Ok, maybe that makes for sensationalised headlines.
In truth is that Thailand has just been declared to be in a state of emergency by PM Thaksin following the beginnings of a military coup which sees tanks closing in on government compounds.
I’ll be live blogging this, thanks to my guest blogger who is feeding me real time info as CNN USA deems it more important to listen to Bush’s speech at the UN than reporting this coup!
All times reported here is Eastern US
(12:28:43 PM)
20 soldiers entered government house telling police to lay their arms.
(12:31:13 PM)
Local television reports say the military and police have seized control of the Thai capital, Bangkok. The announcement says the troops belong to the, “Council Party of Political Administrative Democratic Reform”. (Seriously, nobody is sure what the proper name is for these guys but CNN is calling them the Party of Democratic Reform and that’s what I’m going to stick with -ed.)
(12:41:00 PM)
Yahoo News has a more detailed report.
(12:48:44 PM)
Thai military and police claiming to have seized control of the capital Bangkok appear to have taken over all six of the kingdom’s public television stations, as well as radio stations, a senior military official said. (and CNN USA is finally reporting on this emergency -ed.)
(12:58:35 PM)
Army commanders loyal to Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra hold crisis talks late on Tuesday outside Bangkok after coup d’etat troops seize the capital, military officials said.
(1:25:28 PM)
Thai armed forces’ seizure of control is temporary and power will be “returned to the people” soon, coup spokesman Lieutenant-General Prapart Sakuntanak says on television. He adds that the coup is necessary because PM Thaksin’s government has divided the country and corruption is rampant.