Explosions heard in Bangkok stand-off

At least four explosions have been heard in the Thai capital Bangkok, where police are in a tense stand-off with anti-government protesters.

Witnesses say at least six people have been wounded, including a foreigner.

Earlier, a military spokesman warned protesters who have been camped out in Bangkok for six weeks that time for them to leave was running out.

The government is under pressure to crack down on the red-shirt protesters, who say they want new elections.

The cause of the explosions was not immediately known, although a police spokesman said at least the first three had been caused by grenades.

One report citing hospital officials said at least 40 people had been injured, but this could not be confirmed.
Witnesses said at least one blast occurred at an elevated train station in the heart of the capital's business district.

Thai leaders have said they want a negotiated, peaceful end to the dispute, but observers say a non-violent solution is increasingly unlikely.

Protesters and police have been in entrenched positions, waiting to see what will happen next.
The latest explosions could be the catalyst for a confrontation that both sides have been trying to avoid, she adds.

Explosions kill 35 in southern Afghan province

 A series of explosions rocked southern Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province on Saturday, killing at least 35 people and wounding 47 others, according to a spokesperson for the provincial governor.
Provincial Gov. Toryalai Wesa confirmed the blasts hits four locations.
One of the explosions struck near the police headquarters in Kandahar, said Wesa's spokesman, Zalmai Ayoubi. Another blast struck near the province's prison, and caused the collapse of some residences.
An unknown number of people are believed to be dead or trapped in the rubble, Ayoubi said.
The casualties include security forces and civilians, he said, adding that both the death toll and the injuries are expected to increase.
Coalition forces in Kabul said the International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar was not targeted.
Last week, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan vowed that coalition forces "are absolutely going to secure Kandahar," as security efforts expand in the country's south.
"We already are doing a lot of security operations in Kandahar, but it's our intent - under President [Hamid] Karzai - to make an even greater effort there," Gen. Stanley McChrystal told reporters Tuesday.
McChrystal indicated a military operation could begin in the volatile Kandahar province as early as this summer, but both Sedwill and McChrystal cautioned that much political groundwork lay ahead for NATO-led coalition troops before an offensive can begin. Just as in the recent Marjah operation, the goal, they said, is to gain the support of the Afghan people.
The push to secure Kandahar from what McChrystal calls a "menacing Taliban presence" is part of a larger counterinsurgency effort in the country's south. The effort started last month in Marjah in southern Helmand province.