. The facility is located in northern Bangkok, the area of the capital most severely affected by the worst flooding that Thailand has seen in decades.

The BBC reported that the landing strip was expected to remain closed for a week.

Photos: Thailand floods

The Suvarnabhumi Airport in eastern Bangkok, which handles most international traffic, was reported to be still operating.

Thailand has been inundated by three months of monsoon downpours that have left more than 360 people dead. Thai officials have warned that the deluge could last several more weeks.

Thailand death toll hits 356, flooding could last till December

REPORTING FROM NEW DELHI, INDIA -- Thailand, reeling from its worst flooding in decades, received more bad news Saturday as the death toll since July rose to 356 and the prime minister warned that the inundation could last an additional six weeks.

Authorities are carrying out a high-risk maneuver this weekend, attempting to channel floodwaters through Bangkok canals and out to sea from the deluged central plains. The capital has already seen waist-high water in its northern neighborhoods amid fears the heart of downtown could be next if the diversion fails.

"Bangkok must open all floodgates to allow the water through," said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in a nationwide radio address. "There is a huge volume of run-off water from the north and we can't effectively block it but can only slow the flow.”

The government raised the death toll to 356 from Friday’s 342 level with another two missing. An estimated 113,000 people have been displaced and are now living in shelters. And the nation has suffered some $3.3 billion in economic damage, a figure that could double if Bangkok is swamped.

PHOTOS: Thailand floods

Neighboring Myanmar has also suffered at least 100 deaths and Cambodia 247 from its own severe flooding.

Thailand's worst flooding in decades threatens Bangkok

Bangkok residents were piling sandbags outside buildings and stocking up on essentials before a weekend in which the worst monsoon flooding in decades could hit the capital.

Photos: Thailand floods

Authorities have been warning for days that water overflow from the north could combine with more rain and high tides to inundate the low-lying metropolis, which is home to 9 million people. But Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra tried Friday to reassure jittery residents that Bangkok would be spared.

“Bangkok may face some problems in areas that are on the outer sides of the irrigation dikes … but inner Bangkok has extremely high defenses,” she told reporters, according to Reuters.  

The flooding has submerged factories, fields and homes, severed rail and road links, and swamped ancient Buddhist temples in central Thailand. More than 280 people have been killed since a series of tropical storms began hitting the country in late July, according to news reports.

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-- Alexandra Zavis in Los Angeles

Photo: Thai soldiers help residents in Pathum Thani province on Friday. Credit: Athit Perawongmetha /Getty Images