Dozens Perish in Bangkok Club Fire

Club was ill-equipped for fire safety

(NEWSER) - Firecrackers or a pyrotechnic New Year's display are the likely culprits in last night’s Bangkok nightclub blaze that killed 61 people and injured 200, the BBC reports. Witnesses said flames shot from a stage set the ceiling on fire, which then fell onto terrified partygoers. “People were screaming for help from every window. It was a terrible sight,” one said. More»

(NEWSER) - David Carradine, the star of campy '70s TV classic Kung Fu who enjoyed a career renaissance as the villain in the Kill Bill films, was found dead today in Bangkok, where he was shooting a movie, the AP reports. Carradine, part of a prominent Hollywood family that included father John, a legendary character actor, and niece Martha Plimpton, had apparently hanged himself, according to a local media outlet. More»

They spent two days at Thai 'sex resort,' say officials

(NEWSER) - Three Iranians suspected of plotting Bangkok bomb attacks on Israeli diplomats arranged to meet women as they planned their missions—and they weren't 72 virgins . They spent hours over two nights partying with prostitutes at a Thai beach resort in Pattaya, known for its sex industry, say authorities. One of the prostitutes has been brought in to identify the men in Bangkok, where they're being held, reports MSNBC . The hookers took a cell-phone snap of the hard-partying Muslims that has been published in the Bangkok Post. Nothing triggered the prostitutes' suspicions except when they were ordered away from a closet in the men's hotel room. More»

Bangkok rocked by series of explosions

(NEWSER) - An Iranian man blew his own leg off in Bangkok today, as a series of explosions rocked the Thai capital, the New York Times reports. The first blast occurred in the house the man was renting in a residential neighborhood; witnesses say three men who appeared to be foreigners ran from the house after its roof was torn off, including the man who was later injured. He was disoriented and threw hand grenades at a taxi and at police officers, but the second bomb he attempted to lob failed to reach the officers and instead took his leg off. Three Thai people and the taxi driver suffered minor injuries in the explosions. More»

Citizens urged to be cautious in tourist areas

(NEWSER) - US citizens visiting Thailand were warned today that terrorists may be planning attacks on tourist areas in Bangkok "in the near future," the Bangkok Post reports. A message from the US embassy urges citizens "to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok," and "to keep a low profile in public areas." More»