Thailand declared a state of emergency in Bangkok Tuesday, banning gatherings of more than five people in a bid to clamp down on anti-government protests that erupted into deadly clashes overnight.

– Extracted from “Thailand declares emergency in Bangkok after clashes leave one dead”, AFP, 2 September 2008.

This may be an opportune time just to reiterate that any New Mandala readers in Bangkok, or elsewhere in Thailand, who have local updates on the situation in their area can feel encouraged to send them across. Recent guest posts by Srithanonchai have shown how much goes on below the surface and it would be wonderful, especially at this time of crisis, if more accounts from the fringes made it into the public domain.