Crime, Courts, Calamity

NARATHIWAT - A roadside bombing and gun attack have wounded two army rangers in Narathiwat province, where security forces have been battling the decade-long separatist insurgency.

ANG THONG - A two-year-old child and her mother were almost injured by a stray bullet that police believe was fired in celebration of the New Year.

NONTHABURI - Two self-described technical students robbed two convenience stores in Nonthaburi province in the space of 15 minutes early this morning.

CHONBURI - A Thai woman has jumped to her death at a landmark shopping mall in the resort town of Pattaya this morning.

BANGKOK - Former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) and alleged ringleader of a massive graft ring has been sent to hospital due to "severe chest pain," officials say.

BANGKOK (DPA) - The trial of two Myanmar suspects accused of murdering a pair of British tourists in the Thai resort of Koh Tao began Friday, officials said.

BANGKOK - Police say they have rescued three Nepalese students who were abducted by five former classmates in Bangkok earlier this week.

KRABI - A motorist is under arrest on suspicion of attacking a police officer with a knife after he was fined for illegally parking near a police box in Krabi province.

SURAT THANI - A stray speedboat has killed a foreign diver off the coast of Koh Tao island, a popular diving destination for tourists in southern Thailand.

BANGKOK - The Thai government may abolish Thailand's death penalty in the near future, a senior official said, as delegates from around the world overwhelmingly supported the UN's proposal for suspension of death sentence.