Tense standoff continues in Thailand

Tensions spiked in the commercial center of the Thai capital as a volatile standoff continued Thursday between anti-government protesters and large numbers of combat-gear-clad troops on the streets.
The protesters, known as the "Red Shirts," used tires and sharpened bamboo canes as barricades and taunted soldiers.

The Red Shirts are supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006. They are demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve the government, hold new elections and leave the country.

For weeks, they have occupied blocks of the city, spurring a political crisis in Thailand. Last week, Abhisit declared a state of emergency in Bangkok.

Fed up with the unrest gripping their city, some residents emerged on the streets as the "Multicolored Shirts," hurling rocks and verbal abuse at the Red Shirts.

Leaders of the group urged businesses and residents to boycott the Red Shirts, not sell them goods or allow them to use toilet facilities in the area of the demonstrations, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

The Multicolored Shirts group was formed mainly by middle-class Bangkok residents, academics, the business community and members of the social network Facebook. They marched across Bangkok -- some of the women wearing high heels -- to show support for Abhisit.

Holger Bauer, a 56-year-old German man who is in Bangkok, told that about 300 protesters carrying Thai flags yelled: "Reds go home" and "long live Abhisit."

Earlier in the week, the Thai military had stationed about 1,500 troops along a financial hub on Silom Road in anticipation of renewed clashes with protesters.

At least 25 people have been killed and more than 850 others injured in the political battle that has unfolded on Bangkok's streets. The explosive situation has given rise to fears of a deepening crisis and perhaps even civil war.

Meanwhile, Thailand's crisis spread Thursday outside of Bangkok as Red Shirt supporters blocked a military train by lying down on the tracks. They said the troops were reinforcements heading to Bangkok, TNA said. The military said they were headed elsewhere.

Debate continues over surrender terms of Jackson's doctor

Criminal charges against Michael Jackson's personal physician will be filed "in the near future," in connection with the pop star's death, law enforcement sources said, but there is confusion over when he will be booked.

Negotiations between prosecutors and Murray's lawyers broke down Thursday evening, law enforcement sources with detailed knowledge of the talks told Beth Karas of "In Session," of CNN sister network truTV.

"I don't know what part of negotiations could have broken down, in light of the fact that we've placed ourselves in the hands of law enforcement to surrender at any time," said Ed Chernoff, Murray's lawyer.

Murray, who was Jackson's doctor when the pop star died last summer, will nonetheless show up at the Los Angeles courthouse airport location to surrender at 1:30 p.m. PST Friday, as previously planned, a spokesman for his legal team told Karas.

If authorities refuse to take him into custody for a court arraignment, then Murray and his lawyers will meet with reporters outside the courthouse, Miranda Sevcik said.

Prosecutors could file charges at any time, however, setting up a scenario for Los Angeles police to find Murray on their own, arrest him and take him to jail.

A surrender -- in which a defendant turns himself at a police station for booking -- would allow the doctor to avoid being seen in public handcuffed and escorted by police.

The chances of a surrender appear dead, a law enforcement source told Karas.

Chernoff said earlier Thursday that he and Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Walgren "share the goal of the efficient administration of this process."

"An arrest of Dr. Murray would be a waste of money, time and resources," he said. "We've always made it clear: You tell us where; we'll be there. I'm sure something can be arranged."

The doctor traveled to Los Angeles last week from his home in Houston, Texas, in anticipation of possible charges.

Murray was hired as Jackson's personal physician last spring as the entertainer prepared for his comeback concerts in London, England.

The doctor told Los Angeles police investigators that he was with Jackson through the early morning hours of June 25 in an effort to help the pop star fall asleep, according to a police affidavit.

He administered sleep aids, and after Jackson finally began sleeping in the late morning hours, Murray said, he left the bedroom for "about two minutes maximum," the affidavit said.

"Upon his return, Murray noticed that Jackson was no longer breathing," it said.

The doctor stayed with Jackson as an ambulance rushed him from his $100,000-a-month rented mansion in Holmby Hills to UCLA Medical Center.

Efforts at CPR proved fruitless, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.

The Los Angeles County coroner ruled Jackson's death a homicide resulting from a combination of drugs, primarily propofol and lorazepam.

The coroner's statement said Jackson died from "acute propofol intoxication," but there were "other conditions contributing to death: benzodiazepine effect." Lorazepam and two other drugs Murray said he used are benzodiazepines.

The doctor told investigators he had given Jackson three anti-anxiety drugs to help him sleep in the hours before he stopped breathing, a police affidavit said.

Murray had been treating Jackson for insomnia for six weeks at the time of the singer's death. The doctor told investigators he gave Jackson 50 milligrams of propofol, the generic name for Diprivan, diluted with the anesthetic lidocaine every night via an intravenous drip.

The doctor told police he was worried that Jackson was becoming addicted to the drug and tried to wean him off it.

During the two nights before Jackson's death, Murray said, he put together combination of other drugs that succeeded in helping Jackson sleep.